Inspired by Sleep
Oct 23rd, 2007 by Ann
My kid is sick, which means I’m not getting any sleep. Or at least incredibly limited amounts. I know that in a few days my brain will have started to turn off to most things that don’t involve child medication and Seinfeld reruns. It always takes me a few days to realize how much sleep deprivation is influencing my behaviour, but one of the first things I notice is that I can’t work well. Just as some people can only work well under pressure, some people thrive on sleep deprivation and get their best work done in the wee hours of the morning, with piles of coffee mugs and half-eaten toast next to their computers/sketch books/drawing board. However, no matter how inspired you can be by the delirium you get into when your sleep deprived, sleeping is like eating and breathing: some things all humans need.
An interesting article in today’s New York Times looked at the research that is coming out from a small team of neuroscientists, headed by Dr Walker. Sleep research has been going on for years and but it’s still a bit of a black hole. We all have our own theories about what happens when we sleep but the research is some what vague and contradictory. Walker’s research has established that sleep is when we are able to “open the aperture of memory and are able to see the bigger picture”. Memories are used for problem solving, amongst other things, which means that while we previously assumed that sleep helped with learning, we can now have a better understanding of how that learning and problem solving actually occurs. This may seem obvious to some people who are often inspired or find clarity in their sleep but for other who see sleep as a waste of time, this could mean a change of attitude.