Much is written these days about how to avoid dementia. A lot of research money has lately been devoted to possible pharmaceuticals that have ended up being disappointments. There is no cure in sight, so those of us with dementia in our family should look to prevention. With that in mind, it is now known that much “brain maintenance and repair” happens during sleep. What? For years, sleep has been looked upon as a possible waste of time….or at best, a necessary evil! Perhaps we should rethink this. Maybe, while we sleep, we are not doing nothing….because research is showing that we are actually accomplishing much.
Thomas Edison, known for creating light bulbs, once said that “Sleep is an absurdity, a bad habit.” He felt that our working hours should be expanded and that it was a mark of superior intelligence to sleep less and work more. Perhaps this helped lead us to the belief that our level of business was related to our level of value or importance. (see previous blog “Get Unbusy”) We now know that if we want our work to be done correctly, we had better take sleep seriously!
The Center for Disease Control tells us that about 70 million adults in the US live sleep deprived on a chronic basis. On average, a hundred years ago, we slept about 9 hours a night. It is now recommended to get at least 7 hours as a minimum. So that means that a lot of us are getting less than 7 hours. It must be that we don’t understand how important sleep is!
So what is this important work that happens during sleep? Well, first of all, genetically speaking, we all are blessed with a biological clock. This clock helps regulate our sleep cycle. Our cells have “clock genes”, supervised by a part of our hypothalamus. Chemical are released in a certain rhythm. For example, while we are awake and active we accumulate adenosine. As it becomes evening, melatonin is released by your pineal gland, telling you it is time to sleep. Then when the sun begins to rise, melatonin production slows.
While we are sleeping, our brain cells complete a lot of maintenance and clean up duty. And when we don’t sleep enough, this does not get done. It is like living in a house where no one ever takes out the trash. After a while, there are consequences!! The maintenance duties include, among other things, preserving and consolidating new information, linking information to existing memories, trash removal (getting rid of metabolic waste like beta-amyloid which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease), cell repair, and increasing growth hormone production.
When the brain is not given enough time to complete its many “off-hour” duties, there is a price to pay. It can be falling asleep at the wheel. It can be decreased coordination while awake, leading to more falls or injuries. It may be impaired cognition….or even dementia.
I learned a lot of interesting facts about sleep in this post — but it is time to heed your advice and go to bed