Miya Pearson
Sleep is an essential function that allows our bodies and minds to recharge, leaving us refreshed and alert when we wake up. Sleep is just as important to our health as food and water, and yet about one in three American adults don't get enough of it. Scientists have explored the question of why we sleep from many different angles, including what happens when humans or other animals are deprived of sleep. Theories include the energy conservation theory, the restorative theory, and the brain plasticity theory.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Sleep helps us to learn | "Practice does not make perfect. It is practice, followed by a night of sleep, that leads to perfection." – Matthew Walker |
| Sleep improves cognitive performance | "The recycle rate of a human being is around sixteen hours. After sixteen hours of being awake, the brain begins to fail. Humans need more than seven hours of sleep each night to maintain cognitive performance." – Matthew Walker |
| Sleep improves productivity | "Under-slept employees are not, therefore, going to drive your business forward with productive innovation. Like a group of people riding stationary exercise bikes, everyone looks like they are pedaling, but the scenery never changes." – Matthew Walker |
| Sleep improves emotional regulation | "The coolheaded ability to regulate our emotions each day—a key to what we call emotional IQ—depends on getting sufficient REM sleep night after night." – Matthew Walker |
| Sleep is nourishing | "True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment." – William Penn |
| Sleep helps us to hope | "The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep." – Matthew Walker |
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What You'll Learn
Sleep is essential for maintaining good health
After sixteen hours of being awake, the brain begins to fail. Humans need more than seven hours of sleep each night to maintain cognitive performance. After ten days of just seven hours of sleep, the brain is as dysfunctional as it would be after going without sleep for twenty-four hours.
A lack of sleep can also affect our emotional IQ. The ability to regulate our emotions each day depends on getting sufficient REM sleep night after night.
For children with ADHD, a sleep disorder may be the cause of their diagnosis. Sleep is also important for productivity and innovation in the workplace. Under-slept employees are not going to drive your business forward. When you are not getting enough sleep, you work less productively and thus need to work longer to accomplish a goal, creating a negative feedback loop.
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Sleep restores the body
Walker also writes that 'Under-slept employees are not, therefore, going to drive your business forward with productive innovation. Like a group of people riding stationary exercise bikes, everyone looks like they are pedalling, but the scenery never changes'. When we are sleep-deprived, we are less productive and need to work longer to accomplish a goal, creating a negative feedback loop.
Laurie Colwin agrees that sleep is a time when our brains relax and give us dreams. She writes, 'We need time to defuse, to contemplate. Just as in sleep our brains relax and give us dreams, so at some time in the day we need to disconnect, reconnect, and look around us'.
Walker also highlights the importance of sleep for cognitive performance, writing that 'After thirty years of intensive research, we can now answer many of the questions posed earlier. The recycle rate of a human being is around sixteen hours. After sixteen hours of being awake, the brain begins to fail. Humans need more than seven hours of sleep each night to maintain cognitive performance. After ten days of just seven hours of sleep, the brain is as dysfunctional as it would be after going without sleep for twenty-four hours'.
Sleep is also key to regulating our emotions, with Walker noting that 'the coolheaded ability to regulate our emotions each day—a key to what we call emotional IQ—depends on getting sufficient REM sleep night after night'.
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Sleep conserves energy
Sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing. As Matthew Walker says, "The recycle rate of a human being is around sixteen hours. After sixteen hours of being awake, the brain begins to fail. Humans need more than seven hours of sleep each night to maintain cognitive performance. After ten days of just seven hours of sleep, the brain is as dysfunctional as it would be after going without sleep for twenty-four hours".
Sleep is also important for our productivity. Walker also notes that "Under-slept employees are not, therefore, going to drive your business forward with productive innovation. Like a group of people riding stationary exercise bikes, everyone looks like they are pedalling, but the scenery never changes. The irony that employees miss is that when you are not getting enough sleep, you work less productively and thus need to work longer to accomplish a goal. This means you often must work longer and later into the evening, arrive home later, go to bed later, and need to wake up earlier, creating a negative feedback loop".
Sleep also helps us to regulate our emotions, as Walker explains: "The cool-headed ability to regulate our emotions each day—a key to what we call emotional IQ—depends on getting sufficient REM sleep night after night".
Laurie Colwin agrees that sleep is important for our mental health, saying that "True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment".
Sleep is also important for learning and memory. As Walker says, "Practice does not make perfect. It is practice, followed by a night of sleep, that leads to perfection".
Finally, sleep can help us to find hope in times of despair. As Walker notes, "The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep".
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Sleep recharges the mind
A good night's sleep is the best bridge between despair and hope. It can help us to regulate our emotions and is key to what we call emotional IQ. When we are well-rested, we can approach the day with a clear mind and a fresh perspective.
Sleep is also essential for learning and memory consolidation. Practice does not make perfect; it is practice followed by a night of sleep that leads to perfection. When we sleep, our brains process and consolidate new information, helping us to retain what we have learned during the day.
Getting enough sleep is crucial for our overall well-being and productivity. When we are sleep-deprived, we work less productively and need to work longer to accomplish our goals. This creates a negative feedback loop where we go to bed later and wake up earlier, further compromising our sleep. Therefore, prioritising sleep is essential to ensure we are functioning at our best.
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Sleep helps the brain function
Sleep is also key to what we call emotional IQ. Emotional IQ is the cool-headed ability to regulate our emotions each day. This depends on getting sufficient REM sleep night after night.
Sleep is also important for productivity and innovation. When we are not getting enough sleep, we work less productively and thus need to work longer to accomplish a goal. This creates a negative feedback loop, where we go to bed later and need to wake up earlier.
Finally, sleep is the best bridge between despair and hope.
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Frequently asked questions
Sleep is essential for maintaining good health. It allows our bodies and minds to recharge, leaving us refreshed and alert when we wake up.
Sleep deprivation has serious consequences for our health and wellbeing.
Our metabolic rate drops, reducing our caloric needs. Our brain stores new information and gets rid of toxic waste. Nerve cells communicate and reorganise, supporting healthy brain function.
Sleep is required for brain function. Our neurons reorganise, and our brain's glymphatic system clears out waste from the central nervous system, removing toxic byproducts that have built up during the day.
The restorative theory states that the body needs sleep to restore itself. Sleep allows cells to repair and regrow.
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