I have a headache. I forgot to bring my lunchtime vitamins today... which includes my magnesium supplement. (I doubt the headache is from that... it's too fast.) My neck kind of hurts too. Maybe my neck is actually causing my headache. Or maybe both are from a not-so-nice e-mail I got last night. Mostly I just feel like whining... and it's my blog, so I'll whine if I want to. (I do try to warn you, so you at least know to skip reading these posts.)
I had a bit of trouble falling asleep last night... strange, given how tired I was at the end of the afternoon yesterday. And I didn't have a nap at work, either, since it was nearly 5 when the tiredness hit.
Speaking of sleeping, according to an article in Organic Style, on average, women these day get seven hours of sleep per night (I can see that), but 100 years ago, women got *ten* hours of sleep per night. TEN! On *average*! Can you imagine? Wow. Somehow I find this hard to believe.
One summer I experimented, and found that I was quite well rested if I got 9 hours of sleep per night. However, between sleeping, working, and commuting to and from work, that left pretty much no time left. It was a rather dull summer, going to sleep so soon after dinner. :P
8 comments:
I don't think electric lights were all that common 100 years ago. At any rate, Edison was still working on the light bulb in the late 1870s, and the tungsten filament wasn't invented 'til 1910.
If electric lights weren't common, I'm not surprised people were sleeping an average of 10 hours per night. The only way to stay up after dark was to use candles or kerosene.
Your neck hurting might be a side affect of your allergies. I have bad allergies also, and when they are giving me problem (like now)my neck hurts along with my head.
Sallie
I'm with Paulina. When our lights would be out because of storms or whatever, we would tend to go to bed earlier. Even with flashlights and lanterns, it just feels like there is no real alternative, either sit in the dark or go to bed.
Hmmm... interesting... I wouldn't have thought allergies could cause a stiff neck.
About the lights... I completely understand what you're saying, but I think that's also because we aren't used to dealing with no electricity. Up at the lake we don't have electricity, but we'll use kerosene lamps at night. They're not "flick on", but they light the space nearly as well. Plus, didn't people used to get up at (or near) dawn back then? That's a lot earlier than we get up.
According to an allergy doctor I had years ago, the lymph nodes in your neck can get swollen when allergies are acting up. In my case it was usually also an indication of a sinus inflammation and/or infection.
Sallie
Thanks Sallie!
Did the magazine give a citation for that sleep statistic? (the women sleeping an avg of 10 hours a night 100 years ago)
If it's not the electricity thing, I'm really curious to find out how the researchers account for the difference.
Unfortunately it didn't. I find Organic Style to be highly unscientific, and take everything I read there with a grain of salt. :P
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