Who Needs Sleep Anyways?

It’s no secret that we humans like our sleep. There’s nothing nicer at the end of a long day than climbing into your own bed and curling up under the covers. These days, however, it seems as if there are just way too many things that keep us from getting the sleep we need. Stress, anxiety, health problems and even your weight can keep you from getting enough quality sleep.

But why do we even need sleep?

Scientists have yet to come up with one definitive reason for why we need to sleep. Some of the theories under investigation on the physical need for sleep are:

1. Sleep gives the body a chance to replace chemicals, repair muscles and other tissues, and regenerate cells.

2. Sleep aids in strengthening the immune system.

3. Sleep may also be a time to let our heart and lungs get some rest. During sleep, people with normal to high blood pressure can experience a 20-30 percent drop in blood pressure, and a 10-20 percent reduction in heart rate.

Overall, sleep has a healing effect as it gives the body time to rejuvenate, re-energize, and restore itself. And that’s only the physical effects of sleep.

Sleep research gets really interesting when sleep’s effects on the brain are considered. Here’s just a few things we know about sleep and its effect on our brain.

1. Sleep gives the brain time to reorganize information, find answers to problems, process new information, and organize memories.

2. It’s also the time when the brain’s glycogen levels are replenished.

3. Sleep may give the brain the opportunity to process the day’s experiences and to use neural pathways that may not otherwise be used.

In essence, like the rest of the human body, the brain uses sleep as a time to slow down, recharge, and repair itself.

Who needs sleep? The answer to that is… we all do.

Image credit: iStockphoto.com

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