 EPISODE TWO
ZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz
Sleeping… dreaming… I can't believe how much I need these. I hate myself when I think
of my childhood. I used to beg my mom not to make me sleep so that I could play more. Now,
I wish I could turn back the clock and sleep more. I wonder how many hours I should sleep?
It is 2006, but where are the scientists that are supposed to provide us with hours of
sleep in microcapsules, without spending hours sleeping? I average six hours of sleep and
all the rest is left for studying, doing homework and research. But there is still so much
to do! I know that all I have learned in school has given me many things, but I should
meet the real world sometime, meet my friends and chill out. I should see movies, I should
read books and I should keep an eye on what is going on in the world. And sometimes I need
to do nothing but just lie down and think. All of these take time.
How many hours should we sleep?
The answer for Napoleon was "Six hours of sleep for a man, seven for a woman and
eight for a fool." Harsh! I do not want to talk about how many hours I sleep in the
summer time. But according to Napoleon, during term time, I am at the status of a regular
man. What do scientists say? Scientists conclude that sleeping varies according to the
individual but that generally, babies sleep about 14-15 hours a day while older people
sleep between seven and eight hours a day.
Why sleep at night?
Sleep is natural at night because it is the right thing to do. We should use the energy of
light and the sun as much as possible. Don't be gothic people. Why do you think that
people in northern countries are more likely to commit suicide? Because they are more
likely to become depressed given that in the wintertime there are only a few hours of
sunlight every day. Other than that, they live in the dark. So don't be gothic, use the
light of sun as much as possible. Sunlight gives you natural vitamin D, which is needed to
metabolize calcium. Think positive and be happy!
Why do we need to sleep?
You need to sleep because if you do not sleep, you are nothing. No matter who you are or
what you have learned, when you are always tired, your brain will not work efficiently.
You become cranky. After skipping two nights of sleep, you will have problems thinking.
Your body and brain will not do their normal tasks. After five sleepless nights, you begin
to hallucinate. Your brain will have some difficulty in thinking and giving direction to
your body. Sleeping improves your muscle tone and the appearance of your skin. If you do
not sleep well, your immune system will not work properly and you will become sick easily.
Also, sleeplessness can cause you to gain weight. Weight gain may happen because the more
you are awake the more you become hungry and eat. And without enough sleep your metabolism
works differently. Sleeplessness also makes you depressive and angry. Have you ever seen
anyone who is sleepy and happy at the same time? Well for me, I may not even use my energy
to smile if I am sleepy. Finally, you may make more errors than you would normally without
sleep. As a result, even if you spend all night studying for a test and do not sleep, your
brain's engine will not be charged and the test may go badly anyway for lack of energy.
For two episodes of my column, I thought about myself, all of the sleepy people around and
the importance of sleeping. I hope you have found it interesting and useful. No matter how
much work you give your body and brain, it is necessary to rest in order for all of that
work to be useful.
Gülay Acar (COMD/IV)
howtoreachgulay@yahoo.com
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