Research why sleep is so important to health, learning, and memory formation. Include details and statistics about why you should make it a priority in your daily life.
Getting a good quality and quantity of sleep daily should be a priority in everyones life. Not only does sleep determine big health factors, it influences learning and memory formation. Studies made by the University of Pennsylvania where made to show the connection between sleep and how “on a cellular level changes the strength of its connections during sleep”( Marcos Frank, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience), which basically shows how the sleeping brain promotes the making of memories. The study reveals that “the brain during sleep is fundamentally different from the brain during wakefulness” in a process where a series of enzymes reorganize neurons during sleep. The doctors found that the enzymes never really turned on unless the animals they tested on got to sleep. According to Harvard Health Publications there are six reasons why we should get enough sleep some of them being that sleep affects; Metabolism and weight, learning and memory, mood, cardiovascular health, disease and even safety. Sleeping helps the brain assimilate new information to memory by doing memory consolidation, according to the publication studies show that “people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later”. Not only can not sleeping affect our studies and the way we learn, not sleeping can cause great damage over time. According to the National heart,Lung and blood Institute a continuous lack of sleep can cause increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. Not sleeping can also increase the chances of obesity, and since sleep affects how the body reacts to insulin sleep deficiency may increase risk for diabetes. Not sleeping can also affect our immune system which would cause a general decline of a person’s health. But not all people cut back on sleep because they want to, many suffer from something called insomnia. According to the University of Maryland’s Medical center insomnia involves any problem with falling asleep or remaining asleep. There are two types of Insomnia, short-term and long -term. Long-term insomnia or chronic insomnia have a general lower quality of life in comparison to those who sleep well. According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison about “25 percent of adults have sleeping problems and an estimated six to ten percent have an insomnia disorder” which means that many people do have problem sleeping. Sleep is an important factor that affects health, learning and the formation of memories and it should be a priority of those who can to sleep as best as they can.
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2009/02/sleep-memory-formation.html February 2009
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health January 2006
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why.html February 22,2012
http://www.med.wisc.edu/news-events/studies-show-insomnia-is-a-major-health-problem-/35909 January 2012
Going without sleep or sleeping badly can make us feel awful and getting a good night’s rest makes us feel energetic and ready to go on through the day, but why? Why is sleep so important? What does it do for us? What does lack of do to us? Scientists have found that sleep plays a very critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other important functions of our body and those of animals. The unanswerable question is why we need sleep. Although scientists have not found the answer to the question, many scientists have come up with theories about it that may never be proven right. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep, 2007) One theory is the inactive theory, one of the first theories about sleep, suggests that inactivity at night is an adaption that served a survival function by keeping organisms safe when they would be especially in vulnerable. The theory states that animals that were able to stay still and quiet during these times had an advantage over those who were constantly active. But the counter-argument to this theory is that it is safer to always remain conscious in case of emergencies. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep, 2007) Another reason is the Energy conservation theory which suggests that the primary function of sleep is to reduce an individual’s energy demand during the day or night, especially at times when it is least efficient to search for food. Studies show that energy metabolism is reduced during sleep (up to 10% in humans and more in other species). Both body temperature and caloric demand decrease during sleep, therefore; further proving that sleep is to conserve energy. Scientists also believe that this theory is related to the Inactivity theory. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep, 2007) One of the most recent theories is the Brain Plasticity Theory. This theory is based on the findings that sleep is related to changes and organization in the brain. This theory shows that sleep is important in brain development in infants and young children. Also, sleep and lack of sleep is proven to have an effect on adult’s ability to learn and perform tasks. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep, 2007) Studies show that sleep have a profound impact on memory and learning for both humans and animals. The studies show that it affects learning and memory in two different ways. The first is that a sleep deprived person cannot completely focus and therefore cannot learn. The second, sleep has a role in the consolidation of memory, which is essential in learning new information. Learning and memory are often described in three functions; Acquisition, consolidation, and recall. Acquisition is the introduction of new information, consolidation is the process of which the memory becomes stable, and recall is the ability to access the information after it has been stored. Although acquisition and recall happen while awake, consolidation happens while we are asleep through the strengthening of the neutral connections that form our memories. Researchers believe that specific characteristics of brainwaves during different stages of sleep help with the formation of different types of memories. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory, 2007) Lack of sleep has both long-term and short-term consequences. In the short term, lack of sleep can affect judgment, mood, the ability to learn and retain information, and increase the risk of injury or accidents. In long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to health problems, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even early death. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/consequences, 2007)
Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout the life. If someone gets enough sleep, it can help protect their mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. The way people feel while being awake, the way they think, react, work, learn, and get along with others depends mostly on the sleep they are getting. The body needs sleep in order to work, to support healthy brain function, and maintain the physical health (Aldous Huxley, “Why Sleep Is Important”). Sleep is very important in children and teens because it helps support their growth and development. The lack of sleep can affect people immediately, or it can harm them over time. For instance, not getting enough sleep can raise the risk for chronic health problems (Aldous Huxley, “Why Sleep Is Important”). Sleep is essential for the human’s brain; it helps the brain to work properly. When people are sleeping, their brain gets ready to perform over the next day by forming new pathways to help people learn and remember information. Sleep plays an important role in people’s physical health (Aldous Huxley, “Why Sleep Is Important”). Studies have confirmed that sleep is involved in healing and repairing of human’s heart and blood vessels. Lack of sleep might increase the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. Sleep deficiency might also increase the risk of obesity (Jann Gumbiner, “The Teenage Mind”). Studies of teenagers have shown that with each hour of sleep lost, the odds of becoming obese went up. (Jann Gumbiner, “The Teenage Mind”) Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of hormones that make people feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When people don’t sleep enough, their level of ghrelin goes up and their level of leptin goes down (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; “Explore Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency). Sleepy, fatigued people make mistakes. Accidents increase. For example, 100,000 traffic crashes are attributed to drowsiness or fatigue each year resulting in 1,500 deaths and 71,000 injuries. (National Sleep Foundation, “Facts and Stats”)
There are many reasons why sleep is so important, but it can be classified mainly in 9 reasons (COCO-MAT, “9 reasons why sleep is so important”): 1. Keeps out heart healthy 2. Reduces stress 3. Reduces chronic inflammation 4. Makes us more active 5. Boosts memory 6. Can help us lose weight 7. Makes us smarter 8. Reduces risk of depression 9. Helps out body replenish
Huxley, A. (2012, February 28). Why sleep is important. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/
Gumbiner, J. (2012, February 28). The teenage mind. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-mind/201202/why-sleep-is-important
Explore sleep deprivation and deficiency. (2012, February 22). Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why.html
9 reasons why sleep is so important. (2011, September 6). Retrieved from http://www.coco-mat.com/?i=coco_fr.en.reasons
Blog: The Importance of Sleep Sleep is something natural, something we need to perform at our max potential. Think of it as the brain’s food. After a stressful day or long hours of work there is nothing better than a good night sleep. Sleep deprivation can be harmful and even deadly. For example drowsiness and falling asleep are the cause for more than 100,00 car accidents every year. Teens have changes in their biological clock meaning that their clock is set to sleep after 11:00pm, and teens need to have at least 9 ¼ hours of sleep to function at the max potential. Also teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns (sleep late in the weekdays, and wake up early for school and during the weekend they sleep late, but wake up late), which affect their brain’s development. The lack of sleep may also affect your mood leading to an aggressive r improper behavior. Teens’ natural sleep cycle has a lot of conflict with the school’s start time. They have to wake up early and be sleepy all day causing them not to be able to perform at their best. According to Jim Dillan there are 5 stages of sleep that we go through every night and it cycles back and forth; stage 1 is when your body relaxes and sleeps slowly, step 2 your brain waves become slower and the eye movement stops, step 3 there re very slow delta waves and occasionally faster waves, step 4 is almost exclusively delta brain waves, and step 5 is very different to the other 4 stages since it has REM (rapid eye movement) and during this stage your breathing becomes irregular and your heart rate and pressure are increased. A good night sleep has several advantages like: less stress, great immunity and less disease, maintenance (body repair), sleep makes you smarter, weight loss, and the most important it gives you happiness. There have been thousands of experiments done to explain why we need to sleep. For example: One of these experiments was by a graduate student at the University of Chicago. He hooked his son to a brain wave machine during sleep, and it showed we speed up our brain during certain periods of time. Also in 2006 the NSF made an experiment measuring adolescents’ responses to four mood stages. (Measured form “1” to “3”) The number “3” showed to fell sad, depressed or unhappy; felt hopeless about the future; felt nervous or tense; and they worried about things too much.
