Sleep, Sleep

Sleep(*):

"I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting." -- Mark Twain

"Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone." -- Anthony Burgess

"There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more." -- Woody Allen

"To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep." -- Joan Klempner

"Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,...."
-- William Shakespeare

* -- From here.

More sleep(**):

I'll sleep when I'm dead. -- Warren Zevon

** -- From here.

More sleep(***):

“Sleep is the best meditation.” -- Dalai Lama

“Dawn: When men of reason go to bed.” -- Ambrose Bierce

“Sleep is an excellent way of listening to an opera.” -- James Stephens

*** -- From here.

Now, the real reason for this post is another example of why didn't they tell me this when I was a kid, for crying out loud. Health classes? Yeah, right. & here I sit, one heart attack, three stents, & one CPAP machine later.

In fact, getting an extra hour of sleep had the same effect on heart disease risk as lowering one's systolic blood pressure (the upper reading) by 16.5 points.

The study adds to the mounting evidence that short sleep duration (less than five hours) has subtle health consequences, Lauderdale said.

Indeed, over the last several years, research has showed the length of time a person sleeps is important to health, said Terry Young, a sleep expert with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.