Is science phasing out sleep?
March 7, 2007 If one can make broad generalizations about humanity based on a single life’s view — and of course one can’t — there appear to be two kinds of people in the world: Those who damn the world for interfering with their nine hours a night, and those who damn the body for being unsatisfied with four. (And then there are those who claim they function perfectly well on two, but according to sleep experts, they’re just wrong.) Those who damn the body are in luck: Science is working hard to phase out the need for natural sleep. Human beings have always found ways to ward off the effects of sleep deprivation. When you’re getting about half of the sleep your body needs on a regular basis (and most of us need seven to eight hours a night), you need to find ways to function — to wake yourself up, clear your mind, stop your head from falling into your salad during a business lunch.
