Article Review Of The Article On Why Do We Sleep?

1. The article that captured my attention is titled “Why do we sleep?” This article appealed to me, because sleep is an essential part our everyday lives and I am very fond of sleep. Without sleep, we cannot function. I am very interested in the human body and how it functions and what it needs in order to function, so this topic interested me. The question also caught my eyes, because I do not know why human beings sleep and why the human body acquires sleep to function. Besides the obvious fact that we sleep to prevent exhaustion, I am very excited to learn about why we sleep, scientifically. This article is a Ted Talk video by Russel Foster. http://www.ted.com/talks/russell_foster_why_do_we_sleep#t-53330

2. The question the researcher was

Foster explains the functions the brain puts on as the human body sleeps. The brain is more alert in the sleep stage than it is in the awake stage. He then addresses sleep deprivation and what happens when our body lacks sleep. To answer his question, he shows the audience the different functions of the brain by using a model of a brain. He points to the different structures of the brain and explains how they function during the sleep stage. Foster collects data about how the brain works during the sleep stage. He explains how we need brain for memory consolidation, restoration, energy conservation, and brain processing. For the audience to get a better understanding of why sleep has grown to be less important in America, he shows how the amount of sleep over the years have drastically changed. In the 1950’s, the average person got eight hours of sleep. In 2013, the average amount of hours of sleep went down to six and a half.

The claim the researcher made to answer his research question was done by explaining the three reasons as to why we sleep. These reasons are for restoration, energy conservation, and brain function. When we go to sleep, all of the information and different things we learned throughout the day get restored in our brain. In the brain, a raft of genes turns on only during sleep, associating with restoration. We sleep to save calories and energy. When we sleep, our brain processes novel solutions to complex problems. Sleeping enhances creativity, because the important neuro connections are linked and strengthened. Fussel also explains how the body clock does not shift to the demands of working at night. The body clock tells the people who try to sleep in the day, that it is not time to sleep, therefore the night shift workers are lacking the proper amount of sleep they need. Another form of sleep we are all aware of is micro sleep. Micro sleep is when the human body involuntary falls asleep while trying to stay awake. The human body has no control of this form of sleep. Lack of sleep causes poor memory, poor judgment, and increased impulsiveness. When we lack sleep, our body craves stimulants such as caffeine and drugs. Resulting to alcohol to put you to sleep. Fussel explains that alcohol does not actually help you fall asleep, it sedates you. It damages the neuro processing that goes on during the memory consolidation and brain processing during sleep. Losing sleep can