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The importance of sleep

Oct 29, 2024 Editorial, News

…Editorial

Kaieteur News- From the dawn of history, a feeling of wellbeing has been the goal of most of mankind: happiness has proven too elusive. This quest has taken many forms, involving both the internal and external landscapes.

In a developing country like ours, we look longingly at all the medical facilities and resources that are available to the citizens of the richer countries and rightfully assume that these have to help in raising the spirit and energy level of the ordinary man-in-the street as he struggles through life.

However, even as we work with our leaders to improve our health-care system, we have within our grasp a simple activity that can go a long way towards making us feel better – simply getting enough sleep every day of the week. While all of us may understand that enjoying a good night’s sleep may make us feel refreshed the next day, there is not enough appreciation that, in its absence, a tremendous number of physical reactions are precipitated in the body, all of which feedback negatively on our systems.

First of all, it appears that, during sleep, the brain assimilates the thoughts accumulated over the course of the previous period of activity. This processing is connected to the different levels of sleep that are associated with the act of dreaming. The quality of sleep, therefore, is also very important, and it is essential that one is not interrupted frequently while trying to get some “shut-eye”.

Sleep is tantamount to “food” for the brain, and its deprivation certainly slows down our thinking process the next day. It has been shown that losing some ninety minutes of sleep from one’s normal sleeping period results in a thirty-two percent reduction of daytime alertness.

Can one estimate the total loss of productivity to the nation caused by the ubiquitous stereo systems in the various and sundry “sports” that are held across the land until the wee hours of the night, every night of the week?

Maybe if the Administration just gets a handle on this noise menace, the nation’s economic growth rate might resume its upward ascent. There is the old saying: “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. While we are not sure about the wealth and wisdom that may accrue due to sleep, we can safely count on the health aspect.

A solid night’s sleep actually helps to boost our immune system, and makes us better prepared to fight off germs and other infections. During sleep, the body produces melatonin, which is a cancer-fighting antioxidant, and which helps suppress the growth of tumours.

Several studies have shown that prolonged exposure to light reduces the level of melatonin formed; so people who work in late shifts (and do not get enough sleep) have a higher risk factor to breast and colon cancers. A lack of sleep also has a profound effect on our emotional wellbeing. It is commonplace that a deficit of sleep leads to stress. What is not realized is that this stress places the body’s functions on a high alert, precipitating an increase in blood pressure, which in turn raises the risk of a heart attack or a stroke.

Sleep also regulates chemicals such as serotonin, produced in our body. A deficiency of serotonin can cause depression and low self-esteem. Getting the right amount of sleep is crucial in fighting depression. A lack of sleep also increases the hormone that increases hunger pangs, and lowers the one that suppresses hunger: the connection with weight gain should be obvious.

Finally, we should be aware that the deleterious effects of the lack of sleep are cumulative: missing sleep for several days can cause severe loss of reaction time, judgment, short term memory, performance, vigilance and patience. While there are many provocations in the modern world in general, and our Guyana in particular, that conspire to deny us our quota of sleep, we have to make a concerted effort to fight back. Maybe the “power-nap”, which has become popular in the developed world, may be the way to go, since we do not believe that the powers that be will agree to initiate the afternoon siesta that is so common with our Spanish neighbours.

The importance of sleep

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