Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than being in hibernation or a coma.
Questions tagged [sleep]
125 questions
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Is it healthy to sleep with the head under the blanket?
According to g9sleeptight.com (and many other websites), sleeping with the head under the blanket
increases the risk of suffocation
can trigger sleep apnea
can cause brain damage stating "some studies indicate that up to 23% of individuals that…
Remi.b
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Can a hypnosis audiobook induce epileptic seizures?
I noticed a warning on a hypnosis/self-help audiobook that read as follows:
Warning: This audiobook contains
powerful techniques. Do not listen if
you suffer from epilepsy.
My inclination is to believe this is simply a marketing tactic to…
michaelmichael
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Was Leonardo da Vinci a polyphasic sleeper?
I have read from various (low quality) sources that Leonardo da Vinci practiced polyphasic sleep, maybe the Uberman's sleep schedule. Polyphasic sleep refers to the practice of sleeping multiple times in a 24-hour period—usually more than two, in…
Franck Dernoncourt
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Do lone sailors alternate between short period of sleep and awareness?
An unsourced claim on Wikipedia is that single-handed sailors only sleep one hour at a time:
Most single-handers use the technique of napping for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, using a timer to wake them up for periodic look-arounds;
While it's…
Manu
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Can you increase sleep quality by removing static electricity from the body with a specialized mattress/quilt?
The claim is: static electricity builds up during the day and prevents you from sleeping well at night, which can be circumvented by using a specialized mattress/quilt that dissipates the static electricity.
Sources:
Brickel Mattress:…
Maurycy
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Can a raw-food diet allow someone to "switch" from one side of his brain to the other when he gets tired?
The following article relates this claim by someone who stayed awake for 11 days:
How can someone stay awake for 11 days?
He also employed a unique raw-food diet. Wright claims that his
regimen of salads, avocados, bananas, pineapples, nuts,…
Franck Dernoncourt
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Can you truly fall asleep in two minutes with this military technique?
The military secret to falling asleep in two minutes | The Independent.
The trick is reportedly used by the US army to help them fall asleep in situations that are less than peaceful, such as on battlefields.
Detailed in the book Relax and Win:…
user16959
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Does "not drinking water" help you sleep better?
Recently I had been seeing some websites that suggest not to drink anything before going to bed. One of the reasons is to prevent waking up feeling want to pee. And it disturbs your sleep. But I feel really thirsty at night and I tend to drink a…
Sufendy
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Do salt lamps produce negative ions?
Do claims that Himalayan Salt Lamps produce negative ions when lit with an incandescent bulb have any science to back it up?
akbatgirly
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Can mobile apps monitor your sleep cycles?
There's already been a question about devices that can help you monitor your sleep and their possible benefits, but I'm interested specifically in the apps for mobile devices that claim to be able to do this. For this question, I'm not actually…
golmschenk
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Can mattresses relieve scoliosis pain?
I found a lot of reviews of mattresses that claim they can help with back pain from scoliosis. I was really surprised because I haven't heard about them before.
Here are some examples:
MedicalNewsToday: Mattress for scoliosis: 7 options
People…
NeoCoconut
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1 answer
Does it take 30 seconds for a person to consciously realize that they're awake?
Source:
"You actually have to be awake for a full 30 seconds to consciously realize that you are awake, but the body falls right back into sleep immediately after it wakes up to take a breath," Breus says. So people who have sleep apnea often can't…
clickbait
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Do ultra-heavy blankets reduce stress and anxiety?
There's some buzz on news sites that seems to come from an article here:
Scientists Assert That Ultra-Heavy Blankets Actually Reduce Stress and Anxiety
which I think is connected to a Kickstarter project to sell a heavy blanket.
The claims are:
In…
user5341
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Do sleeping pills have a comparable mortality hazard ratio as cigarette smoking?
On Seth Robert's blog, Seth published an email discussing sleeping pills from Daniel Kripke saying:
Imagine my surprise when I observed that sleeping pill use was associated with a comparable mortality hazard ratio as cigarette smoking!
Are…
Christian
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Do intelligent people tend to stay up later?
I heard that people with high IQs stay up late. I found this article which in turn refers to this study:
S. Kanazawa, K. Perina, Why night owls are more intelligent, Personality and Individual Differences 47 (2009) 685–690
More
intelligent…
Celeritas
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