July 9 2023 - Sleeping in

 

Is there such a thing as "sleeping in" when you are old?  The New York Times had an article on this yesterday. The first paragraph was intriguing and fun reading: the author referred to sleep as the "overnight mop-up," and the taking out the trash.  The author claimed that a quick nap functions like rebooting a computer.  That's another great metaphor.  The body’s internal clock is located in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, this internal clock is made of around 20,000 cells. It is an area called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (or SCN), situated right above the point in the brain where the optic nerve fibers cross. This location enables the SCN to receive the cues it needs from light in the environment to help it keep time.  The system requires both types of input -- light and genes -- to keep it on track. We are fascinated by this rhythm - so much so that the Guinness Book of Records on Sleep is all about not sleeping.  Here's the boy who stayed awake for 11 days:  Randy Gardner did this in 1964 when he was 17.  Then there is Robert McDonald who went 18 days plus without sleeping in 1985.   Guinness says that they don't monitor this record anymore because of the dangers of sleep deprivation.  Are there long-lasting effects?  Randy Gardner- our 18 day record holder turned out to have insomnia in his sixties.  He suffered with this for a decade, and then regained his ability to sleep. And what about McDonald? "McDonald did not appear to suffer any long-lasting negative effects; by all accounts he has continued to live a happy life. He now has a son, Robert Jr, with whom he built a life-size replica Viking ship from 15 million ice-cream sticks in 2006." Other record breakers seem to have had ill effects over the years. And then there is the discovery that people have micro sleeps - these are momentary lapses into sleep that last for a few seconds.  So a micro sleeper would be the natural winner of a contest.  The Guinness Book of Records explanation of the concern of sleep deprivation effects is HERE. It is a fascinating read.   And sleeping in?  UK hypnotist Peter Powers put himself under a hypnotic sleep for eight straight days in 1959.     It is lily blooming time.  Here's a picture from a few years ago of Brian with one of his hybrids.

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