Brain records people's memories while they are sleeping. Also, having enough sleep increases work speed for about 20% faster than day before. Therefore, having enough sleep helps to memorize, studying, and working. Having enough sleep also reduces amount of calories people gain per day. With common sense that people will eat more when they are awake longer, lack of sleep causes our brain to feel hunger. Also, we can reduce about 6% of gaining calories by sleeping only an hour longer (Alganiclife, Oct 30, 2013). Heart beating slows down for about 10~20% to get rest while people are sleeping. It cause the increasing of blood pressure (by heart beating faster) by not having enough sleep. Blood pressure of people whom do not sleep longer than 6 hour are 70% higher than the ones having enough sleep, protein in our blood increases if people get less than 4 hour sleep, and it is one of the main cause for heart attack and cerebral apoplexy (Alganiclife, Oct 30, 2013). By having less sleep cause problems in our skins. Blood circulation through our body decreases by having less sleep, and it causes our skins to get older, and other problems. Lack of sleep also cause stress to our body which cause collapse of our immune system, and it is because our cells cannot produce antibody under stressed conditions (Alganiclife, Oct 30, 2013). Most importantly, our brain cleans wast and toxin in our brain 10 times efficiently while people are sleeping, and toxin left in our body might cause brain diseases (Gentle Mommy, Oct 19, 2013). Therefore it is very important to get enough sleep.
The twenty-first century has brought many great things to society like computers cellphones, I pads, Televisions that are much more disposable to people than they ever where before. This is all great, but it has also caused that people do not get enough sleep. In this century the great killer of sleep has become technology. Sleep is a biological function that is often taken for granted; this is because you can do it while you sleep. The quality of your sleep directly affects the quality of your waking life, including your mental sharpness, productivity, emotional balance, creativity, physical vitality, and even your weight (Melinda Smith Oct 2013). The way you feel while you're awake depends in part on what happens while you're sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development(National Heart Lung and Blood institute 2012).To understand why sleep is so important one must first know what your body does while you sleep. According to Diana L. Walcutt you have five stages of sleep. Stage one is when you are beginning to sleep, when the sleeper is drifting off. Stage two lasts about 20 minutes. The brain begins to produce very short periods of rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity known as Sleep Spindles. Stage tree is deep, slow brain waves known as Delta Waves begin to emerge during this stage. It is a transitional period between light sleep and a very deep sleep. Stage four is sometimes referred to as Delta Sleep, because of the delta waves that occur during this time. It is a deep sleep that lasts for about 30 minutes. Finally stage five, the most important, is REM sleep, also referred to as paradoxical sleep because, while the brain and other body systems become more active, your muscles become more relaxed, or paralyzed. But while you may think that all these stages occur in order they actually occur in cycles. This is why it is so important to get a good night’s sleep to conclude all the cycles. Sleep begins in Stage One and progresses into stages 2, 3, and 4. Then, after Stage Four sleep, Stages Three, then Two are repeated before going into REM sleep. Once REM is over, the brain usually returns to Stage Two sleep. Sleep cycles through these stages approximately 4 or 5 times throughout the night. To ensure a good night sleep one most get from 8-10 hours of sleep (National Sleep Foundation) All these stages are good but why do you need this? You need these stages to reach REM sleep and during this stage your body. Sleep helps your brain function better while you are sleeping you brain makes new pathways so that it can learn and retain information. Unfortunately if the body does not get enough sleep you may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions, (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute).
