O'Connor, Anahad. "Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night?" Well Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night Comments. The New York Times, 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
I read the article “Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night” because I find that today there is a push for young people to attain more and more sleep. I thought it would be interesting to find out if the article agreed with these claims or denied them. The article began by talking about the hype around sleep-deprivation in America, the studies showing that 7-8 hours of sleep a night is necessary and that obesity, heart disease, and further diseases could be linked to lack of sleep. The article also talked about how many scientists believe that the artificial light encountered throughout our day from light bulbs, computers, phones and more throw off the body’s biological clock while delaying and reducing sleep. Additionally, the article stated that 5% of Americans now take sleeping pills which is doubled from a decade ago, which could be caused by claims that we need to obtain more sleep, which some people cannot physically do. The article also stated how there are over 5,000 studies on sleep, but many of them aren’t credible because they are based on self-reporting studies, in which people overestimate the amount of sleep they get, by reporting the time they were in bed, not the time spent actually sleeping. Then the article introduced Dr. Siegel, a scientist who has looked further into this sleep crisis facing America. Dr. Siegel performed a study on three different nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes to observe their natural sleep patterns, because he believed they would be closest to our ancestral sleep patterns. Dr. Siegel studied the Hadza tribe in Tanzania, the San Namibia tribe in the Kalahari desert of Southern Africa and the Tsimané in Bolivia, by having the tribe members wear wrist like devices that track sleep patterns. When he found that the sleep patterns from all the tribes overlapped, he concluded that “the fact that we see very similar sleep times gives me great confidence that this is how all of our ancestors slept.” In doing this, he found that the members did not go to sleep when it was dark and wake up when it was light, but they fell asleep when there was a drop in temperature and woke up when there was an increase in temperature. He also observed that only a mere 2% of people among the tribes suffered from chronic insomnia, a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty staying or falling asleep, while 20-30% of Americans suffer from this.
This article is relevant today because there is large push for people to try to attain more and more sleep, while our reasons why more sleep and our studies on the amount are inaccurate. This article shows that many factors that we thought were causing a lack of sleep, such as artificial light is not a problem, but that constant temperature throughout the night is a greater problem. I think that if this gets studied further it could help many people who suffer from insomnia, because by setting the thermostat in the house to change temperatures at different times, sleep could be better regulated. This article is also very relevant because it disregards many of the studies that have been dictating how people view sleep.
Although this article did a very good job of explaining this problem of the so-called sleep crisis in American society there were some things that could have been done better. First off, I thought that the article was composed of a lot of background information about preconceived ideas about sleep that many people are already aware of and a brief time describing the actual study. Also, before the study was mentioned, there was a lot of discussion about the right amount of sleep, hence the article title, but there was no mention of sleep length in the conclusion of the study. The factor of how temperature affected sleep was explained but the actual amount of sleep was not mentioned in the study, and I think an explanation about the length of time the tribe members slept would have added to the article. Overall, I thought that this was a very well-written article that pulled information from a wide variety of scientists and sources, thus having a variety of opinions.
"Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night?" Well Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night Comments. 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. .
ReplyDeleteKatie,
I really like your review of “Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night” because as you said, it really relates to us today. I thought you did a good job of including many data from different studies, like about the fact that “5% of Americans now take sleeping pills which is doubled from a decade ago.” Also, I liked how you went from general to specific, like at the beginning, you were talking about many different studies, even if they aren’t credible because they are based on self-reporting studies, then towards the end, you focused more on the study conducted by Dr. Siegel. I just thought that overall, the review flowed very well and was well-written, especially with the incorporation of quotes from Dr. Siegel, who is a reliable source.
To be honest, I don’t think there is much to change about your review. Maybe you could have talked a bit more about the other studies that are more reliable. Those that were self conducted aren’t as necessary, but maybe those that were conducted by actual scientists in the past. Also, like you, I would have liked to know the actual answer to the title of the article. I know the title is there to attract attention, but I would have still liked to know what is the right amount of sleep, or is that no actual amount.
