Sleep is important, but feels old-fashioned. Our lifestyle these days rarely takes sleep into account – we rather try to work as much as we can, then engage in some fitness training, and finally land ourselves in a club or pub. We pump ourselves with coffee in the morning and during the day, so life seems to roll on as if there is not much need for sleep. At some point we eventually feel exhausted, so we book expensive vacation trips and again spend our nights on the dance floor or elsewhere.
We seemingly invest in our health – by staying physically active, eating ecologically grown food, and taking vacations. However, besides all this, we forget what is most important – sleep. Sleep is equally vital to an artist, athlete, car salesperson, scientist, and every one of us. Good sleep helps us make the most of our lives. Let’s see why sleeping is so important and how to maximise its benefits.
Sleeping Buddha. Digital art work by Hartwig HKD / Flickr Creative Commons
Why sleep?
To be honest, scientists are still not quite sure why sleep is so crucial throughout the animal kingdom. There are various theories about sleep function, but let’s just highlight two of them here.
One reason is that our brain cells need rest. They need rest because, contrary to our body cells, brain cells aren’t normally renewed. Although new brain cells are indeed born in a few regions of our brain and thousands of brain cells die daily, the large share of our hundred billion brain cells accompany us throughout our lives. Thus, sleeping gives individual brain cells some rest. One should not get the wrong impression here – during sleep the brain and the neurons are not switched off, they are still very much active, but in some sleep phases this activity permits “time-outs” for the single neurons. Continue reading
