In this TEDx talk, I talk about the benefits of sleep and why it is important for you to get enough sleep. You might think that you are getting enough sleep, but chances are you are not getting enough.
Sleep is vital to being a happy, healthy, and vigorous human being.
REFLECTION
I chose this topic to start off with because it affected me as basically affecting everybody other human being. Everybody needs sleep. Most people feel that they are getting enough sleep. The reality is that most people are probably not getting enough sleep at all. What I knew before this project was pretty much the basics. We need to get a certain number of hours of sleep and if we do not get enough hours of sleep then we will be tired the next day and will not be able to function properly. I also knew that it was not a good idea to look at electronic devices within an hour before you go to bed (I didn't include this for some reason in my presentation) as it can actually stimulate your brain and in a sense wake you up and make it harder for you to fall asleep. Besides some other basic facts about why we as humans should get enough sleep, that was basically it. I also knew that there were thousands of automobile accidents every year related to people that were sleep deprived. This is a serious problem and I really just wanted to learn more about sleep in general along with the affects that sleep deprivation can lead to.
Why I Selected This Topic
Why did I select this topic? In short, I was interested in how to get a good nights sleep since I felt that I was not getting enough sleep. It was also because I already had invested a monetary amount into an app, called Sleep Cycle, that would monitor my sleep and use the data that was generated to see if I would be getting enough sleep. This would be based on Sleep Quality or SQ and would be in a percentage from 0 to 100 with the higher the more beneficial your sleep was. Since I had something already invested into learning more about sleep, I felt that it could prove to be beneficial by further researching it and understanding what exactly I needed to do to get a good nights sleep. The benefits of getting a good nights sleep. The disadvantages of not getting enough sleep. Through the use of this TEDx talk I feel that I understand more about how to get a good nights sleep and I feel that it has been working.
What I Learned -- Research
I learned many different things about sleep through researching for this TEDx talk. Once I started researching it was not hard to find out the information that I needed to make this presentation shine. The most rewarding part of the research process was simply finding out information about sleep, something so basic, that I never knew before. Did you know that getting better sleep can lead to a better sex life? (Webmd) What was probably the most frustrating part of the entire research process was just deciding how to properly organize the material in a presentable way and how to fit it into my presentation so that the material that I was presenting would make sense together. My biggest fear was simply not having the material have any connection to the previous facts that were mentioned in my presentation. I found the majority of my information from medical websites. There is a surprisingly high amount of information on sleep online due to many different studies that have been conducted on sleep.
At TED's affiliate, TED-ED, I found that "after a good night's sleep we are essentially waking up with a new brain cleared of toxins which is what the act of sleeping does for the brain" (TED-ED). This tidbit of information was the most useful piece of information that I had on sleep. To me it sums up the basic reason that we as human beings need to sleep. As the day progresses, more "junk" is pressed on our brain leading us to want to go to sleep. There is a "cleaning up" process that takes place with our brain and when we get a good nights sleep, the brain is fully clean.
There were two other interesting points that I found out from my research. There is a simple test from the Huffington Post that you can do to tell if you are sleep deprived. If you fall asleep after five minutes then you are sleep deprived. If it takes you about twenty minutes or a little longer to fall asleep, then you are not necessarily sleep deprived. This does NOT mean that you do not need to go to bed. You still need sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, if you do not get enough sleep you will also have a slower reaction time. This might not be a big deal to some people, but if you drive you make multiple split second decisions everyday and if some of those are not properly executed, then that can lead to problems.
My work ethic in class was null. I did absolutely nothing for this project in class. I guess I was distracted and focused at the same time. I did not start the outline until the day before it was due, even though we were given ample time to do it. However, I just went home that weekend, set aside an hour and cranked out a half-way decent presentation on the Benefits of Sleep. I guess I was pedal-to-the-metal while being asleep at the wheel.
What I Learned -- Presentations
I will be honest, I was a little nervous before starting my presentation. It might have had something to do with the fact that I was the first one to go because I was the only one finished and I was also setting an example for everybody else in my Contemporary Literature Class. After I started though I knew that I would be fine from years of playing my viola on stage as well as giving speeches and presentations all throughout U of D. The instant I started, the self doubt that had previously clouded my mind went away completely. I really didn't have much to worry about in regards to public speaking so I did not really practice for it at all.
All in all my presentation was absolutely stellar. I am proud for what I was able to accomplish with this presentation. I feel that I had good posture, looked at the audience and was not too buried in my note cards. My visual aids were good, I might have had too many, but I feel that they were able to bring the point across. There was really only one other thing that I felt needed to be worked on. Having a higher volume when I was speaking and also exhibiting more inflection in my voice instead of it being so monotone.
What the Audience Learned
The goal of my presentation was to ingrain the idea that sleeping is very important for people and to present the benefits of getting enough sleep as well as the disadvantages of not getting enough sleep. I want people to understand that getting the right amount of sleep for you is ideal to being a functional member of society. The TED11 goal that I really addressed was getting people to take action. The one thing that I really got people to do, at least two people, was to get a sleep monitor app. The one I recommended and was in my presentation was Sleep Cycle. It measures your sleep at gives you an SQ percentage based on a variety of factors. I feel that it works really well and has a very easy to use interface.
Advice for Future Students
As the first person in history to present my TEDxCL talk at U of D Jesuit in Mr. Davidson's Contemporary Literature Class there is really one thing that you need to know. You probably already know this or have heard it multiple times; however, here it is: Do NOT put this off. If you put it off there is a higher chance that you will not do as well as you would have hoped. I know that I put off my outline until the day before it was due but it is not a good idea for you to do that with the presentation. All in all as long as you stick to the deadlines and prepare, you will do very well on this project. Good luck!
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