Social/Health - To sleep or not to sleep...

If you know me you'll know that if there is one thing I sincerely hate doing...it is to sleep!!!

Somehow the idea of doing nothing for 6-8 straight hours - or even for those afternoon "powernaps" - just seem like the greatest waste of time. I could think of far more important and constructive things to do - get in some Ironman training, learn a new language, train in a new martial art, build a fort, make your own beer, create musical fusion, prune a garden, start some graffiti clan or even run for president...

Much scientific research has gone into this topic and it appears that nobody knows for sure why we need sleep, but it does appear that we are not the only living creatures that require some slumber-like moments.

"While we can more or less abstain from some basic biological urges—for food, drink, and sex—we can’t do the same for sleep. At some point, no matter how much espresso we drink, we just crash. And every animal that’s been studied, from the fruit fly to the frog, also exhibits some sort of sleep-like behavior." according to Paul Sternberg, a Professor of Biology.

According to this most recent study by the Prof and some assitants (including an array of insects and sailfish) sleep is unfortunately completely necessary for one or a combination of the following four reasons:
"The first is that sleeping allows the body to repair cells damaged by metabolic byproducts called free radicals. The production of these highly reactive substances increases during the day, when metabolism is faster. Indeed, scientists have found that the expression of genes involved in fixing cells gets kicked up a notch during sleep."

"Another idea is that sleep helps replenish fuel, which is burned while awake."

"Sleep might also be a time for your brain to do a little housekeeping. As you learn and absorb information throughout the day, you’re constantly generating new synapses, the junctions between neurons through which brain signals travel. But your skull has limited space, so bedtime might be when superfluous synapses are cleaned out."

"And finally, during your daily slumber, your brain might be replaying the events of the day, reinforcing memory and learning."

The article is quite interesting to read and they elaborate on some of the ideas I have highlighted here.

NUTS, no wonder I am so forgetful. Perhaps I should just surrender to the idea that by sleeping I am allowing the physical parts of my existence do some constructive work. Dammit.

Take care of those bedbugs tonight!
WB