HOW MUCH SLEEP?

How much sleep is enough? This question is not easy to answer, and is very subjective. Some mink they need at least seven hours, some say ten. In fact this varies from person to person and also with age. It has been shown that babies sleep nearly all day. As they get older, they need less and less sleep. It is well known that the older we are, the less sleep we need. One of the common complaints of the elderly is that they cannot sleep. They hate to be awake and alone at night. They take sleeping pills, as they feel distressed when they cannot sleep.

Sleep is something we have no control over. We cannot close our eyes and give the magic word sleep, as sleep may not follow. In studies of how people fall asleep, it is observed that we are not folly awake one second and asleep the next. We all go through a very brief hypnotic state, which is called the Transitional Hypnotic State or THS.

How much sleep is required to restore, to repair, to recuperate, so that the next day we feel refreshed and satisfied? We will explore this question in two parts:

* Sleep deprivation and how much sleep is enough

* Psychological influence of how much sleep is enough