Why We Sleep

‘I’m so sleepy,’ said Rahul. ‘I stayed up all night to study for today’s test.’

‘Same here,’ said Rinku. ‘I slept for a couple of hours and now I’m good to do an all-nighter again.’

‘I’ve read this book called ‘Why We Sleep’ by Mathew Walker who’s researched sleep extensively,’ said

Rakesh. ‘There could be certain pointers for you two. More so since Rahul enjoys his sleep a lot.’

‘Oh no bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘I’m sure the book will say I’m sleeping too much.’

‘Not at all,’ said Rakesh. ‘In fact the author advocates a full 8 hour sleep to reap the many benefits of

sleep. He says those who get less than 6-7 hours of sleep, could invite health issues like a weakened

immune system, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, stroke etc. So much so that World

Health Organisation has declared a sleep loss epidemic in industrialised nations highlighting the effects

on health from lack of sleep.’

‘Whoa,’ said Rahul. ‘But we relate working hard to late, sleepless nights. Are you saying that’s not

good?’

‘Absolutely,’ said Rakesh. ‘The 8 hour sleep cycle has inherent benefits built into it. The 8 hour cycle is

broken down into Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (NREM), Deep NREM Sleep and Rapid Eye Movement

(REM) Sleep. Every individual needs all these components in the right quantity to gain the full benefits of

sleep. While NREM sleep clears the mind i.e. weeds out unnecessary neural connections, fosters

information transfer and distills information, REM sleep strengthens those connections. Also, since we

have more NREM sleep during the early part of the 8 hour sleep and more REM sleep during the latter

part of sleep – we need our full 8 hours to enjoy the complete benefit of sleep and get greater neural

efficacy.’

‘Wow,’ said Rinku. ‘So, what are the benefits of getting a full night’s sleep bhaiyya?’

‘A good 8 hour sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorise, helps with creativity, helps make logical

decisions, calibrates brain circuits, helps us heal through dreams, brings greater emotional stability,

restores our immune system and helps fight malignancy and infection. So you see, you get all that and

more, while doing something you enjoy.’

‘Can I get my 8 hours at any time?’ asked Rahul. ‘My parents say I should get up early but I prefer staying

up late.’

‘Yes of course,’ said Rakesh. ‘We have different rhythms - like morning larks and night owls. 40% of us

are morning types, 30% are evening types and the rest fall in between.’

‘And bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Sleep helps with learning too?’

‘Yes, according to the author there is a 40% learning difference between a sleep deprived person and a

person who got a full night’s sleep,’ said Rakesh. ‘Even a 90 minute nap ‘before learning’ prepares the


brain to soak up new information, causing a 20% learning advantage over those who did not nap.

Similarly, sleeping ‘after learning’, helps 'save' newly created files. By sleeping less than 6 hours we

shortchange the brain of this learning restoration benefit. Sleep selectively boosts words tagged to

'remember' and avoids memories tagged to 'forget'. Furthermore it is proven that the practice of a game

or a music piece followed by a night of sleep led to improved performance.  As for you two, staying up

all night before exams has no great benefit because you tend to forget what you learned soon after. On

the other hand, if you study and sleep after learning, it consolidates your learning.’

‘Bhaiyya you said sleep deprivation has many harmful effects,’ asked Rahul. ‘But we see many people

going without sleep, including our leaders who claim to work without sleeping. How do we explain this?’

‘Lack of awareness of the harmful effects of sleep deprivation,’ said Rakesh. ‘Did you know that the

Guinness Book of World Records recognised the dangers of sleep deprivation and has stopped sleep

deprivation records? As mentioned earlier a host of health problems are related to sleep deprivation

including Alzheimer's, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, suicide, stroke, cancer, diabetes, heart

attack, infertility, weight loss, obesity and immune deficiency. Sleep deprivation causes emotional

instability, aggressiveness and loss of concentration. We fall into micro sleeps which cause accidents.

While at it, for those who have no option power naps of 30-60 minutes could be a solution because they

momentarily increase concentration.’

‘Wow,’ said Rinku. ‘That’s a strong case for a good sleep. Any tips on how to improve our sleep

bhaiyya?’

‘The website of the National Sleep Foundation www.thensf.org gives a lot of information on sleep

including tips to sleep. The most important tip is to stick to a sleep schedule - go to bed and wake up at

the same time. Other tips include exercising for 30 minutes but not later than 2-3 hours before bed

time. Avoid caffeine, nicotine, chocolate, alcohol and large meals before bed. Avoid medicines that

disrupt sleep and naps after 3 pm. Make your room gadget free, no noises, bright lights, Don't use LED

lighting from mobile, laptop, TV screens. Relax before bed - read, listen to light music. It helps to make

the room dark and cool, wash your face before bed, get good mattresses, a good pillow. Interestingly,

sunlight exposure is good for sleep so get 30 minutes of sunlight exposure every day. And if you still

cannot sleep, don’t simply lie in bed. Get up and do something until you fall asleep.’

‘Wow,’ said Rinku. ‘That’s certainly very useful bhaiyya. Tonight I will get my full 8 hours sleep and I feel

good about it already.’

Pro Tip: Get your 8 hours of sleep to get the full benefits of the restorative, healing and learning effects

of sleep. A good night’s sleep aids learning, helps in healing and recharging the body, mind and soul.

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