Sleeping Pills

Sleeping pills have always intrigued me. My freshman year I received a free sample of sleeping pills and tried them out. I didn't see much of a difference in falling asleep, but I definitely felt more drowsy when I woke up. In the article titled CDC Details Use of Sleep Meds, John Gever details the usage of sleeping pills throughout the United States. One statistic that really caught my attention was "among individuals reporting 5 hours or less of sleep nightly, 6.0% said they used prescription sleep drugs, whereas 3.2% of those who said they averaged 7 hours nightly used sleep aids" (Gever). What I found so interesting was how high the usage of sleeping pills was for the people who recorded less than five hours of sleep. It makes me think how the usefulness of sleeping pills may differ from person to person. Maybe the reason I did not find the sleeping pills so useful is because of how the usefulness differs from person to person.

John Gever, “CDC Details Use of Sleep Meds,” Medpage, Aug. 30, 2013 (http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/SleepDisorders/41287)

Segmented Sleep

In Ekrich's article, Ekrich links both religion and medical accounts to early sleeping patterns. Ekrich introduces segmented sleep as one of the early sleeping patterns that humans used to prioritize. Ekrich quotes medical books from the 15th century as some of the first accounts of segmented sleep, "for better digestion and more tranquil repose, to lie on their right side during 'the fyrste slepe' and 'after the fyrste slepe turne on the lefte syde'" (366). I found this interesting, because as for myself, I  never wake up on the same side I went to sleep on. This is very far fetched, but what if our body does this subconsciously. Furthermore, Ekrich links early religious practices by monks "[rising] after midnight for the recital of verses and psalms, this like other regulations of the Benedictine order had spread to growing numbers of Frankish and German monasteries." (366). This early religious practice can definitely be compared to today's religious practices of reading our bible or praying before going sleep. Comparing early practices to now, we see some similarities, we have just evolved since these practices first came.

Upcoming Research Paper

The end of the semester is coming up and that means its research paper time. Initially I thought about expanding our discussion on students and sleep, but I think I would like to focus more on athletes and sleep. As an athlete I am constantly worried about sleep. Every night I constantly remind myself of the amount of hours left before I have to wake up before practice. I think it would be interesting to look at research done on the impact sleep, or lack of sleep may have on an athletes performance. I would also like to expand on possible reasons why athletes may need more or less sleep to someone who is more sedentary.

War and Sleep

Before this class I never took into perspective the amount of sleep our military loses due to war. The article I found the most intriguing was Los Angeles Times', Winning, but Really Feeling Beat. This article took statements from two military scientist who have studied sleep in the military. The scientists go over the problems they are constantly seeing in the field. One statement that really put things into perspective was "Fatigue may be a factor in 'friendly fire' deaths, accidents and battlefield errors." To think that some of our very own soldiers have lost their lives due to fatigue is unfathomable.


Melissa Healy, “Winning, but Feeling Really Beat,” Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2003 (http://articles.latimes.com/print/2003/apr/07/news/war-sleep7)

Post Fall Break

Fall break ended up being just what I needed. With a nice little break from school, I was relieved of stress and focused on finishing the semester off right. The first couple days back from fall break have been a bit rough because of the lack of sleep I had over the break. As I prepare for the last half of the semester, I look to get back on my regular sleeping schedule I put myself on before the break.

Manhole 69

This short story really sparked my interest. At the beginning of the semester we were asked the question on whether or not we would give up the ability to sleep. Manhole 69 really had me second guess my original answer. After learning more about sleep in our class and reading this short story, I have learned how important sleep really is and the thought of going sleepless is freighting. The story shows two different views on sleepless nights and I have to say that the negative effects that sleepless nights outweigh the positive effects.

J. G. Ballard, “Manhole 69,” 

Fall Break!

The week leading into fall break was very restless. I was beyond excited to travel out of Plainview to take a break from school, but also very stressed about the upcoming work that has to be done. Getting in sleep is tough, because I am either eager for the weekend to come or I am trying to get some last minute studying in before the weekend come. I think this break is going to help me clear my mind and buckle up for the last part of this semester. Besides the past few days, my sleeping patterns haven't been so random. I'm hoping that coming back from the break, I am able to continue this regular sleeping schedule I have put myself on.