Sleep
The active benefits of sleep are not completely understood, but the effects of sleep deprivation are clear. So although the things that sleep actively does to your body may not be enough to convince you of the value of sleep, also consider the many harms of not sleeping as you decide on your sleep schedule.Benefits of sleep:
• Your body is able to repair connections between nerve cells depending on the amount of deep sleep and REM sleep you get . Therefore it is believed to help the mind form and store memories. This is why sometimes “sleeping on it” will actually have an effect—there have been studies showing that sleep (and, some say, dreams) play an active role in sorting through memories of recent events and making sense of them. But at the very least, we can be certain that sleep is a time our brain uses to repair itself and make new connections, and that there is a strong link between sleep and optimum memory.
• Obviously, if you sleep more, you will feel more awake and energetic during the day, which positively affects your mood, productivity, mental capabilities, and physical state.
• Your body repairs itself during sleep. Cells produce more protein as you sleep, which allows your body to essentially rebuild damaged tissues. Also, sleep is essential for a healthy immune system because your body fights off diseases as you sleep.
• Growth hormones are released in sleep, making sleep vital to children, but the hormones also stimulate muscle repair for everybody.
• There are more benefits to sleep that are suspected, but they are less certain. Some of these include keeping your heart healthy, preventing cancer and other terminal illnesses, helping to lose weight, and (chemically and psychologically) reducing risk of depression. These are related to the effects of sleep on hormonal releases that affect things like appetite and mood.
Harms of lack of sleep:
• Stress (physical and mental): your body functions are stimulated to a higher level, so blood pressure may increase, you may feel your heart beating faster and feel lightheaded when you stand up, etc.
• Less concentration: it is much easier to concentrate after a sufficient amount of sleep. Too little makes it difficult to focus; periods of clarity will alternate with a mental stupor, especially if the task at hand is not very stimulating. This means going to school after 3 hours of sleep for two days in a row and being able to focus will not be easy.
• Bad memory: while concentration and memory are largely an act of willpower, memory is more biological than concentration. Therefore, no matter how hard you try, you will invariably have more trouble with memory. This includes memorizing information, recalling recent events, or recalling things from your long term memory—all of these functions become difficult. Also, things you learn or experience when you are sleep deprived are less likely to stick in your long term memory.
• Impaired coordination and reflexes: reaction time gets worse, coordination is impaired… lack of sleep has the same effects on driving as a legally intoxicating amount of alcohol in the bloodstream.
• Bad mood and irrational behavior: it’s not surprising that many people are quick-tempered and irrationally moody when they crawl out of bed in the early morning, bleary eyed and still half asleep. The problem is, if you didn’t sleep enough then this feeling of tiredness may continue through the day, making you irritable and grumpy.
• Trouble forming sentences and processing information: because your brain didn’t have time to rest itself and repair the connections between neurons, you will find that your ability to form sentences and ideas clearly and process and understand information is noticeably harmed. Your overall cognitive abilities decrease when your body needs more sleep.
• Low immunity: your immunity is much worse if your body doesn’t have time to rest and fight off diseases. The chances of you getting sick drastically increase if you aren’t getting enough sleep.
• Sleepiness: obviously. Nobody wants to be drowsy or nodding off when there are things to do or teachers to not anger.
| Previous | Back to index | Next |