I was drawn to the article for the same reason as you, and I’m glad I read it because now I know that what I originally thought about sleep was wrong. I guess I never questioned it and just always thought that we go to sleep because of a biological clock. It’s fascinating to know that the temperature is involved. Now that I think about it, it does make sense. It really is a huge step for understanding our body and the importance of sleep, and I thought you did a great job in telling it so that others understood that.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI found reading Kaitlin’s review very compelling. She did a great job summarizing the article and explaining the important details. She explains how scientists wanted to observe nomadic tribes that are most like our ancestors. She does a good job describing their findings. Kaitlin also does a great job connecting this article to our society today. There is a lot of talk about how much sleep people should be getting. She does a good job explaining how temperature regulation is more important than how light affects your sleep. Lastly, Kaitlin seemed to have a deep interest in this topic which is important to be able to understand it. She explains about her interests in learning about this topic.
ReplyDeleteKaitlin’s review was intriguing; however, a few minor things could have been improved. In her paragraph about the relevance of these discoveries I think she could have elaborated more. She talks about how this article has changed our views, but she could have talked a little more how this will affect us in the future. Kaitlin could have also simplified her summary a little bit. She includes a lot of great information; however, some of it went into too much detail.
This review really struck me. In high school, everyone is always talking about their lack of sleep. We always think about how it is from all our work, but this was interesting to realize that it can also be caused by temperature and the lights of our electronics. I will definitely think about these aspects in the future.
Katie’s article review had a lot of detail, and I really enjoyed it and how it relates to us today. You included different studies in your analysis; an example of an interesting fact discussed in this article was how within a decade, Americans who take sleeping pills as a whole have doubled percentage wise and how the light from electronics that we use everyday for a large portion of time may be affecting our sleeping patterns. Although many of the sources of data were not too credible because they were self conducted, you still mentioned them in a broad spectrum. Later on you wrote about Dr. Siegel’s study more specifically and cited quotes from him too. The author of the article included a fair amount of self-conducted studies that are not exactly credible, so the article itself could've had more credible ones in detail or Dr. Siegel could have done more studies himself. That way Katie could have discussed those in the article review and ignored the self conducted ones.
ReplyDeleteOverall I enjoyed this article and the article summary but I disliked how the study was not the main focus of the article and how preconceived ideas about sleep were written about in detail. I liked how they talked about having an internal clock and all of the environmental aspects that can effect it like temperature as opposed to light. I liked the facts about insomnia, how 20-30% of Americans suffer from it, because it is honestly a huge issue for people I know; my family and even some of my friends are insomniacs which is crazy, but none of them take sleeping pills. This topic should be further researched because a solution could improve the quality of life many people around the globe. By the end of the article Katie and I both realized that the title was just a hook because the question asked in it is not really answered. I think all of us as, readers, would've liked to find out the answer because what is the correct amount of sleep? Honestly I get ten hours of sleep a night and I am still sluggish; some people say that if you get too much sleep it isn’t good nor is too little sleep.
O'Connor, Anahad. "Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night?" Well Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night Comments. The New York Times, 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKatie, this was an awesome choice for an article because it is so relevant to all of us. I think you had an extremely detailed summary, which explained the problems facing Americans and their sleep patterns very well. I think you also used a good quote towards the middle of the summary, which brought up a very interesting point that these tribes sleep more like our ancestors. I never knew that people go to sleep mainly because of the drop in temperature and not the rising and setting of the sun. Lastly, I think your critique of the article and how it did not actually mention the correct amount of sleep was very important because it seemed like the author did not have a real conclusion for their results.
ReplyDeleteI think you could have written the summary to flow more, because it seemed to jump from point to point with no connections. I also think you could have used maybe a couple more quotes, even though you used a really good one. It was hard to find things you could improve on because this was a very well done current event.
I constantly struggle with sleep and being tired during the day. I never knew people were affected by temperature when they sleep. I am going to open my windows or reset my thermostat to try and get better sleep at night.
"Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night?" Well Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night Comments. 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. .
