THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP: A WAKE-UP CALL FOR THE SLEEP DEPRIVED

The Learning Process

There’s more, not only is sleep critical for optimal physical health, it also has a profound impact on learning and memory. This relationship can be described in terms of three functions:

• Acquisition:
  - Occurs when we are awake
  - We introduce our brain to new information
• Consolidation:
  - Occurs when we sleep
  - It’s the process we use to create lasting memories
• Recall:
  - Occurs when we are awake
  - It’s our ability to tap into stored information

Even though research tells us that sleep is critical, a multitude of studies and surveys show that we are a dangerously sleep-deprived nation.

Canadian workers lose about 80,000 working days a year because of sleep deprivation. Productivity is lost by absenteeism — employees calling in sick — or 'presenteeism,' when employees are on the job but working at a suboptimal level.

33% of men aged 30 to 49 sleep only four to six hours a night, instead of the recommended eight hours.

33% of Canadian children are sleep deprived.

Screen Time Is Killing Sleep Time

One of the main culprits behind our sleep deprivation? In a word, technology. Do you take your smart phone to bed with you or watch TV before lights out? Your bedtime routine could be why you’re lying awake counting your ceiling tiles instead of sleeping. The problem lies with electronic devices—they emit a blue light that works against sleep.

For example, if you read on an iPad before bed, studies have found that you will produce lower levels of melatonin — a hormone linked to sleepiness. You’ll also experience shorter restorative rapid eye movement cycles and delayed circadian rhythms. Rapid eye movement sleep is the most restorative part of our sleep cycle, and is when our brains and bodies are re-energized and dreaming occurs. Our internal biological clock, circadian rhythm, regulates when we feel sleepy and awake, and fluctuates throughout the day. If you miss out on these two important aspects, you’ll feel sleepier the next morning despite having slept eight hours the night before.

What’s more is that you don’t have to be staring directly at a television or computer screen; if enough blue light hits the eye, the brain can stop releasing melatonin. Consequently, using technology makes it harder to sleep.

So turn off your devices a few hours before bed and read a good book in dim light. It may be a big step in re-establishing your relationship with sleep and becoming your most productive self.

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

There’s no magic number that is prescribed for everyone. For most adults, seven to eight hours a night appear to be the best amount of sleep while others need as few as five hours or as many as 10. But don’t stress about the number of hours you’ve clocked in bed; rather, assess your energy level while you are awake.

Experts say that if you feel drowsy during the day, even during boring activities, you haven’t had enough sleep. “Burning the candle at both ends” has become so accepted, and expected, in our society that what is really abnormal sleepiness is now almost the norm.

What Would Happen If We Didn’t Sleep?

A good way to understand the role of sleep is to look at what would happen if we didn't sleep. Not getting enough sleep seriously affects our brain's ability to function. After just one night without sleep, concentration becomes more difficult and our attention span shortens considerably. With continued lack of sufficient sleep, the part of the brain that controls language, memory, planning and sense of time practically shuts down.

Sleep-deprived individuals find it difficult to respond to rapidly changing situations and to make rational judgements. Lack of sleep is said to have been a contributing factor to the Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island disasters, and the Challenger shuttle explosion. Sleep deprivation also has a major impact on emotional health. Research has found that sleepy people focus on negativity and are unable to properly process emotional information.