13 Scientific Facts We Never Knew About Sleep

If you go to bed with a soft furry toy, know that you’re very much not alone.
13 Scientific Facts We Never Knew About Sleep

You might think that adults who sleep with a soft furry toy wouldn’t be too numerous … but if you did, you’d be wrong. Here’s the full story, plus 12 others:

If you don't need much sleep, a single gene might be responsible for that. A 2019 study found that three generations of a family of short sleepers carried a mutant gene (but many genes ultimately control sleep and waking). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

Source: NIH

You might be suffering. from obstructive sleep apnea without even knowing it. 85% of people with apnea are undiagnosed, and it can have pretty serious consequences including heart disease, hypertension, and depression. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

Source: NIH

Having a hard time waking up is linked to having a mood disorder. People with a mood disorder are disproportionately likely to have a hard time waking up (and mood disorder treatments might target that someday). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

Source: NIH

Sleeping for a long time is positively associated with testis size. A 2018 study found that, the longer you sleep, the larger the size of your testis, even after age and body mass index were adjusted for. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

Source: NIH

Giraffes in the wild only spend a total of 5-30 minutes per day in deep sleep. One theory says this is because they're so vulnerable to predators - they need all the alertness they can get to protect themselves. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

Source: BBC

A disorder called exploding head syndrome makes it hard to fall asleep. After falling asleep, people with EHS sometimes wake up, feeling as if a loud bang went off. Nothing else happens, and the cause is unknown. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

Source: NIH

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