April 28, 2010
“Lullaby and goodnight, go to sleep little baby.” Are you tired yet? This is one of the famous things we sing to our children to go to sleep. Along with things like, “Hush little baby” and “Rock-a-by baby.”
One thing that I think almost every parent has said at one time or another is, “There is no reason to be quite while (your child’s name here) is sleeping. (S)he’ll sleep through anything.” That very well may be the case too. I know that when my daughter was first born, everyone told me that during her naptime, do not be afraid to make noise, in fact making as much noise the better. I was told to use the blow dryer, run the vacuum, and have the TV on… anything that was able to be heard in her room. I thought that was cruel. But I eventually did it and now a bomb could go off and I don’t think she would flinch let alone wake up. Still though, I find myself not listening to the “make noise” advice and still try to tip-toe around during naptime or bedtime.
I know when I sleep, the house most generally (the bedroom at least) has to be SILENT! Which of course never used to be the case; I used to fall asleep to the sound of the radio.
However, not always, but sometimes, we grow out of the “sleeping like a rock” stage as a kid and just hearing a pin drop can make us jump out of our bed as an adult.
Perhaps we can sleep a lot better as kids because we don’t have all the worries or stresses that we have as adults. The biggest worries of a three year old: “Where did I put my favorite doll or truck?” Compared to the worries of adults: “What bill is due in the morning, how much is it, and do I have enough money to cover it?”
The question is, is sleeping heavily good or bad for you as opposed to lightly, or vice-versa. Sometimes, it isn’t the matter of how you sleep but how long you sleep. “Studies have shown that if your sleep duration is too short or too long, you'll have a higher likelihood of having heart disease or depression later in life. What this suggests is that if you don't sleep efficiently within a certain timeframe at night, you're less likely to be healthy,” says Steven Y Park, MD on medhelp.org. “People generally know how many hours they need to feel well. If you wake up relatively refreshed after 8-9 hours and you are able to function well during the day, then you don't need to do anything else. Good sleep hygiene is important. You should have the same routine every night.”
M.C. Orman, MD says in Dr. Orman's Guide to Better Sleep page on stresscure.com, “There is a well-known increase in sleep problems with age. As we get older, the frequency of nocturnal awakenings increases (remember, most people don't recall these brief awakenings).”
In a poll on Yahoo answers, 18 people (plus a couple more who said it depends on the night whether they are a heavy sleeper or light sleeper) answered the question posted by Rendevous_N_I'mThruWithU: “Are you a light or heavy sleeper?”
11 of the 18 said that they are heavy sleepers. ¡Hash007(BLH:] ! said, “Heavy, I slept through a minor earthquake. Everyone in my house got up except me.”
7 of the 18 said that they are light sleepers. PieInYourFace said, “Very light sleeper...As simple as someone turning a light on wakes me up. No I'm not paranoid!”
No matter what though- if you are still a sleeper who can sleep through anything or whether you are like me: Goodnight, sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite.
