What Happens When We Lack Quality Sleep?
In the most extreme case of total lack of sleep for prolonged periods of time - for humans “prolonged” means: a few weeks - the answer is: we die. Of course your body and mind don’t normally allow you to get this far, they will force you to sleep, whether you sit behind the wheel of a vehicle, or stand in the middle of a noisy subway car. At some point of sleep deprivation your eyes will close no matter what. Yet while insomnia only extremely rarely causes near total sleep deprivation, even mild to medium sleep deprivation is really bad for you. An exception is a very rare condition called fatal familial insomnia. If it progresses from mild insomnia to total sleep deprivation, the patient will die.
Lab experiments with rats have shown that total sleep deprivation leads to death in as little as 11 days. Although there were no internal physical signs of problems, rats deprived of their sleep consumed more food and showed a higher rate of energy use. Their immune system seemed to shut down, their skin showed lesions, and they eventually just died.
The more severe sleep deprivation is, the more severe the effects are. Sleep allows your brain to consolidate memory, learn, clean up waste products and harmful proteins. Your heart relaxes as it beats much more slowly. Your immune system recuperates and your body is flooded with growth hormones that allow small injuries to your musculoskeletal system to be repaired over night. In children, or if you work out or train, growth hormones help your body to grow and get stronger.
Lack of quality sleep interrupts all of these beneficial processes. An occasional short night won’t lead to permanent problems. Prolonged sleep deprivation or poor quality sleep on the other hand increase your risk of developing cancer, interfere with your ability to form memories and learn, increase your blood pressure and risk of a heart attack and stroke. You are less alert, and slower to react. Your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life increases, as does your risk of becoming a diabetic.
To maximize the beneficial effects of sleep, keep a regular sleep schedule. Make sure that your bedroom dark when you sleep. It is also recommended to abstain from looking at screens of mobile devices while in bed. Keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature. Finish any heavy exercise 3 hours before you plan to go to bed. Make sure that your last meal is no closer to 3 hours before you plan to turn off the lights. Use Ensven to help you fall asleep faster and stay in the most relaxing deep NREM 3 sleep phase longer.
