“Go to sleep dear. It is past ten o’clock. You have school
tomorrow. Sleep dear.”
“But mum, I don’t feel tired.”
“But tomorrow is a big day, and you need your sleep.”
In theory, fatigue calls for sleep. It is very difficult to
try to deny the demand for sleep. If we all understood how the mechanism of
sleep works we could, possibly, wander around feeling a lot more refreshed –
and un-sleepy.
During sleep the blood pressure, pulse rate, metabolism, temperature
and respiration are all greatly reduced. We know too that digestion continues
normally. Different people, however, need varying amounts of sleep. Many people
who are famous for being able to get by on little sleep have naps during the
day. We just hope that the eleven plus candidate does not choose to enjoy a
little nap at the start of the examination!
There is a common belief that we need eight hours of sleep a
night. The ten year old, mentioned earlier, would enjoy ten hours of slumber if
he or she did not wake too early!
The unusual case of the twins born in Moscow, Galya and Ira,
gave some insight into sleep – but no real solutions. Galya and Ira had one
body – but there were four arms, two necks and two heads. The twins survived
for a year under expert care and attention. One twin would sleep while the other
was awake.
We just hope that your candidate sleeps comfortably and peacefully
at night.
