Sleep is not a skill (2024)

FAQs

Is sleep really a skill? ›

Sleeping is a biological function, the same as eating, breathing, procreating, and so on. It is something we are born doing and we can do it without much thought. You don't actively teach your newborn to sleep – they do it on their own and for many hours of the day.

We don't “learn” to sleep, because it's programmed deep in the brain, but we do “learn” sleep habits. Babies can learn helpful ones, like grabbing their loveys and falling asleep in their cozy cribs in a good sleeping environment, or unhelpful ones, like falling asleep while being nursed or bounced on a yoga ball.

Sleep is a physiological process not only for the rest of the body but also for several brain functions such as mood, memory, and consciousness.

It is clear that younger babies sleep longer overall, but there is also a lot of variation among individual babies, and within studies for this group. Sleep is a developmental process, and our sleep needs change throughout our lifetimes.

Sleep is important to a number of brain functions, including how nerve cells (neurons) communicate with each other. In fact, your brain and body stay remarkably active while you sleep. Recent findings suggest that sleep plays a housekeeping role that removes toxins in your brain that build up while you are awake.

Psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa and Study Magazine pinpointed further by saying that individuals in their 20s with a normal IQ tended to go to sleep at around 12:10 a.m., while those with a lower IQ went to bed at 11:41 p.m. Those labeled “very bright” hit the sack at 12:29 a.m.

During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development.

Scores of studies conclude that students really do better when they sleep. Sleeping poorly (or not at all) leads to worse test results and poorer ability to learn new things. In fact, an all nighter hurts your ability to think, reason, and understand to the same degree as if you were taking your test drunk.

Under the right conditions, it turns out, the sleeping human brain is capable of learning new vocabulary. That's according to a study by scientists from Switzerland's University of Bern, published in the journal Current Biology in January, which demonstrates that the human brain can absorb information during slumber.

And while the occasional long sleep is generally nothing to worry about, oversleeping several days a week could be a sign that something more serious is going on.

How long can you go without sleep? ›

It isn't clear how long humans can truly survive without sleep. But it is clear that extreme symptoms can begin in as little as 36 hours. This includes a reduced ability to think, poor decision-making, and speech impairment. Pulling an all-nighter once every couple of months likely won't do any long-term damage.

Sleep helps repair your body.

In waking time, your body goes through the usual wear and tear that exhausts your energy, making you feel tired and depleted. A good night's sleep in a high-quality mattress can relax and repair your body, helping you wake up recharged and refreshed.

If you and your baby meet the requirements in the Safe Sleep Seven checklist, you've already eliminated all the biggest SIDS risks. And if you prepare your bed, then your baby's overall nighttime risk becomes vanishingly small.

But sleep affects both mental and physical health. It's vital to your well-being. Of course, sleep helps you feel rested each day. But while you're sleeping, your brain and body don't just shut down.

Your baby figures out their preferred position for sleep, and how to get there on their own. As a result, the baby starts sleeping longer periods of time, and getting more sleep overall. Their confidence in their ability to sleep, and when to do so builds, and they are happy and content in their sleep environment.

Sleeping beyond the minimum 90-minute cycle may mean you fall deeper into your sleep cycle and will find it much harder to wake up. The best answer to this question is that some sleep is always better than none. Trying to get in a power nap or achieving that full 90-minute cycle is better for you than no sleep at all.

Good sleep efficiency is definitely something worth striving for, and as a metric, it can give you a sense of how well you're sleeping and whether you need to improve your sleep hygiene. However, it doesn't give you a complete picture of your sleep health and is not the end-all, be-all metric.

Sleep helps repair your body.

In waking time, your body goes through the usual wear and tear that exhausts your energy, making you feel tired and depleted. A good night's sleep in a high-quality mattress can relax and repair your body, helping you wake up recharged and refreshed.