SLEEP FOR A BETTER MEMORY
Although our body appears calm on the outside when we sleep, the brain is fully engaged. This is where the impressions and data of the day are processed, sorted in peace, information is transferred to long-term memory and unimportant information is deleted. This processing of information helps us to learn and understand connections.
Sleep is important so that brain functions are not overstretched. When we are awake, this processing of impressions cannot take place as we are too distracted by stimuli from the outside world. The psyche also recovers during sleep. This is why people who have regular, healthy sleep suffer less from depression than people with sleep disorders. This brain activity is also the cause of dreams, as information is retrieved from memory and processed.
Massive sleep deprivation or sleep deprivation have negative consequences for the human psyche, such as lack of concentration, loss of control, hallucinations, aggression and depression. We are no longer able to process sensory impressions properly. Our performance decreases rapidly. The body has a protective function against sleep deprivation. If you are awake for too long, at some point you automatically fall into a short sleep – also known as microsleep. This phenomenon occurs more frequently in drivers who are overtired – with dangerous consequences.
FACTS: Sleep is a good preventative measure against heart attacks and protects against diabetes.
In a study, the calcification in the coronary arteries of around 500 men and women aged between 35 and 47 was measured. One group was allowed to sleep one hour longer than the other. The result: one hour more sleep led to one third less coronary calcification. Blood pressure was also lower.
SUFFICIENT SLEEP FOR YOUR HEALTH
The body is also active at night. It does not consume much less energy than during the day. Compared to the waking state, calorie consumption is only slightly lower than during the day. If you sleep for seven hours, you only save about as many calories as a glass of milk contains.
Sleep is very important for our health. It strengthens our immune system and thus helps to keep illnesses at bay. Many immune-active substances are released at night. During sleep, the body also breaks down metabolic products that have accumulated in the body during the day.
If we sleep too little, these cannot be completely broken down and the metabolism is thrown out of sync. The hormonal balance is also in action: the hormone leptin is released and ensures that we don’t feel hungry or thirsty during sleep. When we wake up, the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin takes over again. At night, a particularly large amount of growth hormones are also released. Children actually grow during sleep and wound healing progresses faster than during the day.
In the long term, too little sleep can lead to illnesses such as high blood pressure and gastrointestinal complaints or diabetes and obesity. As our body can regenerate particularly well during sleep, we rest a lot when we are ill.
FACTS: Sleep promotes language development in young children.
In a study, 48 infants were taught short sentences in an artificial language. These each consisted of three words, the first of which always had a logical connection with the last. The children understood the connections better if they had slept for 30 minutes shortly beforehand.
SLEEP PROMOTES INTELLIGENCE
How sleep has developed over the course of evolution is still a mystery to researchers. The fundamental question for sleep science is: what came first, sleep or the development of the brain that made sleep necessary?
Since lower forms of life in particular do not sleep at all or sleep very little, it stands to reason that sleep played an increasingly important role in humans and that it became longer and more intensive in order to be able to process the increasing amount of information. Sleep therefore also plays a decisive role in the development of humans into intelligent creatures.
CONCLUSION: WE NEED SLEEP TO BE ABLE TO LIVE ACTIVELY!
Regular, healthy sleep is vital. It promotes our concentration, alertness, creativity and health. It is therefore essential to sleep for a third of our lives in order to be able to utilise the rest of our waking hours full of energy.
