Counting Sheep
Prestige Hong Kong|September 2017

Sometimes the loftiest goal of all is achieving eight hours of shut-eye. janet forman gets some prescription zzzzzzs as she investigates the science of sleep.

Counting Sheep

YOU KNOW THAT splendid sensation on awakening from a solid eight hour sleep: brain firing on all cylinders, body and spirit ready for action? I think I’ve experienced it approximately twice, since – like most of us in this 24-hour work world with deadlines to meet, time zones to cross, and electronics bleating for attention – I’ve always regarded sleeping eight hours a night an endeavour best pursued in retirement, like reading Proust. Then scientists started poking around the somewhat neglected field of “sleep science” and turned up some disquieting data.

Sleep deprivation has become an epidemic. In 1910, before Edison’s light bulb went mass market, historical notes say people slept nine hours a night. Today we average less than seven, and recent research says optimum health calls for between seven and a half and eight. This small difference is crucial, experts maintain, since repairing the physical and mental stresses of the day requires five full sleep cycles of 90 to 100 minutes. Every cycle has four stages, each performing a dedicated task: deep sleep, for example, repairs physical damage and restores the immune system, and REM – or dreaming sleep – supports mental and emotional functions. Doctors now find that losing just one hour a night for a week is like pulling an all-nighter, and sleep lost on a regular basis creates a debt, which, like the credit-card variety, can become cumulative.

This story is from the September 2017 edition of Prestige Hong Kong.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the September 2017 edition of Prestige Hong Kong.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM PRESTIGE HONG KONGView All
One Step Beyond
Prestige Hong Kong

One Step Beyond

Dancer and actress JENNA DEWAN TATUM has built a career tripping the light fantastic. 

time-read
6 mins  |
May 2017
Crown and Glory
Prestige Hong Kong

Crown and Glory

The “Forbidden City” plays host to an array of fine art and jewellery, and Chaumet’s aptly named Imperial Splendours exhibition.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2017
Bright Young Things
Prestige Hong Kong

Bright Young Things

After some serious time in the limelight, summer’s big make-up trend is finally putting brows in the shade.

time-read
1 min  |
May 2017
Fragrant Fancies
Prestige Hong Kong

Fragrant Fancies

The nose behind the reinterpretation of three Bulgari fragrances, Sophie Labbe talks to ZANETA CHENG about the jewels of scent, floral absolutes and ageless femininity.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2017
Reachable Recharge
Prestige Hong Kong

Reachable Recharge

The wellness effect of a stay at Amanoi, in a remote part of south-eastern Vietnam, begins before arrival.

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2017
Contemporary Inklings
Prestige Hong Kong

Contemporary Inklings

With a mixed palette of traditional Chinese painting skills and avant-garde Western influences, octogenarian LIU KUO-SUNG, a leading force in modern ink art, reflects on his work with ANDREW DEMBINA.

time-read
6 mins  |
May 2017
French Lessons
Prestige Hong Kong

French Lessons

STEPHEN MCCARTY discovers the dark side of jazz-era China.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2017
Top of the Crops
Prestige Hong Kong

Top of the Crops

It’s been a long time coming, but the health-food movement has finally hit Hong Kong’s fine-dining scene.

time-read
6 mins  |
May 2017
Modern History
Prestige Hong Kong

Modern History

Delvaux’s Hong Kong flagship store has just opened its gilded doors in Central. 

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2017
Double Act
Prestige Hong Kong

Double Act

Two designers, two brands, two worlds. Creative directors Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia tell Alice Franklin why taking the reins at Oscar de la Renta made sense as Monse, their new brand on the block, continues to impress

time-read
6 mins  |
July 2017