Sleep: Not a Waste of Time

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Until the 1950s, most people thought of sleep as a passive, dormant part of our daily lives; however, we now know that our brains are very active during sleep. Moreover, sleep affects our daily functioning and our physical and mental health in many ways that we are just beginning to understand, but what is sleep, how much sleep does one need, and what benefits does sleep provide one with? There is no true substitution for sleep, yet the majority of people in the world today do not obtain the necessary amount of sleep their body needs to function at its best each and every morning. Through certain animal studies, such as the experiment conducted with rats, scientists have established that sleep is essential for survival. As stated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, “While rats normally live for two to three years, those deprived of REM sleep survive only about 5 weeks on average, and rats deprived of all sleep stages live only about 3 weeks. Sleep-deprived rats also develop abnormally low body temperatures and sores on their tail and paws.” This stands to show that not only does sleep have a significant impact on one’s survival rate, but sleep deprivation also affects one’s immune system. A good night’s sleep will not hurt one, so it is highly imperative that one makes time for it within his or her life.
Sleep is just as important to one’s body as is food and water. However, the amount of sleep one needs to sustain an efficient life varies on one’s age. People tend to sleep more lightly and for shorter time spans as they get older, although they generally need about the same amount of sleep as they needed in early adulthood. Infants generally require about 16 hours a day, while teenagers need about 9 h...

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...succeed in life and being unable to obtain this success because of a small bodily condition that is sleep, is not enough to accept failure. With such a wealth of evidence about the prevalence of adolescent sleep deprivation and the risks it poses, many sleep researchers have become involved in efforts to persuade school districts to push back high-school starting times so that teens can get their needed rest. Some schools argue that adjusting school schedules is too expensive and complicated, but others have responded positively to sleep experts’ pleas. Sleep has proven to be essential when it comes to learning and retaining vital information and, therefore, unless school districts decide to change their school start times, every child and adolescent should go to bed and get a good night’s sleep, so that one is able to put all of his or her effort into their triumph.

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