Kevin Raj. S
CSE 2, I Year
Sleep is considered one of the best blessings of Mother Nature on the human community. In today’s world, the importance of sleep has shrunk and as a result, people are suffering from multiple disorders and diseases. In this article, we will explore the amazing effects on our bodies when we get adequate sleep and the consequences of sleep deprivation.
Learning, in this modern world, has been a very important factor in determining the quality of life. Whether working or retired, a person continues to learn in one way or another. Various research have been conducted in the past 10 years to understand the importance of sleep and these researches have shed light on how “SLEEP ACTS AS A SAVE BUTTON TO STORE MEMORY FILES” after any kind of learning and how “SLEEP PREPARES YOUR MIND LIKE A DRY SPONGE READY TO SOAK UP INFORMATION” before learning. To prove this practically, an experiment was conducted to see how sleep deprivation affected the efficiency of learning. In this, one group of people is called as “SLEEP GROUP.” They were allowed to have 8 hours of high-quality sleep, and the other group called the “SLEEP DEPRIVED GROUP” they were allowed to sleep for about 3-4 hours. Following this cycle of sleep for a day, they were placed in an MRI scan and were asked to learn a list of new facts while having their brain activity monitored. The results showed that the sleep-deprived group had a stunning 40% deficit in the efficiency of learning when compared to the sleep group. This when put into context comes as the difference between acing an exam and miserably failing it. Thus the hypothesis of pulling an all-nighter was crushed to nothing. During deeper stages of sleep human brain produces powerful brain signals called BRAIN SPINDLES which act as a medium of file transfer from the temporary location to a permanent and safe reservoir. So it serves as an important follow-up after learning. Thus awareness is a must among the current younger population on how sleep duration and quality can affect learning.
Sleep deprivation not only affects our brain but also many other physiological functions. One such system is the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM. A survey involving 1.6 billion people across 70 countries showed that when 1 hour of sleep was lost during spring, there was a 24% increase in heart attack rate and when 1-hour sleep was gained during autumn, there was a 21% decrease in heart attacks. IMMUNE SYSTEM in our body serves as a shield against many infections. Our body naturally produces natural killer cells that fight against cancerous substances in our body. When we are deprived of one hour of sleep, 70% of this natural killer cell production is inhibited and this was found to pave way for different forms of cancer including bowel, prostate, and breast. Besides, sleep deprivation also affects the human REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM thus serving as one of the contributors to the present increase in cases of infertility.
Since sleep is of such importance, if asked about tips to improve the quality of sleep some suggestions from my side would be
- Avoiding caffeine (in excess)
- Avoiding frequent naps
- Being consistent – As this is a kind of routine sleeping and waking up at a common time be it weekends or a weekday would help increase the quality and duration of sleep
- Keep it cool – Aiming for a room temperature of about 18 degrees Celsius would help to sleep as our body must reduce 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit to go into sleep and maintain sleep
Sleeping regularly and soundly has become a necessity in this modern world and since it is stigmatized as laziness most time I would like to conclude by saying:
“SLEEP IS NOT AN OPTIONAL LIFESTYLE LUXURY BUT IS A NON-NEGOTIABLE BIOLOGICAL NECESSITY”. It is high time that we reclaim our right to sleep without any embarrassment.
