Even Smart Phones Need Sleep. It's Called Recharging The Battery

My favorite time of the day is the last half hour or so that I spend getting ready for bed. The computer has usually been shut off for an hour or two by that point and I have managed to fill my brain with something other than the political fight of the day. Probably lowering my blood pressure in the process.

The television has been shut off. Time was spent straightening whatever was out of place, checking the doors to make sure they're locked and marveling at the different sounds made by the night critters outside my windows. My favorite is the one that sounds like playing cards clothespinned to a spoke of a moving bicycle tire heard from a distance. I find myself wondering how it, whatever it is, sustains the long drawn out sound it makes when compared to the short chirpy bursts of the others.

Hubby has usually fallen asleep on the couch by this point so Butterscotch and I have temporary use of the whole bed. Since we live in the country there are no streetlights to mar the darkness. Once in awhile a car goes by out on the road. I can't hear it but I can see the brief flicker of headlight as it illuminates the trees. Once I close my eyes and begin to drift towards sleep everything but the sensation of the cat curled up against my stomach is lost.

It is then that I have those ideas for blog posts I should write, which I don't remember the next day when I wake up. I suppose I could sit up, turn on the light and write it down but that act would destroy my relaxation and likely prevent me from falling asleep in a timely manner. I'd rather sleep. It's a lot more necessary to the brain than blogging or internet use is.

I used to believe that regular computer use was good for the brain. Studies are showing that not to be the case. As a matter of fact using the internet is damaging short term memory. The memory of much younger people than I am no longer retains information the way it used to. Today's memory is retaining the knowledge of where to find information rather than the information itself. Being very familiar with how my brain at nearly 63 functions, I find myself wondering what life will be like for today's 23 year old when they get to be my age?

I was in my 50's when I started the walk-into-a-room-and-forgot-why-I-went-there syndrome. The internet equivalent, going-to-a-website-and-forgetting-what-I-wanted, didn't start until I was in my 60's. Plus, I've only done that one twice. At what age will those particular incidents begin for today's younger generation? I suppose I needn't worry too much about that. With today's access to smart phones and the number of people using them who seem to feel they need to do so rather than watch where they're walking or driving, life expectancy might suddenly take a nose dive.

If anyone needed any proof that phones are getting smarter while people are becoming more stupid, they need only look at statistics concerning the number of deaths caused by texting while driving. If they can't remember where those statistics are, they can always turn on the TV to TruTV. I like to call it the stupid people channel, and watch all those videos of people walking while using smart phones and crashing into doors and falling down. I've watched people fall off curbs, fall down stairs and escalators, even fall into manholes. All of this has to hurt, but do they learn anything from it? Uhhhh, NO! They just pick themselves up and keep on trying to prove they really can walk and text at the same time.

At this rate I'm thinking that smart phones of the future may need to have the ability to turn themselves on, connect to their power source for recharging and possibly write their own texts. If the internet usage that I see from today's young people has all ready begun to deteriorate the brain's memory storage, it's a safe bet people of the future may no longer remember how to do the easiest of tasks. Want to tie your shoes, or chew a stick of gum? Can't remember how? Oh well, they'll remember there's an app for that.