Sleeping habits

Busy living is becoming commonplace for people. In search of a reserve of time they ask themselves a question: “Is it worth spending a quarter or even a third of life on sleep?” For many, the continuous flow of events is so captivating that they simply feel sorry for this “lost time”. If you do not sleep, then what is the price to pay? The problem is serious, and many scientific laboratories of the world are working on it.

Why do people sleep

All living things on our planet who are endowed with a brain periodically fall into sleep. The fact that this property has been preserved in the process of evolution makes us assume that it is vital. It is not known exactly how long a person can survive without sleeping. Experiments in this direction are too dangerous and can lead to death. Experiments on animals do not give a definitive answer about the causes of death, whether this is insomnia, stress, or other factors.

Due to the risk to the life of potential record holders, the duration of insomnia is not stated in the Guinness Book of Records. However, the officially confirmed record was set by a seventeen-year-old American Randy Gardner in 1964.  For the sake of experiment, he voluntarily, without using any stimulants, stayed awake for 11 days and 25 minutes. At the end of the test, he hallucinated, was unable to perform elementary arithmetic tasks, forgot what he was doing, and could not even remember his name. Fortunately, Randy recovered quickly, and according to experts, his experiment did not lead to any long-term health consequences.

There are many hypotheses as to why the body needs sleep, but they are very difficult or impossible to test experimentally. As a result, there is no consensus on this matter in the scientific world. According to some scientists, several important processes occur during sleep:

•  physiological restoration of the brain, it gets rid of toxic waste products;
•  regulation of metabolic processes in the body, production of certain hormones;
•  renewal and restoration of damaged tissues;
•  stabilization of the balanced work of all body systems: during sleep, neurons acquire information to a greater extent not from the external environment but from internal organs;
•  formation of a person's long-term memory;
•  search for ways to protect the body from the devastating effects of stress.

In October 2013, the academic journal Science published an article entitled Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain. It talks about an important discovery by a team of researchers at the University of Rochester (New York, USA). They proved that metabolic waste products (including those potentially toxic), which were formed during wakefulness, are actively discarded from the brain through a special glymphatic, or “drainage” system. 

The head of the research, neuroscientist professor Maiken Nedergaard, describes the ongoing processes figuratively: “The amount of energy at the disposal of the brain is limited, and it seems that it must choose between two functional states - wakefulness and consciousness or sleep and purification. In the same way, you choose whether to invite friends to a party or clean up: you can’t do both at the same time.” He continues: “Our research is very important for the treatment of diseases associated with “pollution” of the brain, such as Alzheimer's disease. A clear understanding of how and when the brain “turns on” the glymphatic system and clears out “garbage” is the first step in trying to control this system and make it work more efficiently.”

So how much sleep does a person need?

The US federal government commissioned a nationwide “Healthy People 2020” program, which was developed and launched in December 2010 to improve health, quality and life expectancy of all members of society. In accordance with this program the Department of Health created the Sleep Health Objective project to “increase the proportion of adults who get enough sleep. According to many studies, the duration of sleep is known to be a significant factor influencing the state of human health.

In June 2015, the United States National Library of Medicine published an article written by a group of fifteen medical and sleep research experts Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society in Sleep. The researchers analyzed 5314 publicly available scientific publications on the relation of human health to the duration of sleep and came to a general conclusion: “Current evidence supports a general recommendation for seven or more hours of regular sleep per night to maintain optimal health in 18 to 60 years old adults. Individual variability in the need for sleep is influenced by genetic, behavioral, medical, and environmental factors.”

The authors of the article in Sleep draw attention to the fact that regular sleep deprivation can lead to negative health consequences:

•  diseases of the cardiovascular system;
•  diabetes;
•  hypertension, stroke;
•  depression;
•  overweight and obesity;
•  decrease in immunity.

A person who does not get enough sleep has a decreased working capacity, concentration, and, accordingly, a higher risk of accidents.

Too much of regular sleep - more than 9 hours a day - may be characteristic in some young people, but it is also possible in case of illness or overcoming the consequences of insomnia. However, contemporary science does not give a definite answer to the question of its impact on health. Further research is required to better understand what causes the need for sleep.

Sleep as much as you want!

The experts see following applications of the main purpose of their recommendation to sleep at least seven hours a day, published in Sleep:

•  creating an information field for all physicians, health authorities, the public and educational institutions about the extreme urgency of the problem (relationship between the duration of sleep, health and longevity);
•  material and moral support for people who take care of their health, proper sleep, and work performance;
•  intensifying public dialogue in various forums on the “economic and social benefits of adequate sleep duration”.

The scientists propose to increase government assistance in creating a favorable environment for further research on the impact of sleep on people's health and well-being. A healthy, spiritually and physically developed person is the basis for a successful future for the entire community of citizens of the country.