Perception is correct in highlighting my intention of discussing non-physiological aspects. All so-called technological and medical "advances" are driven by "need" which may have both positive and negative connotations. Indeed the very concept of "competition" may be at issue here. (But perhaps thats another thread).
I can't help but wonder WHO could be behind such bizarre
nonsense. Big business ? That same group who got doctors
to change the standard remedy for severe back strain or
sciatica - from spending 2 weeks flat on your back, and
allowing your back to heal - where now just prescribe anti
inflammatory drugs & send you off to physical therapy at
once - avoids the loss of manpower work hours.
And meanwhile to try and tell us this REALLY IS better for us.
How utterly ridiculous to toy with something as primordial as
sleep!!! We have no idea what sleeping giant we could be
throwing stones at - in this kind of murky medical swamp.
Sleep is the only place where dreams occur. Dreams are
-for me - a very positive life force, allowing me to mark my
progress along life's path - I receive VERY strong indicators
in my dreams when something is wrong, which needs to be
addressed, when something is being ignored which demands
my attention. While I DO suffer many nights from insomnia,
if I don't sleep at night - it's usually due to the pain of severe
rheumatoid arthritis - and being disabled, I know that if I miss
my sleep at night, I will be able to nap tomorrow. I believe that
doctors have seen "speed addicts" for plenty of years.
"Coming down" from this drug induced condition supposedly is
a terrible experience. Why study how to make your workers
more efficient and less tired by, essentially turning them into
legal drug addicts? Who is going to benefit from this?
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
An interesting anecdote; Buckminster Fuller, a brilliant inventer/designer/engineer/etc. (designed the geodesic dome) decided that he wasted far to much valuable (in his case) time sleeping. So he set out to modify his sleeping habits. Eventually he had trained his body to sleep 5 minutes out of each half hour (granted, only 4 hrs a day).
According to his opinion, and those who knew him, this sufficed to maintain his health. However, as he became more and more famous, and his input sought after on numerous project, he found it impossible to maintain this strategy since he would regularly fall asleep at meetings with sundry "big wiggs", and they would have to sit and wait untill he woke up - unpopular!
And................
If we didn't sleep, when would our brains run "defrag" (dream)?
Man can always alter the sleep cycle, but with limited success. You can't separate our physiology with our requirement for sleep. The only truism we can rely on now is that some people need more sleep than others. I have a brother-in-law that survives on four hours of sleep every day. I, on the other hand, must get my eight hours. c.i.
c.i. - can you really run well on 8 hours?
I must be one of the lesser well built chassis
models, for I seem to not only require at
least 10 hours, but frequently need to add
a nap to that, as well.
Of course, the factors that have such a
deleterious effect on my body such as
rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel
disease etc etc etc.... DO tend to cause
severe fatigue. Ah well, I can only be
green with envy at one who can function
well on 4 to 6 hours a night. I have an older
sister who has - all her life - gotten along
spendidly with less than 6 hours per night.
It is amazing to me. How much more time
she has in her life than I - how much more
could I accomplish if only.......
babs, I only begin to function after I have my cup of coffee. If not, I'm sluggish for most of the morning. For example, I also had coffee with my lunch today at the Grain d'or, because I wanted to get some walking excercise in while window shopping at the Valley Fair SC in San Jose.
c.i.
No sleep would rock. I understand that sleeping is important but to lose one night a week, I could deal with the consequences. I always wanted to live with no sleep. I thought sleep just got in the way of what I need to be doing.
