Why Sleeping Can Kill You

"Mama," my nine-year-old son said.  "Did you know that stress can kill you?"

"Yes," I said. "Everybody knows that."

"Did you know that sleeping can kill you, too?"

"Um, no.  How so?" I asked.

"If you sleep a long time, your arteries will clog up.  Then blood won't be able to get to your brain or heart.  And then you'll have a heart attack or stroke. Which will make you die."

"Oh," I said.  "But if I don't sleep then that will be a stress on my body, which will produce the hormone, cortisol, which will give me a heart attack or brain aneurism, which will make me die."

My son thought about that.  "Yeah."

"So I'm going to die either way," I said.

"Yeah."

I think I'll sleep.  It's the better way to go!