WORLD SLEEP DAY 2017
This year’s World Sleep Day is held on Friday, March 17th 
World Sleep Day is an awareness activity of World Sleep Society, which aims to advance knowledge about sleep, circadian rhythms, sleep health, and sleep disorders worldwide, especially in those parts of the world where this knowledge has not advanced sufficiently. Every year, many different activities are held around the world to spread the word and increase the awareness of sleeping health. To celebrate this year’s World Sleep Day, LANGRIA has compiled for you 25 random, funny facts about sleep: 1. The man is the only mammal that willingly delays sleep. 2. While you sleep, your brain filters out noises that might wake you up if it doesn’t think you are in danger. 3. In general, exercising regularly makes it easier to fall asleep and contributes to sounder sleep. However, exercising sporadically or right before going to bed will make falling asleep more difficult. 4. Sleeping at work is not such a big problem in Japan. Some companies may accept it as a sign of exhaustion from overwork. 5. Parents of newborns miss out an average of 6 months worth of sleep in the first 2 years of their baby’s life. 6. We naturally feel tired at two different times of the day: about 2:00 AM and 2:00 PM. It is this natural dip in alertness that is primarily responsible for the post-lunch dip. 7. Newborns sleep a total of 14 to 17 hours a day on an irregular schedule with periods of one to three hours spent awake. 
8. When infants are put to bed drowsy but not asleep, they are more likely to become “self- soothers,” which enables them to fall asleep independently at bedtime and put themselves back to sleep during the night. 9. Scientists still don’t know — and probably never will — if animals dream during REM sleep, as humans do. 10. One of the primary causes of excessive sleepiness among Americans is self-imposed sleep deprivation. 11. People who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to have bigger appetites due to the fact that their leptin levels (leptin is an appetite-regulating hormone) fall, promoting appetite increase. 12. 12% of people dream entirely in black and white. 13. Humans spend on average, 1/3 of their life sleeping. 14. The record for the longest period without sleep is 11 days. This was set by a Californian student named Randy Gardner in 1964. This is definitely not recommended, however, as Randy experienced extreme sleep deprivation and others have died staying awake for this long. 15. Dysania is the state of finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning. 16. The sensation of falling when half asleep is called ‘hypnic jerks’. 17. It’s thought that up to 15% of the USA population are sleepwalkers. 18. Sleep deprivation will kill you more quickly than food deprivation. 19. Sleeping on your front can aid digestion, whilst laying on your left side can apparently help reduce heartburn. 20. In general, most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept ten hours. 21. Only 1/2 of a dolphin’s brain goes to sleep at a time. 
22. knocker-upper, was a profession in Britain and Ireland that started during and lasted well into the Industrial Revolution when alarm clocks were neither cheap nor reliable, and to as late as the beginning of the 1950s.
23. Some Tibetan monks sleep upright.
24. Paul Kern, a Hungarian who didn’t sleep for 40 years after suffering a head injury in World War I (though he did rest for two hours daily with his eyes closed).
25. The higher the altitude, the greater the sleep disruption. Generally, sleep disturbance becomes greater at altitudes of 13,200 feet or more. The disturbance is thought to be caused by diminished oxygen levels and accompanying changes in respiration. Most people adjust to new altitudes in approximately two to three weeks. What do you think of these facts? Did you know about them? Facts Source: sleepfoundation.org
Related article: 5 Ways to Get Your Child to Sleep Through the Night