Why do we sleep? Why do so many seniors not sleep? It’s not clear yet to scientists. For sure, however, when we don’t sleep, we can easily get fat, sick and stupid. At least that’s what one expert reminds us. Robert Stickgold is a leading researcher on why we sleep.
We understood the biological functions of the sex drive, hunger, and thirst two thousand years ago, and for sleep we didn’t know it a dozen years ago. It is subtle. If rats don’t sleep, they die. But we still don’t know why they die. …If you don’t get enough sleep, you are going to end up fat, sick, and stupid.
What Happens When We Sleep
Your brain and body stay remarkably active while you sleep. Recent findings suggest that sleep plays a housekeeping role that removes toxins in your brain that build up while you are awake. Everyone needs sleep, but its biological purpose remains a mystery.
After people sleep, they tend to retain information and perform better on memory tasks. Our bodies require long periods of sleep in order to restore and rejuvenate, to grow muscle, repair tissue, and synthesize hormones. Now that’s a very good reason to get good sleep. What senior doesn’t want that?
What Happens When We Don’t Sleep
According to Stickgold, without enough sleep, we are going to end up fat, sick, and stupid. That’s not good for anyone, but it’s especially risky with aging seniors.
Fat: One of the consequences of sleep deprivation is craving dense carbohydrates and sugars. When college students slept four hours a night and were given a glucose tolerance test, they looked prediabetic. Food consumption increased. Insulin resistance is provoked by lack of sleep. Sleep loss can cause weight gain without any measurable decline in activity or energy expenditure.
Instead, lack of adequate sleep disrupts the body’s signaling hormones of ghrelin, leptin and peptide YY (involved in hunger satiety.)
Sick: Sleep loss also wreaks havoc with the immune system. This is subtle because it might not trigger a cold or illness, but nevertheless, sleep deprived people produce 50 percent fewer antibodies in response to a vaccine, an indication that the immune system is compromised.
Stupid: People who don’t sleep well perform more poorly on skills test such as the ability to recall a list of facts. Some companies like Google, Nike, Procter & Gamble, and Cisco Systems have begun allowing employees to take naps at work as a way to enhance both productivity and creativity.
Not getting enough sleep can lower your sex drive, weaken your immune system, cause thinking issues, and lead to weight gain. Inadequate sleep may increase the risk of cancers, diabetes, and even car accidents. It’s not a badge of honor to need only a few hours a night, it’s asking for poor health.
And for seniors, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s and dementia is augmented with sleep loss. That’s a powerful reason to protect your sleeping environment and consecrate time for quality sleep.
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