Kaitlin,
ReplyDeleteI loved your review of this article for so many reasons. First of all, I liked how you immediately stated the dangers of sleep deprivation. You were very concise in saying, “Studies showing that 7-8 hours of sleep a night is necessary and that obesity, heart disease, and further diseases could be linked to lack of sleep.” By linking sleep deprivation to these types of diseases, you were able to clearly make your point that you do need sleep. This was a great way of setting up the rest of your summary. Secondly, I liked how you pointed out and defended the idea that not all of the studies on sleep are accurate. By saying, “The article also stated how there are over 5,000 studies on sleep, but many of them aren’t credible because they are based on self-reporting studies, in which people overestimate the amount of sleep they get, by reporting the time they were in bed, not the time spent actually sleeping,” you were able to make the point that all of these studies are not accurate, and you defended why this is so, all in one sentence. The last thing I liked about your review of this article was the way you added credibility by quoting certain statistics. Sentences like, “He also observed that only a mere 2% of people among the tribes suffered from chronic insomnia, a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty staying or falling asleep, while 20-30% of Americans suffer from this,” provide detailed statistics concerning certain studies. I found that, by understanding the statistics and where they came from, I believed the content of the article more, for it seemed more credible.
While I loved some aspects of your review, like the three previously stated, there was some room for improvement. One thing I did not like about your review was the way you introduced Dr. Siegal’s research. By saying, “Dr. Siegel studied the Hadza tribe in Tanzania, the San Namibia tribe in the Kalahari desert of Southern Africa and the Tsimané in Bolivia,” you threw a lot of strange new names at the reader, most likely confusing him or her. Instead of doing this, you could have said something more simple that only specified the countries, which are easier to understand. Another thing I didn’t like about your review was when you said, “This article is relevant today because there is large push for people to try to attain more and more sleep, while our reasons why more sleep and our studies on the amount are inaccurate.” I believe this is not entirely true; while the article stated many reasons that were inaccurate, there are still a good amount of causes for sleep deprivation that we correctly understand. I think it would have been better if you had not made it seem like all of our reasons for sleep deprivations were wrong, but just some. These were the two main problems I had with the review; for the most part, It was great.
This review really resonated with me because I feel like I can apply it to my everyday life. More often than not, I do not get enough sleep; I chose this review because I wanted to learn more about what I could do to get more sleep. I’m glad I did, for I now understand how I can improve my sleeping habits. This article has taught me what steps I can take to sleep better, thus improving my overall health. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to get my work done more efficiently, sleep better, and come to school better-rested, allowing me perform at a higher level.
Citation:
O'Connor, Anahad. "Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night?" Well Do We Really Need to
Sleep 7 Hours a Night Comments. The New York Times, 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
Hyperlink:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/112251/
Katie wrote a very thought-provoking and thorough review on an article based on studies about sleep. I think she successfully chose a topic that is very relevant to its audience of high school students. She addresses that the information in her essay is the emphasis on teens to sleep more nowadays. When I saw the article’s title, I was immediately intrigued. Also, her criticism about the article that it was based on many preconceived notions about sleep showed that she had a clear understanding of the article and evaluated it with an informed and objective perspective. This adds credibility to her comments and shed light on an issue about the article that I would not have considered before. Additionally, her summary of the article was very well written and easy to understand. She added statistics about American sleep patterns that helped me understand the extent of the “American sleep crisis.”
ReplyDeleteAlthough Katie’s review was well-written, there were a few improvements that could have been made. I wish that she had expanded on the different factors that affect the quality of our sleep other than a change in temperature. If she had included more details and factors, it would have informed her readers better and could have been useful in our daily lives in order to get more sleep. I also wish that she had talked more about previous notions about sleep that were proven false or based on invalid studies, such as the effect of artificial light on sleep. She briefly mentioned a few, but it would have been useful and interesting if more information was presented. I would improve the article by listing a few more notions from the article and giving a brief explanation for all of them.
This review was very informative and contained information that could actually be applied in our daily lives. I chose this article because as a student, I am always hearing about the importance of sleep on academic performance and health so the topic of sleep seemed interesting. Information from this review and article such as the effect of temperature on sleep will help me adjust my own environment when I’m trying to sleep to improve sleep quality. The many relevant facts and discussions that Katie mentions in this article changed my preconceived notions about sleep and made me consider new information that I was not exposed to before.
