In a recently revealed study by the University of Warwick and Frederico II University Medical School in Naples, Italy there has been data found that notes people who sleep less than six hours per night were up to 12% more likely to have an earlier death than those who achieve the recommended amounts- between 6-8 hours per.
The study had more than 1.3 million participants who were followed for up to 25 years, with over 100,000 deaths actually recorded; this makes the data unequivocal in regards to the breadth of the study. These findings were published in the journal Sleep.
Leader of the Sleep, Health, and Society Programme at the University of Warwick and Consultant Physician at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Francesco Cappuccio speaks "whilst short sleep may represent a cause of ill-health, long sleep is believed to represent more an indicator of ill-health," and has described the patterns in a modern context as being caused by the gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep due to the societal pressures involved in working long hours, or shift work (Cappuccio; 2010).
It is an interesting concept to locate how some cultures connect sleep and death, through either religious ideals, or medical means and how they interpret their inter-connectedness. Some written accounts demonstrate how some contemporary religious beliefs treat death and sleep such as the Christian Bible. Some examples are:
1) Sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt (Daniel; 12:2).
2) Thou hast swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep (Psalm; 90:5).
3) For David ... fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers, and underwent decay (Acts; 13:36 )
Obviously with Christian death there is a belief in conscious existence after the passing of an individual. In an archaeological context we can perhaps see this in accordance with certain burial practices. In Christian Burials we see a large number buried facing East, for it is said in the bible that this is the place where Jesus will rise (not formally) "But for you who revere my Name, the Sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings (Malachi; 4:2)." This indicates that there is an association with waking in regards to death.
The most frequently seen text in Western Society related to death would be R.I.P or Rest in Peace, pointing to the direct connectedness of sleep to death, most frequently referenced in Christian type burials.
Other religions interpret sleep as being more equivocal to that of modern day practice in sleep study. Sleep studies are primarily a new scientific class. As well, sleep is a special topic in the Islamic religion; readings from the Quran and Hadith both discuss the importance of sleep and its practices. Islam considers sleep as one of the signs of the greatness of Allah (God) and encourages followers to explore this important sign. The Quran describes different types of sleep, and these correspond with sleep stages identified by modern science (BaHammam; 2011). Some primary concerns of the Islam religion revolve around accounting for one's daily deeds. The Imams have highly encouraged us to reflect on our deeds before going to sleep and particularly remember the sins we may have committed during the day. It is especially important to ask Allah for forgiveness of our sins, because we never know if we will even awaken from our sleep the next morning. Keeping that thought in mind, and with the help of Allah and a little bit of will power, we can hopefully refrain from committing those undesirable deeds in the future (Masood; 2010). Time of sleeping is also important in the Islamic religion(s). It is undesirable to sleep between "true" day and sunrise, between Maghrib and Isha, and after Asr prayer; as well, it is noted that sleeping during the morning hours can lessen the livelihood of the day. Strong recommendations are made to have a short nap before the Dhuhr prayers during summer. Followers of Islam are told they should remain awake during the night only in three cases: for Salatul Layl (the Night Prayer), for the recitation of the Holy Quran and for studying, and for a newly-married bride who arrives in her husband's house (Masood; 2010)
The patterns of sleep referenced in Islamic practice are closely matched to those in modern science, and the literal interpretation of books in the Quran can be examined as ancient practices of health studies in the field. We may be able to make some inferences about religion that stress the importance of sleep, some patterns that may translate archaeologically. Patterns we see in Christian burials may match Islamic burials as the bodies of deceased Muslims must face towards Mecca, thus depending on the place on earth, the graves may face the same direction. Some religions see sleep as being of utmost importance and perhaps we can see how this is displayed or conceived in certain religions through the archaeological record. Cross-cultural patterns of burials may eventually be interpreted as patterns in importance of sleep in either death, or in life and wellness.
BaHammam, Ahmed. Sleep From an Islamic Perspective. 2011 Oct-Dec; 6(4): 187–192.
Ann Thorac Med. 2011 Oct-Dec; 6(4): 187–192. doi: 10.4103/1817-1737.84771
PMCID: PMC3183634
Cappuccio FP, Elia L, Strazzullo P & Miller MA. Sleep duration and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Sleep, 2010; 33 (5)
Masood, Farah. How do we sleep? Islamic Insights. July 2010
http://islamicinsights.com/religion/religion/how-do-we-sleep.html
The English Standard Version Bible: Containging the Old and New Testaments with Apocrypha. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009.
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