Probably one of the weirdest holidays we’ve come across is National Public Sleeping Day. This holiday falls on February 28th and encourages people to sleep outside. Of course, this can be difficult for people to do considering the number of areas that are still cold at this time of year. Those who are brave enough to attempt it, however, may find that sleeping outdoors presents a level of freedom they’ve never experienced before.

The History of National Public Sleeping Day

After conducting an extensive amount of research, we’re unable to uncover the origins of this holiday. It’s a pretty safe bet that this holiday may have started as a joke on the internet and then turned into an actual holiday as more people began to celebrate it.

Very Interesting Facts About Sleep

Since this holiday is concerned with sleeping in public, we thought it might be worthwhile to talk about some of the facts about sleep we’ve uncovered during our research for this holiday. The following facts about sleep are ones that we feel everyone will enjoy.

• Sleep is just as important as exercise or a healthy diet.
• The human body never fully adjusts to shift work (working during nighttime hours).
• People naturally begin to feel sleepier at around 2 pm in the afternoon.
• Divorced and widowed people report more insomnia than those happily married.
• It’s currently unknown if animals have the same type of dreaming as humans do.
• People who don’t get enough sleep tend to eat more calories during the day.
• Research shows people sleep better during a new moon than a full moon.
• Humans are the only mammals that deliberately delay sleep.
• During the Middle Ages, getting up during the middle of the night was normal.
• In some English factory towns, there was a person who knocked on people’s windows to wake them for work.
• One of the biggest obstacles to getting a good night’s sleep for many people is 24-hour internet access.
• Some studies have shown that dreaming in color was more common before color TV was invented.
• Nowadays, more than 75% of people surveyed dream in color.
• Being awake for 16 hours has the same effect on performance as having a 0.05% blood alcohol level.
• Social jet lag can make it harder for people to wake up on a Monday morning.

Observing National Public Sleeping Day

Observing this holiday is as simple as taking a nap in a public location. However, we do recommend that if people are going to celebrate this day, they do so safely. They should ensure it’s a safe location and that they’re properly dressed for the weather. They might also want to bring someone along with them for safety.

People often use the hashtag #NationalPublicSleepingDay on their social media accounts to announce their participation in this holiday and to promote it to their followers. This is a good way to encourage other people to also participate in this holiday.