Exclusive Interviews | Jan 22,2022
January 25 , 2020
By Kidist Yidnekachew ( Kidist Yidnekachew has degrees in psychology and journalism and communications. She can be reached at kidyyidnekachew@gmail.com. )
Last week, I had to wake up late at night, because my son was crying. My love for him did not change the fact that I was deeply irritated that I had to wake up before finishing my sleep. If it was physically possible and had I been capable of functioning with very little sleep, I would have taken from the 26 years we humans are believed to spend sleeping and allocated it to the time I spend with him.
Almost all people in the world spend a third of our lives asleep. It is the one activity that consumes most of our time, making us prisoners of our beds. I am no exception. I take my sleep time seriously. I do not negotiate when it comes to it, and anything that comes between me and my sleep is my enemy.
However, there is always an exception to the rule. In this case, they are known as "short sleepers"- not to be confused with sleep deprivation. The former function normally with less than a normal amount of sleep. To me, these are aliens.
There are about 20 true short sleepers around the world, according to Christopher Jones, professor of clinical neurology at the University of Utah. Their circadian rhythm is different from the rest of us.
“Their moods (very upbeat) and their metabolism (they're thinner than average, even though sleep deprivation usually raises the risk of obesity). They also seem to have a high tolerance for physical pain and psychological setbacks,” he stated.
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Leonardo da Vinci were believed to be short sleepers. For years I have been trying to discover their secrets. After I read in a blog that a person can trick their minds into thinking they have gotten enough sleep, I tried to do it. But then I realised tricking my mind into thinking that would mean I would not need to sleep to compensate the amount of sleep I lost. But I would rather get actual sleep than tricking my mind into thinking I've slept.
But I had always imagined all that I - or any of us - could accomplish had we been capable of functioning with little sleep. Most of us have tied up schedules divided between work or school and leisure. The majority of our daytime is spent on activities required for our survival.
Not many of us take the time from our busy schedules to carry out activities that interest us. When we finally get home from our daily routines, we just want to rest and sleep. Sure, some people take their work to their homes or even as tired as they are still find the time to read, watch movies and converse with their family members.
I often imagine how cutting my sleep time short by one or two hours could have affected my life differently. I can only imagine how enlightened I could have been had I spent time reading, researching and learning new things every day instead of going to bed early. I can imagine the happiness I would have brought to my family had I sacrificed the extra hour or two to do something memorable with them instead of jumping to bed early.
I would have built strong relationships with friends had I given the time to really listen and talk to my friends even after a busy day. I would have kept myself entertained while learning something had I not been sleeping in the middle of watching movies.
I can imagine all the great things I could have done if it was not for the love of my sleep. But even after saying all that, it is hard to keep myself awake when all I want to do is sleep.
Even as I was writing this article, I was debating whether or not to sleep before finishing it. For once, I prevailed, and here we are.
PUBLISHED ON
Jan 25,2020 [ VOL
20 , NO
1030]
Exclusive Interviews | Jan 22,2022
View From Arada | Mar 13,2021
My Opinion | Jun 29,2019
Life Matters | Feb 08,2020
View From Arada | Jan 31,2021
Radar | Mar 06,2021
Life Matters | Dec 14,2019
Viewpoints | Dec 25,2021
Covid-19 | Mar 21,2020
Fortune News | Mar 27,2021
Photo Gallery | 52088 Views | May 06,2019
Fortune News | 45486 Views | Jul 18,2020
Photo Gallery | 43763 Views | Apr 26,2019
In-Picture | 42093 Views | Dec 14,2019
November 27 , 2021
Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most sa...
November 13 , 2021
Plans and reality do not always gel. They rarely do in a fast-moving world. Every act...
October 16 , 2021 . By HAWI DADHI
Residing in a country with no capital market, an organised marketplace for trading se...
August 28 , 2021 . By HAWI DADHI
The streets of Addis Abeba are as varied as they are many, although too many of them have yet to be named. From the narrow alleyways of the...
May 21 , 2022
There was a great deal of handshaking and patting each other on the back at the Hyatt...
May 14 , 2022
Diana Yohannes is one of those actively engaging in social media platforms with her T...
May 7 , 2022
The Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA) recently proposed the formation of a macroec...
April 30 , 2022
There is no ambiguity in the UNDP's assessment of Ethiopia’s economic performance a...
May 21 , 2022 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
Efforts to form the country's first-ever capital market took a meaningful step last...
May 21 , 2022 . By TSION HAILEMICHAEL
Trade regulators have warned exporters to immediately ship oilseeds and cash crops...
Federal officials are moving forward with a belated initiative to form a regulatory...
May 21 , 2022 . By TSION HAILEMICHAEL
A consortium of agrochemical importers has pleaded with central bank authorities for...
Loading your updates...
Put your comments here