Brain Sleep

Sleep is when our bodies regenerate.  But do we need as much sleep as when we were younger?  What if we just relax in a quiet environment?  Can we function without enough sleep?  The answer seems to depend on what you want to do. 

In tests of sleep deprivation, cognitive skills seem to be the most affected.  But even in severe cases, cognitive functions still happened, just not as effectively as when there is proper rest.  Speech might be slurred, reaction time may be delayed.  We know this to be true because for years regulators have been trying to insure that truck drivers get the proper amount of rest.  They have found that when a truck driver drives too long he or she is more likely to have an accident.  the debate seems to be what is the right amount of sleep for optimum performance.  The laws have changed over the years as sleep science has progressed.  Consider yourself now.  If you do not get enough sleep will you be optimum?  Or will it affect your career? 

There are certain things that happen during sleep.  Each of the sleep stages helps to regenerate different areas of our bodies.  The less you sleep, the longer you stay in stage one, so the less time you have for the rest.  People who do not get enough sleep tend to not be as creative.  If you have a fast food or factory job, perhaps that won't matter as much, but even there, the best way to move up the ladder is by offering insight in to making the job more efficient.  With out enough sleep, you will not be able to.  If you are in customer service or office jobs anywhere, you rely on creativity to perform your job.  Finding the right solution for your customer is where you and your company profit.  Too little sleep would seem to hurt that ability.  Doctors, especially residents, are notorious for lack of sleep.  Kind of scary isn't it.

The time required to regenerate is pretty constant.  So it would seem you cannot 'train' yourself to need less sleep.  To ignore the need for sleep can only affect your health and career, it doesn't seem worth it.

As we discussed before, different people need different amounts of sleep.  The differences are based on age as much as anything else.  An infant as example will sleep 12 hours per day.  That gradually scales back as the person ages and in adulthood we need 7 - 9 hours of sleep.  For brief periods we can function with less, but not for the long run.  In 1900 the average adult slept for an average of 9 hours per day.  It would seem to explain why a lot of advancement occurred around then.  Things like the light bulb, car assembly lines, and other manufacturing improvements happened in this point in history. Think Thomas Edison, or Albert Einstein, both made their mark through the middle of the 20th century, growing up in a time where proper sleep was the norm.

Why nor err on the side of caution and try to get good sleep?  Regular bed and wake times, and enough to regenerate our bodies.  Will you take the pledge?

Sleep Well!