What if I tell you,
Scientists have discovered a new treatment that will help you live longer!
It protects you from cancer and dementia
It lowers the risk of heart attacks and stroke! Not to mention diabetes!
It also will keep you slim, attractive!
Imagine if such a drug exists, how much that pharma company can profit, the about of people who will queue up to avail their service?
Thankfully to us, such treatment exists, free of charge to all of us and that is SLEEP
Btw, I did not come up with that, just borrowed it from the book “Why we Sleep”
This is the part 2 of the sleep series, if you have not read part 1, please read the blog “Why we sleep” and continue with this one.
When I thought what I would want to be the key takeaway to anyone reading this, that is, you should not take sleep lightly, nor you can sleep deprive yourself on weekdays and try to compensate on weekends. The body might not be able to reverse the damages done on weekdays, with the weekend slumber…in short, treat sleep equal to food…
You cannot starve for 5 days and eat 2 days and live healthy life! Can you?
When I was in college, I experienced this many times, I might be struggling to remember some equation and theorem as I was studying.
The next day morning when I wake up, miraculously, I would be able to remember that equation or theorem better.
Now we know how that happened, as I was sleeping, my brain cells re-enforced the required connections, and I was able to remember better in the morning.
If you are a parent of a student, waking up your child early morning to study, or sitting with your child late in the night to study might be like a normal day’s affair for you.
But do remember sleeping time is when your brain solders the wires of your child’s memory to make a working circuit board.
Now convince you further, let us breakdown the ad in the beginning and see how sleep can help escape many diseases!
Dementia:
Dementia is not something which one should worry after 40 or so…Let me explain why.
Dementia is characterized by the buildup of a protein called Beta amyloid in the middle portion of the brain. Causing decline of memory, reasoning and other thinking skills.
It is caused by a accumulation of poisonous protein called beta-amyloid in the brain, which kills the brain cells.
On a healthy individual, any build up in the brain is cleaned up by something called Glymphatic systems similar to our lymphatic system. The cells called Glial cells are situated side by side of our brain neurons.
This sewage system of brain is only mildly active during our wakeful hours.
During our NREM sleep, the Glial cells shrink in size up to 60% for the effective drainage of brain waste, imagine it like a city, whose big building shrink at night so that the municipality staff can easily access and clean.
Guess which is one of main waste removed by this glymphatic system, the very same amyloid proteins.
SO, by depriving ourselves to sleep, we are letting these amyloids build up in our brain.
In addition to that, once these proteins reach high level and cause dementia, that exactly affects our sleep. Specifically, NREM sleep, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
Diabetes:
The case of diabetes is even more interesting.
Normally after a meal or so, the glucose level in our body will be at the peak. That time, a hormone called insulin will instruct the body cells to absorb the extra glucose so that the glucose level in the blood stream is regulated. When these functions do not happen properly is when we get diabetes.
Now the interesting part. Scientists conducted a study, where they chose healthy individuals with no history of diabetes with normal blood sugar levels.
They have allowed the subjects to sleep only 4 hours a night, just for 6 days.
After that they have again tested these individuals, they were 40% less effective in adsorbing the normal dose of glucose.
In short, if they were to go to a doctor at that time, they would have been immediately diagnosed as pre diabetic. 4 hours of sleep, just for 6 days friends, just 6 days…
Cardiovascular health:
Similarly, there are so many bad effects sleep deprivation can cause to our cardiovascular health.
Here we are not talking about full night sleep deprivation, even few hours. Like 5 hours of sleep instead of 7 hours for a period of time, can result in significant strain in our cardiovascular system. It can increase our blood pressure and heart rate.
To top it off, lack of sleep can cause overactive sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for our stress response system. That means when we don’t sleep properly our body is constantly in a flight or fight state which is very damaging to many bodily functions, especially to heart.
Obesity:
These days, weight loss is a multibillion-dollar industry in India Magic weight loss machines, dieting pills and what not.
Guess what? our sleep has a major role in obesity as well.
It is a game of 2 hormones called Leptin and Ghrelin
Ghrelin is the hormone that tell you I am hungry…and Leptin is the hormone responsible for telling you I am full….
Sleep affects both these hormones. Not in a good way…
Sleep deprivation increases the level of Ghrelin and decreases the level of Leptin.
So, Ghrelin makes you feel hungry, you eat and eat, there is no Leptin to tell you that you are full.
The result is a vicious cycle of weight gain and obesity.
To watch the full video, click on the below link:
