Anyone who uses an alarm clock ”is by definition sleep-deprived”

April 3, 2012

Anyone who uses an alarm clock ”is by definition sleep-deprived”

Quoting this here, because sometimes I need the reminder that I don’t control my sleep needs.

S]ocietal pressure [to go short on sleep], what nationally recognized sleep expert Dr. Mark Mahowald calls “the pervasive, erroneous attitude that sleep is not a biological imperative, that it is negotiable. We have raised sleep deprivation to a badge of honor.” […]

Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. The amount a person needs is genetically determined, Mahowald said. “Some people might need four hours on the short end, up to 10 on the high end. We have absolutely no control over this.”

Anyone who uses an alarm clock ”is by definition sleep-deprived,” Mahowald said, “because if the brain had received the amount of sleep it wanted, you would have woken up before the alarm went off.”

– from “We are a sleep-deprived nation”

I don’t always control when I’m sleepy or how much sleep I need. But I do know that not getting enough sleep is the easy way to induce depression symptoms in myself.

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Mental health, Sleep

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Living 400lbs

I blog about what it’s like to be live life at about 400lbs. :)

5 responses to “Anyone who uses an alarm clock ”is by definition sleep-deprived””

Cathy S.

April 4, 2012 at 6:25 am

This is a neat article about sleep: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783
It turns out that we used to sleep in shifts: a first sleep, then a wakeful period, and then second sleep.

I usually need about 8 hours, but I usually get 7. I’d have to go to bed too early to get 8 consistently, and then I wouldn’t have much time to spend alone with my husband after the kids go to sleep.

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1. Living 400lbs
  
  April 4, 2012 at 10:52 am
  
  I liked that article too.
  
  Reply
Mulberry

April 4, 2012 at 4:02 pm

You also need an alarm clock when your natural rhythms would have you waking at noon and going to sleep at 4 AM, but your job requires you to show up at 9 AM. Bodies can be very picky about when they get their sleep, as well as about how much they get.

‘Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. The amount a person needs is genetically determined, Mahowald said. “Some people might need four hours on the short end, up to 10 on the high end. We have absolutely no control over this.”’

You could say the same thing about weight. As with sleep, people try to do without and it usually backfires.

Reply
1. Living 400lbs
  
  April 4, 2012 at 5:11 pm
  
  Yup. Some people really are “larks” or “owls”!
  
  Reply
Interesting – research on insomnia & depression | Living ~400lbs

November 18, 2013 at 11:22 pm

[…] I’ve written about depression and insomnia before. Also that I can induce depression symptoms by shorting myself on sleep. […]

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