25 Crazy Facts About Sleep

Posted by on March 7, 2012
Why do you sleep? Okay we know, it sounds like a pretty dumb question with a fairly obvious answer, but the truth is that scientists have not yet been able to fully figure it out. In fact, it probably should have been on our list of the 25 biggest mysteries of history. Over the last several decades though, using modern technology, researchers have been able to measure brain waves and find out a little bit about what is going on in our heads at night. It’s thanks to these trailblazers that we can bring you 25 crazy facts about sleep.
25

With an average lifespan of 6 – 8 years mattresses have plenty of time to gather some nasty stuff and one study even linked them to sudden infant death syndrome.

mattress
24

Another study showed that people getting only 6 to 7 hours of sleep every night have a longer life expectancy than those who sleep 8 hours.

23

Both whales and dolphins literally fall half asleep. Their brain hemispheres take turns so they can continue surfacing to breathe.

22

The world record for not sleeping was set by 17-year-old Randy Gardner in 1964 when he was awake for 264 hours and 12 minutes.

21

An adult bedbug can survive up to one year without feeding.

bed bug
20

In 2004 more than 35 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled in America, a number that more than doubled from the previous four years.

19

Upon joining the European Union, Spain launched a campaign to get rid of its world famous siestas, or afternoon naps, in order to show that it was intent on integration.

18

Although people born blind don’t see images when they dream, they do have an increased auditory, tactile, and olfactory experience

17

Scientists haven’t been able to figure out why exactly we need sleep.

16

The average person wakes up about six times per night.

15

Somniphobia is the fear of sleep.

somniphobia
14

12% of people have black and white dreams. Before color television though, the number was 75%.

13

You can only dream about faces you have already seen.

12

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is a surgical procedure used to fix snoring by tightening the throat. Possible side effects include changes to the tone of your voice.

11

If it takes you less than five minutes to fall asleep then very likely you are sleep deprived. The ideal amount of time is about 10 minutes.

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David PeggAbout David Pegg

David is the editor-in-chief of List25. He has a Masters degree in International Business from University of Florida. He loves to break dance, do flips, play guitar, and everything else that is fun. Follow him on Twitter @iamdpegg

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Comments

  1. Jill says:
    January 8, 2013 at 8:27 am

    3 is actually called a hypnagogic jerk

    Reply
  2. Susy says:
    December 31, 2012 at 2:43 am

    I’m pretty sure #9 should be internal clock, not biological. Or are we suddenly talking about reproduction, here?

    Reply
  3. ur? says:
    October 3, 2012 at 11:48 pm

    I actually had a period in my life where I didn’t dream at all! I don’t know why, but I probably should of checked with my doctor.

    Reply
  4. WTF says:
    May 7, 2012 at 7:27 am

    4 and 8 seem to contradict each other.

    Reply
  5. asad says:
    March 29, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    wow, it was like a nightmare to learn I would spent 1/3 of my life in sleeping

    .

    Reply
  6. Naif Amoodi says:
    March 7, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    #13 is definitely not true! Entertaining read none the less though!

    Reply
    • Mathew says:
      March 7, 2012 at 10:56 pm

      Actually it is, you just think that it is not true because you do not notice all the faces you see, but your brain has still seen them.

      Reply

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