Sleep also supports healthy growth and development. Deep sleep triggers the body to release the hormone that promotes normal growth in children and teens. This hormone also boosts muscle mass and helps repair cells and tissues in children, teens, and adults. Sleep also plays a role in puberty and fertility.(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2012). Sleep is also involved in healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. Without sleep your body has many consequences, to demonstrate how important it is the records for voluntary sleep deprivation are no longer kept by Guinness World Records for fear that participants will suffer ill effects. Sleep disorders are among the most common yet frequently overlooked and readily treatable health problems. It is estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from a disorder of sleep, (National Academy of Sciences) Sleep also can also help maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that makes you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When you don't get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2012)This makes you feel hungrier than when you're well-rested. This results in a higher chance of obesity. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/ National Acadamy of Sciences http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why.html National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2012 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleeping-angels/200905/11-reasons-why-good-nights-sleep-is-so-important (2012) http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/242559/What_happens_when_you_stay_awake_for_eleven_days_ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3076707/#.UnzOBflQFJI (2013) http://psychcentral.com/lib/stages-of-sleep/0002073 http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/what-happens-when-you-sleep (2013)
Most people require seven to eight hours of sleep to function optimally. Failing to get enough sleep night after night can compromise your health and may even shorten your life. The effects of an inadequate sleep can profoundly affect memory, learning, creativity, productivity, and emotional stability. It can also affect the heart, kidneys and lungs; appetite, metabolism and weight control. ; Immune function and disease resistance; when you experience insomnia you are more sensitive to pain and you are more prone to get moody. [Jane E. BRODY, 2013]
Not only with some foods we can flush out toxins but also with the appropriate amount of sleep. Researchers used mice to observe during the time they slept that there was more space between brain cells, allowing the brain to flush out toxins that build up during waking hours. [National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the NIH, 2013]
Researchers have shown, the brain uses sleep to wash away the waste toxins built up during a hard day’s thinking. Scientists, who imaged the brains of mice, showed that the glymphatic system became 10 times more active when the mice were asleep. Glial cells, which keep nerve cells alive, shrink during sleep. This increases the size of the interstitial space, the gaps between brain tissue, allowing more fluid to be pumped in and wash the toxins away. [James Gallagher, 2013] If one is suffering some kind of disease then sleep is absolutely important for one’s recovery. During sleep the body rebuild itself and balances hormonally. Make good sleep a priority and you feel better throughout the day! [Rountree, 2013]
References
L. Xie, H. Kang, Q. Xu, M. J. Chen, Y. Liao, M. Thiyagarajan, J. O'Donnell, D. J. Christensen, C. Nicholson, J. J. Iliff, T. Takano, R. Deane, M. Nedergaard. Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain. Science, 2013; 342 (6156): 373 DOI: 10.1126/science.1241224
Getting a good quality and quantity of sleep daily should be a priority in everyones life. Not only does sleep determine big health factors, it influences learning and memory formation. Studies made by the University of Pennsylvania where made to show the connection between sleep and how “on a cellular level changes the strength of its connections during sleep”( Marcos Frank, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience), which basically shows how the sleeping brain promotes the making of memories. The study reveals that “the brain during sleep is fundamentally different from the brain during wakefulness” in a process where a series of enzymes reorganize neurons during sleep. The doctors found that the enzymes never really turned on unless the animals they tested on got to sleep. According to Harvard Health Publications there are six reasons why we should get enough sleep some of them being that sleep affects; Metabolism and weight, learning and memory, mood, cardiovascular health, disease and even safety. Sleeping helps the brain assimilate new information to memory by doing memory consolidation, according to the publication studies show that “people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later”. Not only can not sleeping affect our studies and the way we learn, not sleeping can cause great damage over time. According to the National heart,Lung and blood Institute a continuous lack of sleep can cause increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. Not sleeping can also increase the chances of obesity, and since sleep affects how the body reacts to insulin sleep deficiency may increase risk for diabetes. Not sleeping can also affect our immune system which would cause a general decline of a person’s health. But not all people cut back on sleep because they want to, many suffer from something called insomnia. According to the University of Maryland’s Medical center insomnia involves any problem with falling asleep or remaining asleep. There are two types of Insomnia, short-term and long -term. Long-term insomnia or chronic insomnia have a general lower quality of life in comparison to those who sleep well. According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison about “25 percent of adults have sleeping problems and an estimated six to ten percent have an insomnia disorder” which means that many people do have problem sleeping. Sleep is an important factor that affects health, learning and the formation of memories and it should be a priority of those who can to sleep as best as they can.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2009/02/sleep-memory-formation.html February 2009
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health January 2006
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why.html February 22,2012
http://www.med.wisc.edu/news-events/studies-show-insomnia-is-a-major-health-problem-/35909 January 2012
Going without sleep or sleeping badly can make us feel awful and getting a good night’s rest makes us feel energetic and ready to go on through the day, but why? Why is sleep so important? What does it do for us? What does lack of do to us?
