14 facts about sleep

1. Over 20% of the american population suffers from significant sleep disorders.
2. Sleep is a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems.
3. Humans sleep on average around three hours less than other primates like chimps, rhesus monkeys, squirrel monkeys and baboons, all of whom sleep for 10 hours.
4. One in six road accidents happens because of sleepy drivers.
5. In mammals and birds, sleep is divided into two broad types: Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM or non-REM) sleep.
6. Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.
7. It is observed in all mammals, all birds, and many reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
8. REM sleep is so called because our eyes can be seen to move under our eyelids.
9. Eight hours of sleeping gives sixteen hours of work.
10. 60% Males and 40% Females over the age of 60 snore.
11. If you average only 6 hours of sleep at night, your immunity to viral infection can be affected by 50%. Poor sleep can make us more vulnerable to viruses which cause the common cold or influenza.
12. We move on average 40 times in bed per night.
13. In humans, other mammals, and a substantial majority of other animals that have been studied (such as some species of fish, birds, ants, and fruit flies), regular sleep is essential for survival.
14. One-third of young adults are pathologically sleepy during the day.