The rituals and patterns that surround sleep can look different depending on which country and culture you come from. When, where, and how you sleep becomes an offshoot of the culture that you are a part of, just like it does for the food we eat and holidays we celebrate. Here’s a few of our favorite sleeping traditions from this big world we call home.
We’ve all heard about catching up on sleep, but is it something we can actually do? To try and understand how it all works, it helps to first understand why we try and catch up on sleep. Sleep debt, also called a sleep deficit, is the difference between the amount of sleep someone needs and the amount they actually get. For example, if your body needs eight hours of sleep per night, but you only get six, you now have two hours of sleep debt. The most common activities that cause Americans to miss sleep are work hours, commuting, socializing, relaxing, and watching TV.