A professor suggests that people need at least 8.5 hours of sleep a night. The pressure from society and the regular use of social media are some of the reasons why everyone needs to sleep more at night, the professor believes.
Sweet Dreams
Health experts have mentioned in the past that everyone should try to obtain an average of 7-8 hours of sleep. Organizations such as the WHO (World Health Organization) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) have also echoed the same statement. However, a professor from the Pennsylvania State University is stating that the said amount isn't enough.
Dr. Daniel Gartenberg shares that longer sleep is needed because people are more bombarded with information from the modern world. He continued that one of the main functions of sleep is to sort through the information gathered throughout the day. This process is referred to as synaptic homeostasis, which is Gartenberg's main focus for his research.
Taking into account that people were getting 8 hours of sleep before the internet and are now absorbing at least 34 GB of information a day and only getting about 7 hours of sleep, proves that more sleep is required.
More Sleep, Less Problems
Gartenberg continued that even when people attempt to go to sleep early, they are still not getting the recommended amount of rest needed. This happens because most people are spending the majority of the time trying to sleep and are often woken up throughout the night due to distractions.
Lights from screens such as phones are partially to blame for why a lot of people lose a good night's rest, but Gartenberg suggests that there could be a way to use it to everyone's advantage.
"Technological devices are hurting us, but we are also coming to a point where some of these wearable techs can be used to accurately measure sleep completely non-invasively and [those can be] integrated into smart home environments to create what we call 'sleep habitats,'" Gartenberg stated.
The professor stated that with social media and cell phones, everyone's brains are on alert and there may be a low-level of anxiety that most people are not aware they have. Even noises from the air conditioner or refrigerator can affect a person's sleep.
Gartenberg is now suggesting that Sonic Sleep, which is an app that uses "pink noise" to dispel those little sounds a person may hear throughout the evening, is one way to help ensure they get more sleep.
