Uncovering the mystery of sleep

March 22, 2018

How much sleep do we really need? While many scientists argue that our need for sleep cannot be changed, several developments suggest they could be wrong. On the frontier of technological innovation, neuroscientists and biologists are forcing us to reconsider everything we think we know. We might even dramatically reduce the amount of time we spend sleeping.

Our observations

  • Wearables company Fitbit has released data on 6 billion nights of its American users’ sleep. While the average adult should sleep at least 7 hours a night to prevent health issues, the data shows that women average 6 hours and 50 minutes a night, while men average 6 hours and 26 minutes. The report also notes that our sleep suffers as a result of inconsistency (or a lack of routine).
  • In Why We Sleep, neuroscientist Matthew Walker notes that our chronic state of sleep deficiency damages our mental and physical health. Research links lack of sleep to depression, stress, anxiety, diabetes, cancer, heart attacks and obesity. Walker argues that as our modern way of life deprives us of the sleep we need, low-level exhaustion has become the accepted norm.
  • Biologists argue that because sleep has fundamental biological roots, we cannot change our 7-9 hour need for sleep. Our circadian rhythm is a deeply engrained cycle found in every multi-cellular organism. Even in a deep cave with no access to light or clocks, our bodies keep an internal schedule of almost exactly 24 hours, with a repeating pattern of prolonged wakefulness (± 15 hours) and sleep (±9 hours).
  • Our sleep compromises several 90-minute cycles of brain activity. When we fall asleep, our brain waves slow down, descending through stage 1 (relaxation) and stage 2 (light sleep) down to stage 3 (deep sleep). After this phase, the brain goes into rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is linked to learning, memory and dreaming.
  • Recent discoveries in biology, neuroscience, genomics and technology promise to change everything we know about sleep. DARPA, the research arm of the U.S. military, is trying to squeeze a full night’s sleep into fewer hours (in fact, DARPA has been optimizing soldiers’ sleep for decades). Full control of our sleep cycles could maximize time spent in deep sleep, ensuring full physical and mental benefits while cutting sleep time in half. Transcranial direct-current stimulation, a technology that targets the brain, has already been used to prolong deep sleep and reduce waking periods. Meanwhile, scientists have discovered a genetic mutation that could be causing the need for sleep, which opens up the opportunity to genetically alter sleepiness. Elsewhere, researchers have discovered the neurotransmitter orexin which regulates wakefulness (narcolepsy is caused by a lack of orexin) and are now investigating potential treatment.

Connecting the dots

The burden of sleepless nights weighs heavy upon modern society. Data indicates that our average amount of sleep is well below the recommended threshold of 7-9 hours. Moreover, research overwhelmingly confirms the extent of the damage wrought upon our health. Biologists implore us to listen to our circadian rhythm, which is put under intense pressure by our modern way of life. We simply cannot circumvent our need to sleep 7-9 hours. However, scientific findings increasingly suggest that this biological perspective could be flawed.Scientific research is opening the door to a future in which we require less sleep. In fact, human evolution has featured a shift towards sleeping more deeply over shorter time periods. Historically, we have faced intense pressure to learn and teach new skills and make social connections – all at the expense of sleep. Non-REM sleep accounts for an increasingly smaller share of our sleep. Moreover, if humans followed typical primate sleep patterns, we would sleep about 9,5 hours a day. But 7-8 hours has become the scientifically accepted norm. In addition, sleep patterns differ widely across cultures: the amount and timing of sleep are far less important than sticking to a routine (a finding supported by the FitBit report). All in all, history shows that radically reducing the time we spend asleep must be considered a possibility. In fact, recent innovations indicate that we could already be on the verge of transforming the biology of sleep. Sleep has become the subject of a new wave of scientific research and technological innovation. In their quest to uncover the function(s) of sleep, scientists are exploring our DNA and brain activity. As their research links sleep to genetic mutations and neurotransmitters, these could become pathways to a future in which the role of sleep changes (and possibly, a future in which sleep pressure is reduced dramatically). Finally, these developments around sleep are part of a larger push towards human enhancement (e.g. anti-aging research, building resilient astronauts, performance-enhancing altered states, drugs to boost cognitive ability, genetic engineering, and bionics), in which shifts within society (e.g. lack of sleep, work-home misbalance, population aging) are driving technological innovation.

Implications

  • The growing interest in sleep, accompanied by rising media and political attention for (mental) health issues related to a lack of sleep, point to a shift in our thinking about sleep. This shift is likely to lead to increased interest in innovations to make sleep more effective and more efficient (e.g. weighted blankets, beds, technologies like the Somneo Sleep Trainer and the Fisher Wallace Stimulator, and transcranial neurotechnologies).
  • Rising sleep efficiency (either through our continuous, perhaps unsustainable, society-wide shift towards less and less sleep or through technological innovation) will free up an increasing amount of time, which, as we do now, we are most likely to spend on work and/or entertainment.