Katie, I think you picked a really interesting article. The topic of sleep has been very prevalent recently, especially the importance that sleep holds for teenagers. One thing that I really liked about your review was that at the very beginning you stated a few reasons why you picked the article. I think this addition made it much easier to connect with the information presented. Often times, when reading a scientific article it is easy to forget why the information is important to everyone. That connection reminded the reader from the start that this affects everyone’s life. A second aspect of your review I enjoyed was the order you presented the information and how you explained everything. You introduced the study presented and went onto explain in more detail about the procedure and findings. Everything was easy to understand and very well explained. The third thing I liked about your review was your connection/relevance paragraph. You explained well how our ideas of what affects our sleep now are actually misconceptions.
ReplyDeleteThere was not much that I would want to change about your review. Everything was well explained and easy to understand. One thing that could have made it stronger, however, would be by including more direct quotes from the scientist conducting the study-either on his findings or his opinion. A second thing that I would have liked to see was a further explanation of the statistics you included. All were relevant but it would have been interesting to see what you thought about them, like whether you agreed with what was being said or you disagreed.
The title of your article is what drew me to read yours. My parents are always nagging me about how sleep is one of the most important aspects of one’s health-especially for teenagers as we are still growing and developing, it is important for us to get adequate sleep. This article is very relevant to the present because I have seen a much bigger push than I remember in the past for more sleep. I thought it was interesting too, because I had always thought light affected our sleep cycles. It never occurred to me that temperature could have an effect on us. This information makes me rethink the environment that I sleep in. Knowing that keeping my room very cold or very warm may affect my sleep patterns is good knowledge to have and will encourage me to look for a solution to this problem.
This is actually the second time that I have encountered this article and feel that you gave a very good job of portraying it. Specifically you provided a lot of good information from the article and gave the reader a large amount of context information. Additionally you did a good job of giving your own opinion while also providing the more unbiased viewpoint of the article. Lastly you do a good job of presenting the conclusions made by the study in an easy to understand fashion. There are however aspects of the article that could use improvement. First, you say that the article never states how many hours of sleep the tribal people receive but if you click the link to the actual study you will discover that they get anywhere from 5.5 to 7 hours a night. You also provide a bit too much background information and I would have liked to see more about the conclusions that the scientists made rather than the information that was already out there. What I found was the most interesting aspect of this article was the part that mentioned the non effect that technology and lights actually have on a persons sleeping patterns.
ReplyDeleteO'Connor, Anahad. "Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night?" Well Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night Comments. The New York Times, 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/112251/
Katie establishes the significance of her report from the first sentence of her first paragraph. She clearly states why the article appealed to her so that the reader can relate to her opinion and is then interested in reading about what she has to say. After summarizing the article, she predicted how the benefits from the study could positively affect insomniacs, showing her enthusiasm for her topic. Her critique paragraph was also well thought out as she continually considered the source of the article. She pointed out O’Connor’s bias in a very insightful way by claiming how his “preconceived ideas” interfered with the credibility of the article.
ReplyDeleteThe report would have been easier to read without as many grammatical If the diction had been used more efficiently, the report would have been more cohesive. Her summary paragraph also included too many unnecessary details, even though the reader may have learned more than expected.
As a junior, sleep is more precious than ever. It was appropriate for the article to describe the issue as a “sleep crisis in America;” it is alarming and urgent how much sleep our country is losing and how we are ignoring our bodily needs by stubbornly replacing them with pills/medicine. Although America’s history has its roots in successful and hardworking self-made people, maybe Europe’s culture has its own advantages as well. What’s wrong with bettering the quality of everyday life? It seems moronic to go non-stop for over twelve hours a day and then not even make up for it when you finally hit the pillow. People may be more efficient if they take a couple of hours to sit down and enjoy a meal every day.