ReplyDeleteScientists have found that sleep plays a very critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other important functions of our body and those of animals. The unanswerable question is why we need sleep. Although scientists have not found the answer to the question, many scientists have come up with theories about it that may never be proven right. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep, 2007)
One theory is the inactive theory, one of the first theories about sleep, suggests that inactivity at night is an adaption that served a survival function by keeping organisms safe when they would be especially in vulnerable. The theory states that animals that were able to stay still and quiet during these times had an advantage over those who were constantly active. But the counter-argument to this theory is that it is safer to always remain conscious in case of emergencies. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep, 2007)
Another reason is the Energy conservation theory which suggests that the primary function of sleep is to reduce an individual’s energy demand during the day or night, especially at times when it is least efficient to search for food. Studies show that energy metabolism is reduced during sleep (up to 10% in humans and more in other species). Both body temperature and caloric demand decrease during sleep, therefore; further proving that sleep is to conserve energy. Scientists also believe that this theory is related to the Inactivity theory. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep, 2007)
One of the most recent theories is the Brain Plasticity Theory. This theory is based on the findings that sleep is related to changes and organization in the brain. This theory shows that sleep is important in brain development in infants and young children. Also, sleep and lack of sleep is proven to have an effect on adult’s ability to learn and perform tasks. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep, 2007)
Studies show that sleep have a profound impact on memory and learning for both humans and animals. The studies show that it affects learning and memory in two different ways. The first is that a sleep deprived person cannot completely focus and therefore cannot learn. The second, sleep has a role in the consolidation of memory, which is essential in learning new information. Learning and memory are often described in three functions; Acquisition, consolidation, and recall. Acquisition is the introduction of new information, consolidation is the process of which the memory becomes stable, and recall is the ability to access the information after it has been stored. Although acquisition and recall happen while awake, consolidation happens while we are asleep through the strengthening of the neutral connections that form our memories. Researchers believe that specific characteristics of brainwaves during different stages of sleep help with the formation of different types of memories. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory, 2007)
Lack of sleep has both long-term and short-term consequences. In the short term, lack of sleep can affect judgment, mood, the ability to learn and retain information, and increase the risk of injury or accidents. In long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to health problems, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even early death. (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/consequences, 2007)
"Benefits of Sleep." Healthy Sleep. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. .
"Consequences of Insufficient Sleep." Healthy Sleep. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. .
The Importance of Sleep
ReplyDeleteSleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout the life. If someone gets enough sleep, it can help protect their mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. The way people feel while being awake, the way they think, react, work, learn, and get along with others depends mostly on the sleep they are getting. The body needs sleep in order to work, to support healthy brain function, and maintain the physical health (Aldous Huxley, “Why Sleep Is Important”). Sleep is very important in children and teens because it helps support their growth and development. The lack of sleep can affect people immediately, or it can harm them over time. For instance, not getting enough sleep can raise the risk for chronic health problems (Aldous Huxley, “Why Sleep Is Important”).
Sleep is essential for the human’s brain; it helps the brain to work properly. When people are sleeping, their brain gets ready to perform over the next day by forming new pathways to help people learn and remember information. Sleep plays an important role in people’s physical health (Aldous Huxley, “Why Sleep Is Important”). Studies have confirmed that sleep is involved in healing and repairing of human’s heart and blood vessels. Lack of sleep might increase the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. Sleep deficiency might also increase the risk of obesity (Jann Gumbiner, “The Teenage Mind”). Studies of teenagers have shown that with each hour of sleep lost, the odds of becoming obese went up. (Jann Gumbiner, “The Teenage Mind”)
Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of hormones that make people feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When people don’t sleep enough, their level of ghrelin goes up and their level of leptin goes down (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; “Explore Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency).
