" Why We Sleep"
I have been re-reading a fascinating book over the past few years titled 'Why We Sleep.' I keep picking it off the shelf between school semesters. When I used to think of sleep and sleep depravity, the first things to come to mind are drowsy driving and recuperation. I feel like we all understand that our brains slow down when we are sleepy. However, I found many surprising things in this book that paint a more detailed picture of the long term effects of our sleep culture. Some things to note:
1.The loss of sleep can't be repaid by binge sleeping. The repercussions are more long term.
2.There are three stages of sleep and all have different functions for the brain. Forgoing any of these steps skips an essential cycle for the brain to retain new memories and prevent excessive forgetting. It also increases learning impairment and limits healthy forms of forgetting.
3.Sleep improves creative thinking and problem-solving. The author describes the process as a 'backward google search' that uses disparate information, forming dreams, or sometimes what we call nightmares, and the brain constructs tests for problem-solving abilities with it.
With work and school expecting these salient things we lose in a person's overall performance, it's shocking to discover that both places in society show an over tolerance for sleep deprivation and sometimes even encourage lack of sleep for the increase in the length of time working. The author pointed out that many teachers and employers mistakenly believe "time-on-task equates with task completion." They even call it a "misguided fallacy" and said, "Even in the industrial era of rote factory work, this was untrue."
With health at the forefront of our remote and alternative living styles, I think it is more important now than ever to consider how we are doing with our sleep habits. I thought I would share this since I hear about this issue a lot in the field of the Arts, my field of study, and it has been long associated with artists to sleep less and work longer. I hope to make a change that will be contagious in a beneficial way for my peers and my health also, one dream at a time. Thankfully, one of my professors often recommends reading this book to their classes. I have no regrets taking them up on this.
