By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:15:13 +0000

If I were you I wouldn’t adjust my alarm clock just yet — it looks like there’s a Dreaded Third Thing at work in both of these studies, making it look like sleep (or the lack of it) is causing these phenomena when that’s not necessarily the case. The Parkinson’s study, for instance: Maybe it’s not that sleeping more gives you Parkinson’s; instead, maybe people who have a genetic predisposition to Parkinson’s also have a genetically determined need for more sleep. (This would explain why night-shift workers have a lower risk of Parkinson’s: If you’re naturally sleepy/Parkinson’s-prone you’re not going to want to work the night shift.) Or with obesity: Sure, kids who get plenty of sleep are generally thinner than sleep-deprived kids. But maybe the reason thin kids sleep more is because they’re exhausted from running around all day and getting exercise — which is why they’re thin in the first place.

Comments on: I’d rather not think of sleep as being dangerous

By: Mary