Funny Legend Says When You Cant Sleep at Night Meaning

June 16, 2022 Post a Comment

By Vicky Woodgate

Sleep – we all do it.

For about a third of our lifetime; that's 26 years for the average person.

And yet it's all still very much a mystery.

Humans have a curious relationship with sleep.

While researching my latest non-fiction book for children – yes you guessed it, it's about sleep, I discovered some fascinating, weird and curious beliefs, habits, mythology, legends and cultural oddities, some to make your toes curl.

Here are a few of my top picks.

1. The oddest one

Legend has it if you can't sleep you are actively moving around in someone else's dream.

Yes, that's what the Japanese believe.

Yikes!

2. The oldest one

Over 7000 years ago the ancient folk of Mesopotamia (the Middle Eastern region today), believed that dreams could predict the future.

This led them to write down their dreams, which they wrote on clay tablets – these possibly being the very first dream diaries, literally set in stone.

3. The snoozy one

Personaly l love a siesta, who doesn't like an afternoon nap?

It's not a new fad, it's been around for thousands of years, thought to help farmers in hot climates restore their energies at the hottest part of the day.

In particular, the Spanish and Italians still embrace this mid- afternoon snooze, and you don't need to be a farmer!

4. The coolest one

The world was created on the back of a giant turtle by the creator, that's what the Abenaki a Native American First Nation tribe believe.

While asleep the creator made all the animals and people – dreaming us into existence.

5. The naked one

In the United Kingdom nearly a third of Brits preferred to sleep naked at night.

More than any other country in the world.

This was discovered by a National Sleep Foundation survey.

Who needs pyjamas?

6. The pet one

In the United States, they may prefer to wear more clothing at night than the British, but they also like to have company.

71% admit to sharing their bed with their pets.

7. The sweetest one

In the highlands of Guatemala in Central America, they make worry dolls – tiny figures made of wire, wood and threads.

If a child has trouble sleeping, they are encouraged to tell their worries to the doll before bed.

The doll then takes over their worry for them, leaving the sleeper to enjoy a peaceful night's sleep.

8. The scariest one

The night hag , old Germanic and Slavic legends tell us of supernatural malicious creatures who sit on your chest while you have sleep-inducing nightmares and suck out your energy.

It is also associated with that feeling you get when you wake in the night and you swear there is someone watching you, what's worse you can't seem to move – frozen in your bed.

But fear not, there may just be a logical explanation.

When we sleep we move through four different phases that repeat every 90 minutes.

Stage 1 is a short phase, lasting up to ten minutes preparing for the next stage.

In Stage 2, our bodies slow down and we become more relaxed.

Stage 3 is deep sleep – it's hard to wake us up at this stage, this is when the good stuff happens – body repair and immunity boosting.

Stage 4 is when it gets interesting brain-wise, we move into REM sleep which is when we dream.

As a defence, our muscles become paralysed, so we do not physically act out our thoughts and emotions.

Interestingly there is a condition called sleep paralysis.

It's when you jolt awake in the middle of a dream, but your body is still paralysed.

If you are having vivid dreams this can make any hallucination seem VERY real.

Through the ages, folklores have interpreted this phenomenon with all the scary night-time demon, hag, ghostly and oppressive things that go bump in the night.

Even the term night-MARE stems from this, Scandinavians believed sleep paralysis was caused by a mare – a damned woman who sits on your rib cage.

This story is told over again with slight variations on the alleged entity depending on which country you are from.

Either way, something sits on your chest or stands at the end of the bed scaring the bejeebers out of you!

9. The favourite one

In the Hawaiian language, Moe'uhane means soul sleep.

The ancient peoples of Hawaii believed messages from the gods for guidance on luck, good fortune and love were sent to them as they slumbered.

The Magic of Sleep – by Vicky Woodgate Published by DK (part of Penguin Random House) is out now.

Dive into the weird and wonderful world of sleep, from the science behind dreams to a peek into animal sleeping habits and tips for better sleep for the whole family, in this incredible book for children aged 7 to 9.