True Summary:
The TIME Magazine article, The Power of Sleep, describes what occurs when we sleep… or don’t. Scientists are starting to learn the startling effects of sleep deprivation on the human brain. Dr. Sigrid Veasey, sleep researcher at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania conducted studies on mice, whose neurological structure can be compared to that of a human. He found that when we are awake, the brain is firing and using energy, which causes it to produce biological debris. This is literally the waste product of thinking and can be toxic if it builds up. He learned that when we sleep, the brain goes into a cleansing state. Cells work in “perfect synchrony” filling the brain with antioxidants that sweep out the toxic detritus in our brains. When we skip sleep cycles or don’t sleep enough, this toxic waste builds up (because the brain cannot produce enough antioxidants) and hinders the neurons ability to fire. After repeated sleep deprivation, the neurons will actually die; once a neuron dies, it never grows back. This is frightening because 45% of teens don’t get the recommended amount of sleep. A major change in the way humanity thinks about sleeping, needs to happen. It makes the brain age faster and is a serious medical hazard. Another study done by Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, the co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester found similar results. Firstly, she learned that brain cells swell when the brain is awake and take up 86% of the brain’s volume. The brain is firing like crazy and is incredibly active also. She then found that a group of cells that normally aid in sending and receiving signals, called glial cells, function completely different when the brain goes to sleep. When the brain goes to sleep, these cells jumpstart and slow down the frequency. The nerves eventually get lulled to a quiet state, and in REM cycle, the firing becomes almost negligible. The size of the brain cells shrink and the glial cells work hard to flush out the energy waste in the brain. The brain cleans itself during sleep, which is crucial to our health and function of our minds.
Source:
Park, Alice, Alexandra Sifferlin, and Mandy Oaklander. "The Power of Sleep." TIME 22 Sept. 2014: 1-7. Web.
Click here link for this article
-Dawson Matthews
The TIME Magazine article, The Power of Sleep, describes what occurs when we sleep… or don’t. Scientists are starting to learn the startling effects of sleep deprivation on the human brain. Dr. Sigrid Veasey, sleep researcher at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania conducted studies on mice, whose neurological structure can be compared to that of a human. He found that when we are awake, the brain is firing and using energy, which causes it to produce biological debris. This is literally the waste product of thinking and can be toxic if it builds up. He learned that when we sleep, the brain goes into a cleansing state. Cells work in “perfect synchrony” filling the brain with antioxidants that sweep out the toxic detritus in our brains. When we skip sleep cycles or don’t sleep enough, this toxic waste builds up (because the brain cannot produce enough antioxidants) and hinders the neurons ability to fire. After repeated sleep deprivation, the neurons will actually die; once a neuron dies, it never grows back. This is frightening because 45% of teens don’t get the recommended amount of sleep. A major change in the way humanity thinks about sleeping, needs to happen. It makes the brain age faster and is a serious medical hazard. Another study done by Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, the co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester found similar results. Firstly, she learned that brain cells swell when the brain is awake and take up 86% of the brain’s volume. The brain is firing like crazy and is incredibly active also. She then found that a group of cells that normally aid in sending and receiving signals, called glial cells, function completely different when the brain goes to sleep. When the brain goes to sleep, these cells jumpstart and slow down the frequency. The nerves eventually get lulled to a quiet state, and in REM cycle, the firing becomes almost negligible. The size of the brain cells shrink and the glial cells work hard to flush out the energy waste in the brain. The brain cleans itself during sleep, which is crucial to our health and function of our minds.
Source:
Park, Alice, Alexandra Sifferlin, and Mandy Oaklander. "The Power of Sleep." TIME 22 Sept. 2014: 1-7. Web.
Click here link for this article
-Dawson Matthews