WHAT HAPPENS after Dark In the evenings as the sky grows dark living creatures of all different shapes and sizes prepare themselves for sleep You might enjoy a bedtime snack put on a favorite pair of pajamas brush your teeth and settle into bed to read by the light of a softly glowing lamp Before long your eyes are closed and you're drifting off to dreamland Have you ever wondered though what might be happening while you're asleep There's a whole world of exciting activity happening during the dark hours of the night The human brain and body may seem quiet but they're actually performing many important tasks that keep us healthy Some living creatures are most active during nighttime hours They use their specially adapted features such as large eyes or a strong sense of smell to help them find food in the relative safety of the dark Even plants are active after the sun sets Scientists have discovered that plants do a kind of math inside their leaves at night and there are several species that bloom only under moonlight Above us all the night sky is full of faraway brightly glowing objects that have long inspired humans to learn more about the universe If you've ever been curious about the wild and wonderful things that happen while you sleep turn the page and discover the magic of the world after dark
Sleep UNCOVERED In 1964 an American teenager named Randy Gardner wanted to do something exciting for his science fair project He decided to try to break the Guinness World Record for staying awake the longest which meant going without any sleep at all for 11 whole days and nights If you've ever tried to stay awake for one night at a sleepover you'll know what Randy was getting himself into Randy didn't find the first couple of sleepless nights too difficult Friends helped him stay alert by playing games and sports with him talking to him and encouraging him to take cold showers when he needed to perk up But the longer Randy stayed awake the more he began to struggle Randy managed to break the world record and win the science fair by staying awake for 264 straight hours amazing More important though Randy's experiment helped scientists confirm just how necessary sleep is for humans While we're sleeping our bodies and brains perform tasks that help us function at our best while we're awake So how exactly does sleep work What's really going on on the inside when we appear mostly still and quiet on the outside Tights Out Guinness World Records no longer keeps track of the longest time spent awake Because long periods of sleeplessness can be dangerous for humans Guinness didn't want to encourage other people to try the same experiment Randy did
His eyelids grew heavy He experienced blurry vision that made it hard to read or watch television Interesting He became cranky and didn't want to cooperate He had trouble speaking He grew clumsier and more and more forgetful Hello Kandy Mom He even started seeing things that weren't actually there
