The "Science" of Sleep

"Oh boy, sleep!  That's where I'm a viking!"

The famous words of Ralph Wiggum ring the essence of an activity that is instinctive of humankind: that act of sleep.  It is the action of powering down every system in the body in order to recharge and recuperate for the next day of life.  It is an activity that is valued but neglected by many in modern society.  It is something that if embraced will ultimately lead to a greater quality of life.

The toughest part about sleep, for me at least, is that I live in a world that does not embrace it.  Based on the way many of my friends talk about their schedules, it sounds like this is the way it is for most Americans.  We live in a society that has put sleep on the back burner and has replaced this void with insane work hours and social events.  The average amount of sleep has reduced from ten to eight, and nowadays from eight to a mere five.  In fact, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2008 that over one in ten Americans do not get enough sleep over a given month's time span.  If the quantity of sleep has reduced this much across the nation, you can only imagine how badly the quality has become as well.  People are no longer focused on rest and relaxation, but instead are worrying about what time they need to wake up in the morning.  Thus, the mind and body never really relax but rather go into a standstill until that alarm clock sounds.  Such is a common case among a majority of working Americans and ultimately leads to stress, crankiness and bodily breakdown as the systems never fully recuperate.

In my experiences, the military is probably one of the most notorious organizations when it comes to sleep deprivation.  Waking up at 5 AM each day for PT and working 12 hour shifts afterwards is enough to take its toll on a reasonable person.  Add the additional duty of the staff duty desk, and you have a majority of troops and junior leaders staying awake for 24 hours at a time multiple nights of the month, something the body is not naturally built to do.  Let's not forget all the "hooah" schools like Ranger and Special Forces, where students are known to obtain only one or two hours of sleep a night while they prepare for their next patrol or reaction to contact.  And this is only in Garrison as well; it doesn't get any better while deployed... The constant patrols, force protection, battle tracking and Tactical Operating Center (TOC) operations will keep all soldiers awake anywhere from 14 to 20 hours a day, regardless or rank or position.  Multiply that by three months then by six months, and you naturally develop an endless cycle of anticipation for the next waking hour.  Admittedly, I never experienced the reality of being shot at constantly for days on end, but there were nights when I could not achieve a single consecutive hour of sleep as I thought of my friends at remote combat outposts (COPs) who were going through hell every night and how I could not help them.  It got bad enough to a point where I had to retrain my body to go to sleep.  I did not make contact at all with my mattress unless it was for the purpose of rest; no reading, movies or video games, just shut-eye.  Of course, this could never compare to the kind of sleep deprivation experienced first hand through getting struck by mortars or RPGs at dawn.  Our enemies know the value of sleep, and they will exploit it anyway they can to ruin our lives.

So aside from the deployed environment, I wondered why so many Americans back home are nearly as sleep deprived as us?  When it boils down to the mental motivation, I think it is really very much related to one of the same factors: the anticipation for what is next.  Everyone anticipates reaching success in life.  To be successful, any working person will naturally focus their energy on performing their job better and for sustained periods of time.  Especially in today's economy, being the top performer is more important than ever.  That means working longer hours, staying mentally focused on the task at hand, and answering to the call of duty at any given hour of the day.  It doesn't just end with work either.  One must reach success socially as well, which will involve meeting up with those important people at the bars and clubs, exercising for two hours a day to achieve the perfect body, and staying out with that special someone with hopes of making them your spouse and starting a family.  Do all these things, and you might achieve success.  Now where does sleep fall into this equation?  It does not.  SLEEP IS A WASTE OF TIME!

Well, I have chosen to look at the flipside of this equation and determine that sleep is not a waste of time.  It has taken me 26 years to realize this, but just because you need to sleep does not mean you are wasting your life away.  Aside from the physiological benefits, there is really no point in depriving yourself of sleep for pure anticipation for the next day.  You cannot control everything that will happen around you, so why worry about waking up to affect everything?  All you can control is you.  And who is it to define what success is?  Success is not being a workaholic or a socialite.  Success is not having a mansion with three cars and a family portrait above your desk.  Success is doing what makes you happiest in life.  It is being able to dream of whatever you choose and to wake up each day ready to live life to the fullest.

Now let's sleep on that!