sleep is for the responsible

LifeDev has posted a link to the National Sleep Research Project on 40 amazing facts about sleep.

excerpted from said facts:

It's impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.

The continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep were not done until 1953, partly because the scientists involved were concerned about wasting paper.

Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain's sleep-wake clock.

British Ministry of Defence researchers have been able to reset soldiers' body clocks so they can go without sleep for up to 36 hrs. Tiny optical fibres embedded in special spectacles project a ring of bright white light (with a spectrum identical to a sunrise) around the edge of soldiers' retinas, fooling them into thinking they have just woken up. The system was first used on US pilots during the bombing of Kosovo.

one actually confirmed a theory i had about sleepiness. i found that i acted drunk when very very tired, even though i've never been drunk, or even tasted alcohol before:

Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.

during a late-night poker game at winter retreat 06, i found that my inhibitions mysteriously disappeared at around 1:20 am, resulting in a) the ability to bluff opponents by shooting my mouth off; b) sitting outside for 20 minutes eating a block of ice because i got eliminated and that was the challenge.