ABC Wednesday: The Letter Z
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| Hrit naps during a recent road trip. The pic is clicked by my sister who tells me I had dozed off too |
And while we're at it here are some sleep facts...
Our sleep-wake cycle causes a drop in alertness between about 2 and 5 pm in the afternoon and more dramatically in the early morning between 2 and 5 am. This suggests we need two sleep periods a day, as in siesta cultures... which is why old time shops in Pune (and Calcutta) down shutters between 1 and 4 pm. During my summer training days at Indian Oil Corporation there was a special room for women where they could take a siesta each afternoon. What luxury! Wonder if it's still there.
Daytime naps improve memory, help you remember important facts and cut risk of heart disease.
On an average we spend 1/3 of our life sleeping... Wow!
A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year. (No wonder....)
Kids who regularly sleep more than 8 to 9 hours tend to have stronger immune systems and get fewer colds... which is why I pack off the kids by 9pm.
Some studies suggest women need up to an hour's extra sleep a night compared to men... I knew it!
Whales don't sleep. Dolphins don't either. They turn off half their brain, resting it, while the other half is awake. If they fell asleep, they'd not come up to breathe and so drown. .. This last one comes from Hrit himself.. from his 'I-love-Sharks phase.
Labels: ABC Wednesday, Hrit, Sleep