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From: gmack@cisden.UUCP (Gregg Mackenzie)
Newsgroups: net.women,net.singles
Subject: Re: Sleeping
Message-ID: <548@cisden.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Mar-86 15:38:55 EST
Article-I.D.: cisden.548
Posted: Tue Mar 11 15:38:55 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Mar-86 08:13:01 EST
References: <5162@kestrel.ARPA> <1281@lll-crg.ARpA> < <525@watdragon.UUCP>
Reply-To: gmack@cisden.UUCP (Gregg Mackenzie)
Organization: ConTel Information Systems, Denver
Lines: 29
Xref: watmath net.women:9708 net.singles:10934

In article <525@watdragon.UUCP> Alec Saunders writes:
>The problem with getting less than
>8 hours is not so much that I can't function the NEXT day, but over a period
>of time the lack accumulates until I sleep two or three 12 hour nights. Thus
>the best solution is to sleep 8 hours every night.

This is not how sleep works.  Once you lose sleep, it is gone.  It does 
not accumulate and you cannot "catch up" on it.  We each have a certain
amount that is optimal for us, but it varies with many factors including
daily activity level and diet.  It also varies between individuals.

The best solution is to sleep when you're tired, (instead of saying, 
"Well, 'MASH' is over, it's 11:00, it's time for bed"; what if you're
not tired?  Do you go to bed anyway, just because it's your bedtime?),
and get up when you wake up (rather than looking at the clock and saying,
"Oh, I've only had 7-1/2 hours of sleep instead of the 8 that I need to
function, so I'm still tired and I'm going back to sleep for a half-hour";
what if you feel refreshed after only 5 hours?  Do you go back to sleep
just because your clock tells you to?  What makes your clock so supreme
that it can tell you what to do?).

If you've ever watched little kids and wondered where they get all their
energy, there's your answer:  they get it from their sleeping habits, i.e.,
sleeping when they're tired and getting up when they're done.  That's 
also the best way to eat:  eat when you're hungry and until you're full,
not because it's lunchtime or because there's food left.

Gregg Mackenzie
cisden!gmack