O'Connor, Anahad. "Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night?" Well Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night Comments. The New York Times, 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
ReplyDeleteI thought the subject matter of Katie’s review was very interesting. It talked about how by tracking the sleep patterns of nomadic tribes we can figure out what our ancestral sleeping patterns were. Scientists found that people fall asleep when the temperature drops and wake up when the temperature goes up, not because the sun rises or sets. Katie did an excellent job of connecting this article to our lives and explaining the relevance of these findings to modern day sleep problems. The conclusion that is come to, that we need to change the temperatures of our thermostats at night, is a very interesting one that I have not heard before.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that was missing from the review was the amount of sleep that the nomadic tribes that were monitored actually received. If you read the whole article you can find that it was a range of 5.5 to 7 hours. I would have liked to know why these scientists think that in our modern society we need the same amount of sleep as these tribes and how accurate the connection to ancient peoples is.
I read this article because the problem of not getting enough sleep is one that far too many people are familiar with. I think with the amount of work that one has it is almost impossible to get the recommended amount of sleep. These findings can hopefully help people sleep better. This article took a different approach to how to better your sleep, one that I had never heard of before. I am intrigued to see if follow up studies are done to further prove the claims made in this article.
I found your review of this article particularly well done. I like how you included data spanning many different studies all concerning the amount of sleep one is supposed to have each night. From this, it was easier to see the bigger picture, which is the issue presented’s connection to society today. In addition, I liked how you explained the way temperature regulation impacts sleep more than exposure to light, which is an aspect I never considered. Finally, I liked how you began your article review in broad terms, but then got more and more specific as you explained more behind the science of sleep. Moreover, I thought there were aspects of your review that could have been improved, as thorough as it was. For example, I felt that the summary paragraph, while being quite thorough, contained too much information regarding the original article, which made it feel a bit cluncky. In addition, you stated that there was no monitoring of the amount of sleep the nomadic tribes received, but in the article itself it clearly states 5.5 to 7 hours per night. I found this article particularly resonating as a 1st semester senior, as I often feel I do not get enough sleep and it impacts me negatively. It was interesting to see what official studies had to say with regards to this subject.
ReplyDeleteFor my current event comment, I read Katie Ryan’s review of the article “Do We Really Need to Sleep 7 Hours a Night?’ by Anahad O’Connor. Within her review, Katie did three main things extremely well. First, from the start, Katie’s summary paragraph was remarkably detailed. She posed a great deal of background information about the history of sleep studies and the various nuances that have affected them, and then, after introducing the “main character” of the article (Dr. Siegel), delved into the specific experiment and procedure that Dr. Siegel and his fellow colleagues underwent. Specifically, she summarized and put into layman’s terms the details of Dr. Siegel’s experiment, making it easy for even an inexperienced reader like myself to understand. Next, her review flowed to the degree that reading it felt easy and natural. Each idea, from the summary to the analysis and finally to the conclusion paragraph, led directly to the next. Specifically, in the summary paragraph, Katie intertwined ideas and sentences extremely well. Finally, I thought Katie’s analysis/connection paragraph was excellent. On an everyday basis, I am constantly fighting to get more sleep partially because everyone preaches about getting more sleep (including parents, teachers, etc.) and because I feel like sleep enhances and elevates my experience in day to day activities. As a result, I found this paragraph particularly interesting and relevant.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, there is not much I would change about Katie’s review. However, I do have two small suggestions for her going forward. First, I would suggest adding additional quotes, specifically to your summary paragraph. While you did incorporate one quote, additional quotes put added emphasis on your writing and add needed backing to the points you make. Also, I would suggest omitting any superfluous information from the initial paragraph. While all of the background information were interesting, I felt that some of the facts did not entirely relate to the main purpose of the article (Dr. Siegel). However, this is a relatively minor point.
One thing I learned from this article was the influence over-estimating sleep totals plays in sleep studies that rely on self-reporting. With the growing consensus in the media and amongst people in general that more sleep is key to life, people are bumping up their reported sleep hours in an effort to make themselves seem more “mature” than they really are, ultimately skewing experimental results. In the future, when I view a study related to sleep, I’ll make sure to check the style of reporting utilized in the study and take the study’s findings with a grain of salt.