Why Do We Sleep? For More Reasons Than You May Think
Most of us spend about a third of our lives asleep, despite not really having an answer to the question, ‘why do we sleep?’ Now neuroscientists are realizing that sleep is more important than previously thought. They’re also realizing that the worn-out platitude, “you can sleep when you die,” is terrible advice, as that day will undoubtedly come sooner if you short yourself on a good night’s sleep.
According to most contemporary research, you should be getting around seven to eight hours of sleep every night, and if you think you can get by on fewer than that, there’s a really good chance you’re fooling yourself.
Why is Sleep Important?
While the exact mechanisms of sleep are still being studied, neuroscientists including Matthew Walker have made interesting learnings about what happens when we deprive ourselves of sleep and the impacts sleep (or lack thereof) has on society as a whole.
When we’re awake, Walker says that essentially, we’re causing low-level brain damage. By this, he is referring to the build-up of the sticky, toxic junk in our brain known as beta-amyloid. This accumulation of beta-amyloid has been found to correspond with the onset of Alzheimer’s, among many other adverse health effects correlated with a lack of sleep.
Sleep is beneficial as more than just a healing function; it also replenishes spent resources and regulates hormone levels that dictate our appetite, cognitive function, and motor skills. The two hormones that dictate whether we are hungry or full, ghrelin and leptin, have been observed to flare up and down, respectively, when we’re sleep deprived. This inevitably leads to an increase in hunger, but even worse, it leads our bodies to crave unhealthy and fattening foods — those heavy on carbs and light on greens. In fact, people who run on four to five hours of sleep per night tend to eat 200-300 more calories per day.
For men, sleep is an important regulator of hormones, most notably testosterone. Sleep-deprived males can have the same virility and strength as a man 10 years their senior. For women, a lack of sleep can lead to a significantly increased risk of breast cancer and drops in immune hormones.
According to Walker, just introducing a single night of just four hours of sleep among a normal eight-hour sleep schedule, can bring about a 70 percent drop in natural cancer-killing cells, the immune assassins that target malignant carcinogens. Every day our bodies produce these cells and others to fend off disease and maintain our health, and while a cat nap might make you feel refreshed, it won’t make up for the loss of these cells.
Sleep’s Importance in Learning and Memory
Sleep plays a key function when it comes to retaining everything we learn throughout the day and improving upon it. While the sleep when you die phrase is cliché, there’s another truism that actually holds some truth – when you want to solve a problem or get better at something, it’s best to sleep on it.
While some have postulated that the dream state may play a role as a practicing mechanism for our daily life, no one is entirely sure of its function. However, it has been shown through EEG monitoring that when our brains learn, we essentially create basic algorithms in our head to remember or sequence that function. When we’re awake, initially that sequence is choppy, but through practice and repetition, our brain smoothes out the kinks in between.
And this jump happens when we sleep because our brains continue to repeat those algorithms we’ve been practicing throughout the day. Except it recites them up to 20 times faster. Our brains don’t have to focus on all the other things it does while awake, so it has more bandwidth to devote to developing those algorithms. Eventually, we perform those tasks more fluidly like when playing an instrument or even doing something as simple as typing. With enough practice, our bodies can perform physical functions without directly thinking about them.
After a single night’s sleep, our bodies show anywhere from a 20-30 percent improvement in the skill or function it’s trying to learn. Walker says it’s statistically the most significant performance enhancer of all time.
And this knowledge was used to its advantage in early methods of biohacking by scientists, thinkers, and artists dating back centuries. The micro-nap was used by Aristotle, Einstein, and Tesla, who held onto a pair of steel balls as they nodded off in a chair. When they fell asleep they would drop the balls on the floor or onto a metal pan, waking up from the loud clang. In the seconds, or minutes, their brains were asleep, they were able to access creative genius, attributing some of their greatest discoveries to this trick.
For some, this would be exacerbated by first depriving oneself of sleep, which is not a healthy recommendation, though it goes to show how restorative and impactful sleep can be on the brain.
And if you don’t get enough sleep, your mind will take those micro-naps on its own. Ever been in a room where the lights flicker so quickly that you’re unsure if they even flickered at all? Your brain does that when it’s tired. It will fall asleep and wake up in an instant. And if you’re incredibly sleep deprived, the brain will get its dream sleep even if you’re awake. That’s why people who have been awake for too long begin to hallucinate – the brain pulls the veil of the dream state over waking reality.
The more we learn about sleep, the more we realize how vital it is to nearly every aspect of our health and well-being. Unfortunately, there is no way to shortcut getting a healthy night’s rest or making up for it on the weekend. Unlike our metabolic system which can store fat for when it’s needed later, we can’t store sleep for that reason, we can only accrue sleep debt. So, if you want to live the healthiest life, think clearly, and solve problems… get some rest.
About the Author
10 Highest Radiation Cell Phones & How to Protect Yourself
Cell phones have become ubiquitous pieces of technology in our lives. About 96% of Americans now own at least one cellular device, if not multiple. And while we’re constantly reassured that these devices are physically safe and pose no risk of harm, cell phones and smartphones do give off a certain amount of radiation. In fact, when looking at the fine print of any cell phone user manual, you should find a warning telling you to keep your phone at least two inches away from your body at all times to avoid radiation exposure.
These potentially harmful radiation levels are measured in units called SARs, or the Specific Absorption Rate of the radiofrequency energy emitted by a device.
Is Cell Phone Radiation Dangerous?
Could your cell phone use be giving your body unhealthy amounts of radiation? Mobile phones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range. Other digital wireless systems, such as data communication networks, produce similar radiation.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2011, mobile phones were classified as Group 2B – possibly carcinogenic (not Group 2A – probably carcinogenic). That means there “could be some risk” of carcinogenicity, so additional research into the long-term, heavy use of smartphones needs to be conducted. However, with 5 billion cell phone users worldwide (260 million alone in the U.S.) answers should probably come sooner than later.
Although no conclusive evidence has been produced, some experts, like Dr. George Carlo, former chief scientist of the cell phone industry’s $28 million safety research project, believes we could be on the verge of a major health crisis. Specifically, he believes the world could be on the precipice of 500,000 brain and other cancer cases annually, because of the proliferation – and rising power – of cell phones and smartphones.
Some health ailments that experts have already theoretically attributed to high cell phone use include increased headaches, high blood pressure, earlier onset of Alzheimer’s, and cancer. Additionally, concern for men’s health regarding cell phones has made international headlines. A meta-analysis of ten past studies, led by researchers at the University of Exeter, U.K., found a small but consistent drop in sperm quality if the men had been exposed to mobile phone radiation. While researchers found no link between mobile phone radiation and an actual drop in fertility rates, the finding could contribute to understanding the global — and still unexplained — drop in sperm count.
