By Chris Cosci

In general, people like to have some sort of control over what they do. And for the most part, the human body cooperates. In addition to providing built-in reflexes, the body can be conditioned to perform such tasks as eating, writing and self-defense. However, no matter how many skills people acquire, there is one function of the body that they frustratingly have almost no control over: sleep.

With few exceptions, the human body reacts to commands from the brain. If arms need to be moved, people can move their arms. If books need to be grabbed, people can use their hands. If music starts to play... well, most people can make some kind of dance-like maneuvers.

On the other hand, when people want to sleep, the body doesn't always respond. Even when someone is completely exhausted, there is no guarantee that the body will turn on the mystical sleep mechanism. Someone could wake up at 5:00 in the morning and spend the entire day running around. By 11:00 at night, that person could be walking around in a daze, slurring words and aching for a peaceful night's sleep.

However, despite every body part sending desperate requests to the brain, that person could conceivably lie down in the world's most comfortable bed and still spend a good two hours staring at the ceiling, begging for sweet release from the built-up exhaustion. No amount of warm milk or soothing nature sounds can convince the body to shut down and sleep until it is good and ready.

Similarly, it is nearly impossible to prevent the sleep mechanism from running when it's least wanted. If someone is at the movies or watching television, the sleep mechanism can turn on at any moment. No matter how captivated a viewer is, when the sleep mechanism goes on, there's no fighting it.

At first, the viewer's eyes make a few quick drop-offs. The viewer misses a few words and realizes what's happening. At that point, the viewer will try to prevent sleep from taking over by opening his or her eyes really, really wide. This never works. Eventually, entire sentences are missed. Soon, the actual scenes of the movie or television show become intertwined with images and sounds from the viewer's dream, until the viewer finally succumbs to the diabolical sleep mechanism.

In addition to causing people to miss major plot lines, the sleep mechanism also takes control of one's internal clock in order to wreak havoc in the morning. When people sleep, time seems to pass very quickly. An eight-hour night's sleeps can feel like it goes by in less than an hour. It's this tampering with the mind that causes common problems when the alarm clock goes off.

When the snooze button goes un-pressed, the sleep mechanism likes to start playing games. After the alarm goes off at 6:30, some people might just turn the alarm off. Wanting to get a few extra minutes of rest, they'll close their eyes. Uneasy, they'll quickly pop open their eyes to see the numbers on the clock reading 6:32. A little more relaxed, they'll shut their eyes for another couple of minutes. Sure enough, at 6:34, their eyes pop open again to reveal the quick passage of another two minutes.

All this time, every additional two minutes seem to pass in no more that five seconds. Looking for just a few more quick minutes, the tired sleepers close their eyes again. After what feels like another five seconds, they open their eyes and read the clock: 7:15. Instantly, panic sets in as the mischievous power of sleep claims another victory over human will.

No matter how powerful a person is, that person's sleep mechanism has even more power. There's just no winning the battle. Sleep controls people, not the other way around. So the next time somebody warns you not to fall asleep on the job, just remember: it's out of your hands.