Americana: Pillow Talk

Ever dream of a few more hours each night in the land of Nod? Most people have, which makes them experts, sort of, in somnology, the science of sleep. Now Psychologist Wilse Webb of the University of Florida has come up with a finding that many people may have suspected all along: they sleep less than they used to. After 20 years of study, Webb reports that Americans today, on average, sleep 1½ hours less daily than they did 60 years ago. Says he: “We’re definitely squeezing sleep.”

Nowadays the national average for most adults is 7½ hours. About 15% sleep less than 6½ hours, and a somniferous 15% slumber on for more than ½ hours. In contrast, gorillas and cats sleep about 14 hours out of every 24, while elephants and short-tailed shrews get by on a positively neurotic two hours.

Webb’s explanation of Americans’ increased wakefulness is the “Edison effect,” which has expanded their activities by turning night into day and nibbled away at their slumber time. He remarks: “We’ve ripped away the cocoon of darkness with electric light.” Which is a small thought to sleep on.