Sleep, sleep, sleep…that wonderful feeling when our head hits the pillow and we drift off to the land of nod. When we actually stop to think about it, sleep is an insane concept. One third of our entire lives are spent in this altered state with our eyes closed. We are completely oblivious to the outside world and yet sleep is not empty. Instead it is full of that inner universe our dreams and subconscious create. Whatever sleep and dreams are, they form a huge part of our lives. In simple terms, sleep can be seen as a magical mix of unusual dreams and recharging our bodily batteries for another day. However, to make things even more captivating, here are seven crazy facts about life under the covers…

What the Duck?

Ducks are no ordinary sleepers. In fact, these curious critters are masters at sleeping with one eye open. Except for a minor alteration… they actually sleep with ‘one brain open’. To ensure their survival, ducks can keep one half of their brain awake while the other half is asleep.  Just imagine if we could do this, power naps at the office would be a walk in the park!

Ladies Night

Now, this evidence isn’t concrete, but there are a fair number of studies that suggest women need up to an hour’s extra shut-eye compared to men. You women may even be more susceptible to depression if you don’t nab this extra hour, so keep your head down and your chin up!

Young at Heart

Older people can deal with sleep deprivation better than younger people, with 18-24 year olds much more likely to suffer from impaired performance due to lack of sleep than their older, wiser counterparts. However, it could be due to all that sleeping the oldies do when they’re pretending to watch TV.

Wired on Wireless

The world’s leading experts in sleep research believe that one of the greatest distractions from our sleepy havens is the internet and its relentless 24/7 distraction capabilities.

Kept in the Dark

Practically everything we know about sleep has come from research conducted over the last quarter of a century. Just imagine what we’ll know in 25 years from now!

Final Snore

Around 1 in 10 serial snorers actually have sleep apnea, which is a condition that can cause sufferers to stop breathing up to 300 times in just one night’s sleep. This disorder greatly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

From Stressed to Dressed

If you’re one of those people who seems to wake up on time without an alarm clock, then chances are you’re making use of your ‘in-built alarm clock’, which is really just a healthy injection of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin into you’re your bloodstream. Apparently, this chemical injection reflects the unconscious anticipation of the stress caused by waking up!

Stuart Withers is an internet author and online marketing whiz kid, who’s also a bit of a self-proclaimed ‘sleep junkie’. If he’s not typing, painting, or helping a business with their online marketing, then expect to find him neatly tucked away under a duvet somewhere. He recommends Landmark Linen, just because they sell mattress enhancers, which,  quite frankly, are awesome!