Sleepy, fatigued people make mistakes. Accidents increase. For example, 100,000 traffic crashes are attributed to drowsiness or fatigue each year resulting in 1,500 deaths and 71,000 injuries. (National Sleep Foundation, “Facts and Stats”)
There are many reasons why sleep is so important, but it can be classified mainly in 9 reasons (COCO-MAT, “9 reasons why sleep is so important”):
1. Keeps out heart healthy
2. Reduces stress
3. Reduces chronic inflammation
4. Makes us more active
5. Boosts memory
6. Can help us lose weight
7. Makes us smarter
8. Reduces risk of depression
9. Helps out body replenish
Huxley, A. (2012, February 28). Why sleep is important. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/
Gumbiner, J. (2012, February 28). The teenage mind. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-mind/201202/why-sleep-is-important
Explore sleep deprivation and deficiency. (2012, February 22). Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why.html
9 reasons why sleep is so important. (2011, September 6). Retrieved from http://www.coco-mat.com/?i=coco_fr.en.reasons
Alvaro Rojas
ReplyDeleteBiology 11
November 7, 13
Blog: The Importance of Sleep
Sleep is something natural, something we need to perform at our max potential. Think of it as the brain’s food. After a stressful day or long hours of work there is nothing better than a good night sleep. Sleep deprivation can be harmful and even deadly. For example drowsiness and falling asleep are the cause for more than 100,00 car accidents every year. Teens have changes in their biological clock meaning that their clock is set to sleep after 11:00pm, and teens need to have at least 9 ¼ hours of sleep to function at the max potential. Also teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns (sleep late in the weekdays, and wake up early for school and during the weekend they sleep late, but wake up late), which affect their brain’s development. The lack of sleep may also affect your mood leading to an aggressive r improper behavior. Teens’ natural sleep cycle has a lot of conflict with the school’s start time. They have to wake up early and be sleepy all day causing them not to be able to perform at their best. According to Jim Dillan there are 5 stages of sleep that we go through every night and it cycles back and forth; stage 1 is when your body relaxes and sleeps slowly, step 2 your brain waves become slower and the eye movement stops, step 3 there re very slow delta waves and occasionally faster waves, step 4 is almost exclusively delta brain waves, and step 5 is very different to the other 4 stages since it has REM (rapid eye movement) and during this stage your breathing becomes irregular and your heart rate and pressure are increased. A good night sleep has several advantages like: less stress, great immunity and less disease, maintenance (body repair), sleep makes you smarter, weight loss, and the most important it gives you happiness. There have been thousands of experiments done to explain why we need to sleep. For example:
One of these experiments was by a graduate student at the University of Chicago. He hooked his son to a brain wave machine during sleep, and it showed we speed up our brain during certain periods of time.
Also in 2006 the NSF made an experiment measuring adolescents’ responses to four mood stages. (Measured form “1” to “3”) The number “3” showed to fell sad, depressed or unhappy; felt hopeless about the future; felt nervous or tense; and they worried about things too much.
Sources
http://www.healthambition.com/why-is-sleep-so-important/
http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/sleep/basics/importance-of-sleep.htm
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep
Brain records people's memories while they are sleeping. Also, having enough sleep increases work speed for about 20% faster than day before. Therefore, having enough sleep helps to memorize, studying, and working. Having enough sleep also reduces amount of calories people gain per day. With common sense that people will eat more when they are awake longer, lack of sleep causes our brain to feel hunger. Also, we can reduce about 6% of gaining calories by sleeping only an hour longer (Alganiclife, Oct 30, 2013).
ReplyDeleteHeart beating slows down for about 10~20% to get rest while people are sleeping. It cause the increasing of blood pressure (by heart beating faster) by not having enough sleep. Blood pressure of people whom do not sleep longer than 6 hour are 70% higher than the ones having enough sleep, protein in our blood increases if people get less than 4 hour sleep, and it is one of the main cause for heart attack and cerebral apoplexy (Alganiclife, Oct 30, 2013).
By having less sleep cause problems in our skins. Blood circulation through our body decreases by having less sleep, and it causes our skins to get older, and other problems. Lack of sleep also cause stress to our body which cause collapse of our immune system, and it is because our cells cannot produce antibody under stressed conditions (Alganiclife, Oct 30, 2013). Most importantly, our brain cleans wast and toxin in our brain 10 times efficiently while people are sleeping, and toxin left in our body might cause brain diseases (Gentle Mommy, Oct 19, 2013). Therefore it is very important to get enough sleep.
Sources
-http://cafe.naver.com/gentlebirth/5573
-http://alganiclife.blog.me/130178860264
The twenty-first century has brought many great things to society like computers cellphones, I pads, Televisions that are much more disposable to people than they ever where before. This is all great, but it has also caused that people do not get enough sleep. In this century the great killer of sleep has become technology.
ReplyDeleteSleep is a biological function that is often taken for granted; this is because you can do it while you sleep. The quality of your sleep directly affects the quality of your waking life, including your mental sharpness, productivity, emotional balance, creativity, physical vitality, and even your weight (Melinda Smith Oct 2013). The way you feel while you're awake depends in part on what happens while you're sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development(National Heart Lung and Blood institute 2012).To understand why sleep is so important one must first know what your body does while you sleep.