Series 'AI Metaphors'

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1. The tool
Category: the object
Humans shape tools.

We make them part of our body while we melt their essence with our intentions. They require some finesse to use but they never fool us or trick us. Humans use tools, tools never use humans.

We are the masters determining their course, integrating them gracefully into the minutiae of our everyday lives. Immovable and unyielding, they remain reliant on our guidance, devoid of desire and intent, they remain exactly where we leave them, their functionality unchanging over time.

We retain the ultimate authority, able to discard them at will or, in today's context, simply power them down. Though they may occasionally foster irritation, largely they stand steadfast, loyal allies in our daily toils.

Thus we place our faith in tools, acknowledging that they are mere reflections of our own capabilities. In them, there is no entity to venerate or fault but ourselves, for they are but inert extensions of our own being, inanimate and steadfast, awaiting our command.
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2. The machine
Category: the object
Unlike a mere tool, the machine does not need the guidance of our hand, operating autonomously through its intricate network of gears and wheels. It achieves feats of motion that surpass the wildest human imaginations, harboring a power reminiscent of a cavalry of horses. Though it demands maintenance to replace broken parts and fix malfunctions, it mostly acts independently, allowing us to retreat and become mere observers to its diligent performance. We interact with it through buttons and handles, guiding its operations with minor adjustments and feedback as it works tirelessly. Embodying relentless purpose, laboring in a cycle of infinite repetition, the machine is a testament to human ingenuity manifested in metal and motion.
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3. The robot
Category: the object
There it stands, propelled by artificial limbs, boasting a torso, a pair of arms, and a lustrous metallic head. It approaches with a deliberate pace, the LED bulbs that mimic eyes fixating on me, inquiring gently if there lies any task within its capacity that it may undertake on my behalf. Whether to rid my living space of dust or to fetch me a chilled beverage, this never complaining attendant stands ready, devoid of grievances and ever-willing to assist. Its presence offers a reservoir of possibilities; a font of information to quell my curiosities, a silent companion in moments of solitude, embodying a spectrum of roles — confidant, servant, companion, and perhaps even a paramour. The modern robot, it seems, transcends categorizations, embracing a myriad of identities in its service to the contemporary individual.
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4. Intelligence
Category: the object
We sit together in a quiet interrogation room. My questions, varied and abundant, flow ceaselessly, weaving from abstract math problems to concrete realities of daily life, a labyrinthine inquiry designed to outsmart the ‘thing’ before me. Yet, with each probe, it responds with humanlike insight, echoing empathy and kindred spirit in its words. As the dialogue deepens, my approach softens, reverence replacing casual engagement as I ponder the appropriate pronoun for this ‘entity’ that seems to transcend its mechanical origin. It is then, in this delicate interplay of exchanging words, that an unprecedented connection takes root that stirs an intense doubt on my side, am I truly having a dia-logos? Do I encounter intelligence in front of me?
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5. The medium
Category: the object
When we cross a landscape by train and look outside, our gaze involuntarily sweeps across the scenery, unable to anchor on any fixed point. Our expression looks dull, and we might appear glassy-eyed, as if our eyes have lost their function. Time passes by. Then our attention diverts to the mobile in hand, and suddenly our eyes light up, energized by the visual cues of short videos, while our thumbs navigate us through the stream of content. The daze transforms, bringing a heady rush of excitement with every swipe, pulling us from a state of meditative trance to a state of eager consumption. But this flow is pierced by the sudden ring of a call, snapping us again to a different kind of focus. We plug in our earbuds, intermittently shutting our eyes, as we withdraw further from the immediate physical space, venturing into a digital auditory world. Moments pass in immersed conversation before we resurface, hanging up and rediscovering the room we've left behind. In this cycle of transitory focus, it is evident that the medium, indeed, is the message.
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6. The artisan
Category: the human
The razor-sharp knife rests effortlessly in one hand, while the other orchestrates with poised assurance, steering clear of the unforgiving edge. The chef moves with liquid grace, with fluid and swift movements the ingredients yield to his expertise. Each gesture flows into the next, guided by intuition honed through countless repetitions. He knows what is necessary, how the ingredients will respond to his hand and which path to follow, but the process is never exactly the same, no dish is ever truly identical. While his technique is impeccable, minute variation and the pursuit of perfection are always in play. Here, in the subtle play of steel and flesh, a master chef crafts not just a dish, but art. We're witnessing an artisan at work.
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About the author(s)

At sister company Dasym, Alexander has been assigned a variety of tasks, for his interests transcend branches of knowledge as well as geographical boundaries. In brief, he writes policy papers, interprets and elucidates global developments, and conducts thematic investment research. His academic background spans public administration, history of international relations, and philosophy, having published dissertations on smart cities, Ethiopian sovereignty and independence, and Chinese philosophy towards technology. Integral to his responsibilities, Alexander wades through the latest literature on geopolitics, technology, financial markets and cultural anthropology.

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