O Sleep Where Art Thou?

While working towards a graduate degree in biology at the University of Texas San Antonio Medical Center, I quickly learned the importance of quality, restful sleep. The cost of not getting enough sleep during intense research project periods was a high price to pay.  My area of research was pineal gland functionality and the effects of neuro-endocrine activity during sleep cycles, which controls the very chemistry of sleep and recuperation. 

According to the Harvard Women’s Health Watch and Dr. Lawrence Epstein (President of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and author of The Harvard Medical School Guide to a Good Night’s Sleep), sleeping is as important to health and well-being as diet and exercise. However, as we are constantly bombarded with commercials for sleep medications, it is clear that America is having a difficult time getting a good night’s sleep.

A recent survey found that more people are sleeping less than six hours a night, and that 75% of the American population experiences sleep difficulties between 3 and 4 nights a week. A short-lived bout of insomnia is generally nothing to worry about. The bigger concern is chronic sleep loss, which can contribute to health problems such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and a decrease in your immune system’s ability to fight off disease and free-radicals. While more research is needed to explore the links between chronic sleep loss and health, it is safe to say that sleep is too important to ignore.

A recent study has shown that during restorative sleep cycles, there is a dramatic increase in cellular energy levels in brain regions that are active during waking hours. This shows that sleep is a significant contributor to full mental alertness and capacity.

Listed here are just a few of the many positive effects of getting a good night’s rest. (These facts can be found in the Harvard Women’s Health Watch)

-   Learning and Memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept well after learning a new task scored higher on later tests.

-   Metabolism & Weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.

-   Cardiovascular Health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels and irregular heartbeat.

-   Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

Dr. Mark Mohnac