According to Diana L. Walcutt you have five stages of sleep. Stage one is when you are beginning to sleep, when the sleeper is drifting off. Stage two lasts about 20 minutes. The brain begins to produce very short periods of rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity known as Sleep Spindles. Stage tree is deep, slow brain waves known as Delta Waves begin to emerge during this stage. It is a transitional period between light sleep and a very deep sleep. Stage four is sometimes referred to as Delta Sleep, because of the delta waves that occur during this time. It is a deep sleep that lasts for about 30 minutes. Finally stage five, the most important, is REM sleep, also referred to as paradoxical sleep because, while the brain and other body systems become more active, your muscles become more relaxed, or paralyzed. But while you may think that all these stages occur in order they actually occur in cycles. This is why it is so important to get a good night’s sleep to conclude all the cycles. Sleep begins in Stage One and progresses into stages 2, 3, and 4. Then, after Stage Four sleep, Stages Three, then Two are repeated before going into REM sleep. Once REM is over, the brain usually returns to Stage Two sleep. Sleep cycles through these stages approximately 4 or 5 times throughout the night. To ensure a good night sleep one most get from 8-10 hours of sleep (National Sleep Foundation)
All these stages are good but why do you need this? You need these stages to reach REM sleep and during this stage your body. Sleep helps your brain function better while you are sleeping you brain makes new pathways so that it can learn and retain information. Unfortunately if the body does not get enough sleep you may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions, (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute).
Sleep also supports healthy growth and development. Deep sleep triggers the body to release the hormone that promotes normal growth in children and teens. This hormone also boosts muscle mass and helps repair cells and tissues in children, teens, and adults. Sleep also plays a role in puberty and fertility.(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2012). Sleep is also involved in healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels.
ReplyDeleteWithout sleep your body has many consequences, to demonstrate how important it is the records for voluntary sleep deprivation are no longer kept by Guinness World Records for fear that participants will suffer ill effects. Sleep disorders are among the most common yet frequently overlooked and readily treatable health problems. It is estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from a disorder of sleep, (National Academy of Sciences)
Sleep also can also help maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that makes you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When you don't get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2012)This makes you feel hungrier than when you're well-rested. This results in a higher chance of obesity.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/ National Acadamy of Sciences
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why.html National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 2012
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleeping-angels/200905/11-reasons-why-good-nights-sleep-is-so-important (2012)
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/242559/What_happens_when_you_stay_awake_for_eleven_days_
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3076707/#.UnzOBflQFJI (2013)
http://psychcentral.com/lib/stages-of-sleep/0002073
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/what-happens-when-you-sleep (2013)
Most people require seven to eight hours of sleep to function optimally. Failing to get enough sleep night after night can compromise your health and may even shorten your life. The effects of an inadequate sleep can profoundly affect memory, learning, creativity, productivity, and emotional stability. It can also affect the heart, kidneys and lungs; appetite, metabolism and weight control. ; Immune function and disease resistance; when you experience insomnia you are more sensitive to pain and you are more prone to get moody. [Jane E. BRODY, 2013]
ReplyDeleteNot only with some foods we can flush out toxins but also with the appropriate amount of sleep. Researchers used mice to observe during the time they slept that there was more space between brain cells, allowing the brain to flush out toxins that build up during waking hours. [National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the NIH, 2013]
Researchers have shown, the brain uses sleep to wash away the waste toxins built up during a hard day’s thinking. Scientists, who imaged the brains of mice, showed that the glymphatic system became 10 times more active when the mice were asleep. Glial cells, which keep nerve cells alive, shrink during sleep. This increases the size of the interstitial space, the gaps between brain tissue, allowing more fluid to be pumped in and wash the toxins away. [James Gallagher, 2013]
If one is suffering some kind of disease then sleep is absolutely important for one’s recovery. During sleep the body rebuild itself and balances hormonally. Make good sleep a priority and you feel better throughout the day! [Rountree, 2013]
References
L. Xie, H. Kang, Q. Xu, M. J. Chen, Y. Liao, M. Thiyagarajan, J. O'Donnell, D. J. Christensen, C. Nicholson, J. J. Iliff, T. Takano, R. Deane, M. Nedergaard. Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain. Science, 2013; 342 (6156): 373 DOI: 10.1126/science.1241224
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131017144636.htm
Brody , Jane E. . "The New York Times ." Cheating Ourselves of Sleep . Personal Health , 17 Jun 2013. Web.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/17/cheating-ourselves-of-sleep/?_r=0
Gallagher , James. "BBC News Health ." Sleep "cleans" the brain of toxina. N.p., 17 October 2013. Web.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24567412
Rountree, Sage. "triathlete." The Importance Of Sleep . N.p., 24 October 2013. Web.
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/10/training/recovery-the-importance-of-sleep-2_44426