# 16 things you didn't know about sleep. **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [October 19, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136 "2013-10-19T00:47:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wucares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/848f3c/32.png) [@wucares](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/wucares)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/1 "2013-10-19T00:47:31Z")
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**Author:** ![cuthbertj](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/cuthbertj/32/18_2.png) [@cuthbertj](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/cuthbertj)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/2 "2013-10-21T17:04:44Z")
Interesting. I learned two things. From #8 I now realize why I’m such a nutcase…I cycle through all those positions every night. And from #11 I realized why we should all be very suspicious of giraffes…if they only sleep 1.9 hrs a day, what are they up to the other 22 hrs? ---
**Author:** ![occam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@occam](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/occam)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/3 "2013-10-21T17:16:46Z")
I think just about all of us do, Cuthbert. The problem with lists like this is indicated at the end where it lists many different sources. Some of them are based on careful statistical study, but others could be some psych grad student’s guess that s/he got published in a very minor journal. We have to be careful about not having a heart attack from the size of the grain of salt with which we should take them. Occam ---
**Author:** ![lois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f8ce5/32.png) [@lois](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/lois)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/4 "2013-10-21T18:19:58Z")
> Interesting. I learned two things. From #8 I now realize why I'm such a nutcase...I cycle through all those positions every night. And from #11 I realized why we should all be very suspicious of giraffes...if they only sleep 1.9 hrs a day, what are they up to the other 22 hrs? Haute cuisine. Lois ---
**Author:** ![vyazma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vyazma](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/vyazma)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/5 "2013-10-21T19:33:06Z")
Did you see the article also recently about how sleep is a brain flushing mechanism. Apparently sleep is the time when the brain flushes out bad stuff. Material stuff. Chemicals. Not just bad thoughts. I never read the article. I hoping to see more from this though. ---
**Author:** ![wucares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/848f3c/32.png) [@wucares](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/wucares)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/6 "2013-10-22T00:37:57Z")
> Did you see the article also recently about how sleep is a brain flushing mechanism. Apparently sleep is the time when the brain flushes out bad stuff. Material stuff. Chemicals. Not just bad thoughts. I never read the article. I hoping to see more from this though. I saw that as well. Very interesting, indeed. science is such a brilliant light to the world. I wish our ancestors decided to worship that instead of images. We would probably have conquered Cancer and be on Mars, by now. It seems a lot more noble a pursuit than arguing with neanderthals about who should be able to merry who. Good grief we've just broke even on genetic roulette. I often wonder why those who deny our ancestry with apes fail to recognize they carry most of their character traits. ---
**Author:** ![mriana](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.centerforinquiry.org/mriana/32/18174_2.png) [@mriana](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/mriana)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/7 "2013-10-22T01:54:54Z")
Very interesting. Not sure if I buy all of it, such as rapist and child-molesters being in parasomnia, but none the less, very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![deadmonky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@deadmonky](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/deadmonky)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/8 "2013-10-25T14:47:11Z")
#7 seems problematic to me. How can you be sure if a person doesn’t dream or simply doesn’t remember their dreams upon waking? ---
**Author:** ![kithain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce73a5/32.png) [@kithain](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/kithain)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/9 "2013-10-25T21:00:25Z")
> #7 seems problematic to me. How can you be sure if a person doesn't dream or simply doesn't remember their dreams upon waking? They do studies on people to determine sleep cycles and amount of REM sleep, etc. fascinating stuff. Recently one of my students told me about the brain flushing article. Now I'm curious and I'm going to have to go find it and see what it says. Some interesting tidbits on this sleep list though. In canada parasomnia has gotten 1 offender off on a murder charge. This defense has been used by others both in the US and in Canada but juries haven't bought it. Stacy ---
**Author:** ![harrycanyon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9de0a6/32.png) [@harrycanyon](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/u/harrycanyon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://forum.centerforinquiry.org/t/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-sleep/3136/10 "2013-10-25T22:00:03Z")
> And from #11 I realized why we should all be very suspicious of giraffes...if they only sleep 1.9 hrs a day, what are they up to the other 22 hrs? Necking? :lol: Take care, Derek