The real importance of sleep

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The importance and effects of sleep
Nguyen Tien Dat
IBL61DH
Nguyen Thao Linh
December 23rd, 2020


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The Importance of sleep

Ever since the beginning of humanity as well as the other forms of living creatures, sleep
has been one of the most rudimentary functions of our organic body. Hence, many of us still not
treasure the sleep as much as it needed therefore lead to insufficient sleep which can do harm to
human’s both physical and mental health. This research focuses on how a sleep works, the
impacts of insufficient sleep, particularly to our human body both physically and mentally.
Finally, how to get a quality sleep.
First, we need to find out how a sleep works or what happens when we sleep. We can
understand that sleep is just simply an act of rest of our body after a long hard working day but
its more complicated. When we sleep, we will go through two phases: rapid eyes movement, also
known as REM and non-rapid eyes movements sleep (non-REM) sleep. This cycles repeats itself
every 80 or 100 minutes. Normally this cycles happens about four to six times per night, there is
a chance you will wake up briefly between cycles. Additionally, there are four stages (3 stages
during non-REM sleep and the final stage in REM sleep).
On the first stage, within minutes of nodding off your brain increases theta waves, reduces

alpha waves and your eyes movements slow down, this is a light stage where you are somewhat
alert and can be easily awaken. On stage 2, this stage takes about half of our sleep time, this
stage is marked by spindles, briefly increases in brain waves frequency. The spindles are
connected to motor learning; in other words, your ability to learn how to play new sports or new
pieces of technology might be related new sport might be related to the density of the spindles.
Mount Sinai Sleep Experts recommend taking a 10 to 20-minute power nap which occurs mostly
in stages 1 and 2 if you're looking for a quick alertness boost. Stage 3, this stage of the beginning


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of deep sleep when your brain begins producing slow or delta waves at this point it becomes a
little harder for you to be awakened. Finally, REM sleep, adult spend about 20% of sleep time in
the stage while infant spend about 50%. During REM sleep your eyes move quickly in different
directions, the body's muscles are paralyzed, breathing and heart rate become erratic and vivid
dreams can occur in this stage. The purpose of REM sleep still considers as a biologic mystery
despite our understanding of biochemistry and neurobiology.
Second, we will talk about the effect of sleep on physical health as well our mental health.
First, we all know that sleep has a significant impact on our brain. While we are sleeping, the
brain gets to rest and refresh itself to assist your learning and keeping information for the next
day. Studies show that a decent night sleep enhance your learning skill, whether you are
practicing a new sports or playing a new musical instrument. In addition, sleep also helps
boosting your ability to concentrate, make decisions and be creative. Studies also show that sleep
deficiency alters activity in some section of the brain. If you are facing with insufficient sleep,
you may have difficulty making decisions, dealing with problem, controlling your emotions and
behaviors,.... Sleep deficiency also responsible for many negative mental illnesses such as
depression, suicide and stress.
Sleep occurs about a third of our life, therefore, it has an important role to our physical

health. As such, sleep helps in the progress of healing and repairing your heart together with
blood circulation. Insufficient sleep may lead to several infectious diseases. For example, heart
disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes and strokes. Lacking of sleep may also
have the high chance of causing obesity. For example, a study on teenagers show that the risk of
getting obesity higher with every lost hour of sleep. Moreover, sleep also helps maintaining a
good heath by balancing the hormones production which makes your feel full (leptin) or hungry


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(ghrelin). When your sleep is insufficient, the lever of leptin decreases and the lever of ghrelin
increases. In other words, you will feel hungrier compare to when you are well-rested.
Additionally, sleep also has impact on the reaction of our body to insulin- a hormone which
regulate the blood glucose (sugar) level. Sleep deficiency can result in the higher amount than
normal blood sugar which may increase your chance of getting diabetes. Moreover, sleep
supports our body's growth and development. Deep sleep will trigger the body to release a
hormone which boosts normal growth in children and teenagers. This hormone also enhances
muscle mass and helps repair cells and tissues in children, teenagers and adults. Sleep also has a
small role in the puberty and fertility progress. Your immune system relies mostly on sleep to
stay healthy. It works as a defensive function against foreign and dangerous substances.
Continuous sleep deprivation can change your immune system. For example, lacking of sleep
can weaken your immune system, makes you more vulnerable to common infections.
.Furthermore, not only does sleep affect your physical body but also your mental health as
well, especially insomnia. Many specific mental health problems and neurodevelopmental
disorders are caused by insufficient sleep.
Lacking of sleep and other sleeps problems can easily be the cause of depression. One
analysis of 21 different studies found that people who experience insomnia have two-fold risk of
developing depression over those who do not have problems sleeping (Baglioni C, 2011). This

has risen the question of whether improving people’s sleep might actually lower the chance of
getting depression. Similar to other psychological condition, sleep is in a close relationship with
anxiety. People tend to be anxious as they experience more sleep disturbances, sleep deprivation
can also be a contribution to feelings of anxiety. This can become a long term cycle of sleep and
anxiety problems. Moreover, having troubles with sleeping can become a risk factor for


