The subject of sleep is an incredibly complex, but well-researched one, reportedly with over 1000 carefully designed, well-researched studies having been published. Many of these use advanced brain-imaging technology to monitor brain activity. Others have noted physical effects whilst carefully controlling for other factors which might affect the results.
The vast array of findings indicates that sleep is the most powerful therapy we will ever have access to. It's more powerful than any drug or surgical intervention.
Sleep's effect on the brain is fascinating.
Whilst we sleep, our brains are effectively bathed in cerebro-spinal fluid, which washes away the many waste products, including a class of proteins, the build up of which is the signature of Alzheimer's disease.
Sleep helps us to consolidate memory & learning, freeing up space in the brain for new memories and filing new memories away in a logical manner so that these memories are more easily accessible. The effects of sleep, both pre-and post-learning, are astonishing. These work not only on a memory-level, but almost more magically, they help to consolidate skill acquisition. This is especially important for athletes, who often have to master complex techniques and skills, moving from a level of conscious incompetence (clumsy) to unconscious competence (automatic).
Many people have discovered creative solutions to complex problems, with which they have wrestled fruitlessly all day, after a night of sleep. Even though we may too tired to continue consciously wrestling with these, our brains continue to do so, possibly even more effectively, whilst we sleep.
Examples of How Every System in Your Body is Positively Affected by Sleep
Heart rate & blood pressure drop when we sleep, allowing our heart and blood vessels to repair themselves.
Our reproductive systems only function properly when we have sufficient sleep.
The immune system performs a range of clean-up and repair functions when we sleep. It's almost as if the absence of waking activity & the down-regulation of other systems allows the immune system to ramp up its activity significantly.
Whilst we sleep, our muscles, tendons, ligaments & bones undergo a process of repair that allows us to recover and rebuild after training as well as from more serious injury.
Hormones like HGH & testosterone are ramped up when we sleep, triggering positive growth, recovery and repair processes. Our hunger hormones are balanced and our metabolism is maintained at optimum levels to maintain ideal body composition.
Even on a genetic level, sleep has dramatic effects, switching on & off genes that code for things as diverse as coronary artery disease, cellular stress, hdl cholesterol production and a host of other things.
We tend to neglect sleep when we're short on time. Whilst this can be unavoidable in the short term, we need to be careful not to allow ourselves to become part of the chronically sleep-deprived majority who suffer from the conditions we'll learn about in the next lesson.
Task for this lesson:
1. Go to bed earlier than usual this evening and get a longer night's sleep than you'd usually get. Don't try too hard, just give yourself permission not to be up as late as usual.
Resources:
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