Should variations in human sleep be targeted for medical interventions?Cross-posted with the Day In, Day Out series at Psychology Today Some thoughts on treating dleep maintenance insomnia (when you wake up a few hours after going to bed and cannot get back to sleep). BY MATTHEW J. WOLF-MEYER Something woke you up in the middle … More Insomnia? Or evolution?
Coming to terms with American expectations of normal sleep.Cross-posted with the Day In, Day Out blog series at Psychology Today Matthew Wolf-Meyer gives a brief overview of the history of sleep and its common misunderstandings. BY MATTHEW J. WOLF-MEYER You’re sitting at your desk, slowly reading through your response to a friend’s email, when … More How natural is human sleep?
BY MATTHEW J. WOLF-MEYERAssistant professor of anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz Over the past thirty years, there’s been a mounting body of evidence regarding changes in long-term sleep needs. Infants need a lot of sleep; children less so; adolescents need more; and adults, less, until our later years, when many require even less sleep. … More School start times: Why so rigid?
We are not biologically programmed to rest a full night of consolidated sleep. In fact,some societies favor shorter periods of sleep, during both the day and night. Image via Creative Commons. BY MATTHEW J. WOLF-MEYERAssistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz Have humans evolved to sleep in a consolidated, nightly fashion, … More On the evolution of sleep
Should you share your sleeping space with Fido? BY MATTHEW WOLF-MEYERAssistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz Sure, sharing a bed can be a nuisance from time to time. And spending the night in a hotel alone while traveling can be a vacation in itself. But there’s been some recent attention … More The benefits of sharing a bed — with lovers, children, or dogs
Sleep: It might traditionally be relegated to the twilight hours.But that doesn’t mean it has to be. BY MATTHEW WOLF-MEYERAssistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz Slate & Survey Monkey just published the results of a poll on sleep, most of which is pretty innocuous. The two findings that work pretty … More Is a good night’s sleep legitimately possible?
