Why do we sleep?
Sleep is one of the three pillars on which a healthy and happy life is based, and we spend about a third of our lives sleeping. When I prepare for my exams, I wish I don’t fall asleep. However, it is hard to prevent myself dozing off to sleep.
Why
do we sleep? Scientists cannot clearly justify it. In fact, they say it is the
time when our brains and bodies shut down and allow us to recover. As we accept
new experiences, our brain cells link with other parts of the brain. When we
sleep, these essential connections are reinforced whereas the trivial
information is pruned. According to the experiment with sleep-deprived rats,
this process occurs while they sleep.
Maiken
Nedergaard, professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center, discovered
a network of microscopic fluid-filled channels in rats that clears waste
chemicals from the brain.
The
research showed that the brain cells shrink during sleep to make paths for the
increase of the size of the interstitial space to allow fluid to wash the brain
clean. In fact, the lack of sleep prevents the clearing process and some toxic
proteins that are left may trigger brain disorders like Alzheimer’s or
Parkinson’s disease. This clearly proves the necessity of sleep.
The
parts of the human brain are in the state of ‘asleep’ when they are
sleep-deprived. Whales and dolphins, on the other hand, show that they continue
to use half of their brain to swim and come up to the surface for air even when
they are asleep. The humans become more sleep-deprived; some parts of their
brain become inactive, though they are still awake.
https://sleepfoundation.org/excessivesleepiness/content/why-do-we-need-sleep
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32606341
KSJ
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