Why do we sleep ?

Deves world

Are you a night owl ? Or a morning type ? Your circadian rhythm dictates a great number of things. It’s what guides your body’s desire for sleep – or the opposite of sleep. It’s what makes you want food or drink at certain times. It’s even responsible, to an extent, for moodiness and emotional ups and downs, as well as your metabolic rate. But here’s the thing: circadian rhythms vary from person to person – a fact that causes a large chunk of the population both to hate alarm clocks and to suffer from health complications. This portion, which makes up about 30 percent of the population, consists of “night owls,” people whose circadian rhythm inclines them to seek slumber late at night and to rise late in the morning. Distressingly for these nocturnal folks, society is morning-oriented. School and work typically begin in the morning and last through the afternoon, right when the body clocks of night owls say they should be asleep, or at least still sleepy. Being out of sync with society’s schedule puts night owls in a tough position: they must get up early even though they fall asleep late. Thus, they’re often sleep-deprived, which makes it likelier that they’ll suffer from a range of illnesses, including diabetes, depression and cancer. By understanding how sleep works and drawing from different cultural approaches to sleeping, we can all enjoy better quality sleep and live healthier, happier lives. This podcast is about the importance of a basic human necessity that we often brush aside: sleep. Getting enough sleep isn’t just about feeling better in the morning – it improves your work performance, health and even your personal relationships. Similarly, sleep deprivation isn’t a by-product of hard work; rather, it prevents you from reaching your full potential. In this podcast we try to explains why sleep is so critical, and what you can do to get more of it.