Why Is It Necessary To Sleep?

In general, sleep appears to be necessary for human functioning. It is reasonable to expect that the body requires a quiet period of rest and relaxation in order to revitalize itself.

However, various arguments suggest that this is not the complete explanation. For example, most people sleep between eight and nine hours each night, but there is great variability between people. Some people require as little as three hours of sleep.

Sleep requirements also vary over the course of a person’s life. As people get older, they tend to need less and less sleep.

If sleep played a single restorative role in the body, it would be difficult to understand why older people require less sleep than younger people.

Also, people who have participated in sleep deprivation experiments have not exhibited lasting effects. These experiments consist of keeping them awake for periods of up to 200 hours at a time.

People subjected to these experiments experience tiredness, poor concentration, irritability, decreased creativity, and tend to experience tremors in their hands while being kept awake. However, when they are allowed to sleep they quickly return to normal conditions.

Sleep is a biological necessity

Sleep is a biological necessity that allows the restoration of physical and psychological functions essential for full performance. Sleep and wakefulness are brain functions and are subject to alterations in the nervous system.

Hormonal, biochemical, metabolic and temperature changes occur during sleep . All these changes are necessary for the proper functioning of the human being during the day.

Researchers have discovered that sleep is vital for us to learn and that it is closely related to nature’s weather map and is critically important to health. However, it is not yet known exactly what its function is.

The most accepted research links sleep with the repair of body tissues and the conservation and recovery of energy. Likewise, they link it with the consolidation and maintenance of the report. When we sleep, our brain “repairs itself.” It is as if we were taking it to a workshop.

Why do we sleep?

There are two mechanisms or processes identified as responsible for sleep. The “S” process is determined by the person’s previous sleep and waking history. It is manifested by an increased propensity to sleep after sleep deprivation. It is something like an accumulation of a debt.

Process “C” is controlled by the endogenous biological clock and is independent of previous sleep-wake history. We tend to sleep in the phase of falling body temperature (early part of the night). We wake up when it increases (second part of the night).

What are the effects of not sleeping?

Waking, slow sleep and fast sleep must necessarily follow one another harmoniously to ensure a person’s state of health. The impact of sleep deprivation is broad and affects not only the physical, but also the psychological.

Some of the effects of not sleeping are as follows:

• Memory disturbances
• Irritability.
• Anxiety.
• Depression.
• Symptoms similar to attention deficit.
• Impaired immune system.
• Decreased ability to react in time and precision.
• Poor manual coordination.
• Tremors
• Risk of obesity.
• Increase in heart rate variability.
• Risk of heart attacks.
• Neurological disorders.
• Epileptic attacks.
• Growth suppression.

As we can see, it seems necessary to sleep. At least it is clear that, if we do not do it, the problems that it can cause us are numerous.

Beneficial effects of sleep

In addition to being a great pleasure for many people, sleeping well has positive effects on our body. Some specialists consider that there are six the most beneficial effects of sleeping.

• Sleeping improves memory. Research has shown that taking a 90-minute nap helps fix memories and dexterity.

• We protect our hearts when we sleep. People who sleep poorly or poorly are three times more likely to suffer from heart failure than those who sleep well.
• By sleeping we can reduce depression. When we sleep we relax. That facilitates the production of serotonin, which counteracts the effects of stress hormones. Therefore, it helps us to be happier.
• When we sleep we are healthier. Sleep time serves to regenerate our immune system. So we can fight toxins and overcome infections.
• Sleeping helps you lose weight. Lack of sleep causes the adipocytes or fat cells to release less leptin, which is the appetite suppressant hormone.
• By sleeping we enhance our creativity. If the brain is rested, the memory works perfectly. This makes our imaginative capacity greater, which facilitates creativity.

It seems clear, then, that the benefits of sleeping (better if the sleep is of quality) are numerous and important. In addition, lack of sleep has negative consequences that can be very harmful in the long run.