Many complain that they do not get enough sleep, out loud dreaming of plenty of sleep at the first opportunity. Are we really not getting enough sleep?
According to Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Center at Loughborough University (UK), the sleep deprivation epidemic is nothing more than a myth. Studies over the past 40 years confirm that Europeans sleep an average of 7-7,5 hours a day, but for many, in order to restore strength, even less time is enough. Our desire to drop everything and immediately go to bed is also exaggerated (as shown by a survey * conducted by the center’s staff). Yes, 50% of respondents said that they did not get enough sleep, and 20% admitted that they struggled with drowsiness during the day, but only a few of them spent the free time they were given to sleep. Most preferred to play sports, hang out with friends, lie down with a book, watch TV, and even work a little. It turns out that our desire to sleep does not always indicate the need for this, more often it hides other needs.
*In a survey conducted by the Sleep Research Center in February 2007, 11 people took part.