After four days in a row of late nights and early mornings (because, you know, I’m at university to get a degree) my mind tossed and turned to the importance of sleep and whether I should be worried about my lack of it. It appears that I am not the only one; every conversation I have seems to return to the need for more sleep. The reality seems to be that in a student’s irregular schedule, sleep is something that is often relegated to the ‘do this later’ list, often behind ‘write that essay for tomorrow’ and ‘catch up on Downton Abbey’. This situation is made worse by the fact that sleep is not something that can be done in a rush or in a coffee shop.

 
We have all been told by our mothers the importance of getting eight hours for a ‘good night’s sleep’ so that we can recharge and consolidate the memories of everything we did that day. In fact, the necessary eight hours seems to be an idea that has been latched on to like the all important eight glasses of water.  The optimum amount of sleep is different for each individual and can vary from six to eight hours. Indeed some scientists have wondered whether sleeping more than this might actually be detrimental to your health, although this remains an uncertain point.

This degree of conjecture surrounds much of what we do know about sleep, making it difficult for us to tell how we should sleep. William Dement, a researcher of sleep for over fifty years, summarised his work brilliantly when he said ‘As far as I know, the only reason we need to sleep that is really, really solid is because we get sleepy.’ 
Such ambivalence can be seen in the extreme methods of sleeping that have developed, such as polyphasic sleeping. This is the concept of sleeping for very short intervals throughout the day so that the total amount of time spent sleeping is vastly reduced. It is believed that Leonardo da Vinci was a polyphasic sleeper and napped for fifteen minutes every four hours. Fans of this method argue that they will ‘gain’ years by not wasting so much time on sleep. Unsurprisingly, this approach leaves one exhausted and unable to focus since lack of sleep first affects our ability to actively learn anything.

Although this approach may sound quite bad for you, research done on long-distance solo sailors has taught us a few things about it that may be very conducive to good sleep health. It appears that if it is impossible to sleep for full night it is best to tackle sleep deprivation by napping, rather than getting a straight three hours sleep, as this proves to be far more restorative. Interestingly, the best time to nap is when your body tells you to, based on your circadian clock, or body clock to you and me.

 The ‘disco nap’, forcing ourselves to take a quick nap before heading out, might seem like the genius solution to our busy lifestyles, but it doesn’t work for all. It is pointless to nap between 6pm and 8pm, for example, as invariably you will end up lying wide awake stressing about how you need to sleep in order to get ready for the night ahead (whatever you might be doing; The Student doesn’t judge). On the other hand the traditional siesta time of around 2pm is excellent for having a little doze as we have a natural dip at around that point.
There appears to be two distinct categories of people when it comes to napping: those who swear by it and those who claim that it actually makes them more tired. This grogginess or sleep inertia that the later group experience may often be the result of napping for too long. The ideal nap is supposed to be between 15 and 30 minutes long. Humans sleep in cycles of 90 to 110 minutes and in that time we go through various stages, including deep sleep, which is supposed to be particularly important for restoring energy but is also particularly unpleasant to be woken up from. 

With that in mind I hope you remember to take your mother’s advice and get enough rest. Sleep tight.