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developing anxiety disorder. A study has shown that sleep problems may be a predictor for
generalized anxiety disorder in children and teens between the age of 9 and 16 (Shanahan L,
2014). People who struggle with sleeping problems may become more likely to developing
anxiety condition, especially when their sleep problems are prolonged and left untreated. Coping
with feelings of anxiety can be that much more difficult when you are tired of chronic sleep
disturbances. Because of this, poor sleep can make the symptom of PTSD – commonly known as
post-traumatic stress disorder affecting between 80% to 90% of people with the condition, it is
also believed to play an important role in both the development and maintenance of this disorder.
However, even people with healthy body and mind can experience bad mental health effects
because of insufficient sleep. For example, one study has found that acute sleep deprivation led
to an increase in anxiety and distress levels in healthy adults (Babson KA, 2010). So while you
might not even if you normally do not experience a great deal of anxiety, poor sleep may leave
you feeling agitated and distraught.
Bipolar disorder is very common among people with sleep disturbances. This disorder can
consist of insufficient sleep, irregular sleep-wake cycles or even nightmares. Bipolar disorder is
classified as the alternating periods between depressed and elevated moods. Changing in sleep
patterns can be the cause of this condition as it also play a role in the progress of the condition,
treatment outcomes as well as the individual’s lifestyle. So if you are having bipolar disorder,
make sure to discuss with your doctor to find a proper treatment to your sleep difficulties.

Besides there are more mental disorders causing by insufficient sleep like ADHD ( Attention
-deficit hyperactivity disorder), PTSD ( Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder),…..


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Finally, I will show you the strategies to for getting enough sleep. There are many steps
you could take to improve your sleep habits. The more enough sleeps you get every night, the
happier and more productive you may find you are during the day.
It is very often that sleep is the first problem that busy people have to squeeze out of their
schedule. Organizing time to sleep will ensure a good health as well as your current well-being
and in the future. There are many ways to improve your sleeps. Go to bed and wake up at the
same time every day helps your body to form a sleep habit, making it easier to get a decent
amount of sleep as you need. In addition, try to keep a same sleep schedule during weekends and
weeknights, limit the difference between weekends sleep and weekdays sleep with no more than
an hour. Staying up late and overslept in weekends can interfere in your body's sleep-wake
pattern. Also, getting an hour before bed for a quiet time by avoiding intense exercise and bright
light, for example, your smartphone or computer screen. The bright atmosphere makes its harder
for our brain to fall into deep sleep.
Another option is not to consume any heavy or large meals before bedtime a few hours
because the digestion process may disrupt your sleep. You should not use nicotine or caffeine
when you need to sleep. They are stimulants and both can affect your sleeping patterns, for
example, the duration of caffeine is 8 hours, which means having a cup of coffee in the late
afternoon can easily cause temporary insomnia at night. It is advised by scientists that you should
be physically active during daytime, which helps you fall asleep easier and have a better sleep
experience. In addition, taking a hot bath or having a warm cup of milk are also very effective
relaxation techniques before bed.
In conclusion, a proper sleep brings lots of benefits to our body, both physically and

mentally, contributes to maintain a heathy lifestyle as well as reduces the risk of infectious


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diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and even strokes. Nowadays,
more and more people having trouble with their sleeping and their knowledge about sleeping is
still limited. Understanding this problem, my research has shown the importance of sleep as well
as its impact on our body both physically and mentally, therefore propose possible treatments to
help them improve their sleeping quality


THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP

Baglioni C, Battagliese G, Feige B, et al. Insomnia as a predictor of depression: a meta-analytic
evaluation of longitudinal epidemiological studies. J Affect Disord. 2011;135(1-3):10-9.
doi:10.1016/j.jad.2011.01.011

Shanahan L, Copeland WE, Angold A, Bondy CL, Costello EJ. Sleep problems predict and are predicted by
generalized anxiety/depression and oppositional defiant disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry.
2014;53(5):550–558. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2013.12.029

Babson KA, Trainor CD, Feldner MT, Blumenthal H. A test of the effects of acute sleep deprivation on general
and specific self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms: an experimental extension. J Behav Ther Exp
Psychiatry. 2010;41(3):297–303. doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2010.02.008

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