Weird, sobering, and interesting – here’s some sleep trivia to chew on …

The phrase “sleep tight” dates back to the Pilgrims, whose mattresses were filled with straw and held up with rope stretched across the bed frame. Hence, a tight sleep meant a comfy sleep.

The Great Bed of Ware, on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum , originally measures 18 feet, six inches wide by 12 feet long and could accommodate 68 people!

The average adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep each night, and takes about 7 minutes to fall asleep.

Somewhere around 100,000 car accidents are caused yearly by drowsy drivers, leading to more than 1,500 fatalities. The NRMA estimates fatigue is involved in one in 6 fatal road accidents. In 2005, six out of ten Americans reported having driven a car while drowsy.

A dog sleeps 10-12 hours daily, a cat sleeps for 12 hours, and a giraffe sleeps only about 2 hours a day. Humans spend about a third of their lives sleeping.

Louis XIV loved holding court in the royal bedroom while in bed. He owned 413 beds, most of them large and highly ornate.

Even though it seems like a good idea, vigorous exercise late at night raises the pulse, body temperature, and hormone levels, all of which can impair being able to fall asleep easily.

Before the light bulb was invented, people slept and average of 10 hours every night. Today, that figure is more like 6-7.

Leonardo da Vinci slept only 15 minutes every four hours, and Charles Dickens suffered from insomnia.

The world record for sleep deprivation was during a rocking chair marathon. The contestant stayed awake from 18 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes, and suffered from hallucinations, blurred vision, paranoia, slurred speech, and concentration lapses.

New parents can generally expect to lose 400-750 hours of sleep the first year.

Elephants sleep on their feet during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.

Sleeping pills are big business. 2005 sales of Ambien were $2.1 billion, Lunestra $322 million, Sonata $117 million.

You actually burn more calories during sleep than while watching TV.