Introduction
Sleep is an important facet in the lives of human beings and more important for babies as they spend two thirds of their lives in this state. The benefits of sleep cannot be overstated as it is natures remedy for most cures as manifested by patients resting when facing ill health. Despite its importance, research on sleep has never been conclusive and findings after various studies indicate variations in results. The one thing that all researchers and scholars agree is that further understanding on sleep will yield greater results and understanding towards common social and medical problems that we currently face. As social demands increase so does the importance of sleep.
Benefits of Sleep
As we continue to progress both technologically and financially, there is an inherent culture of ignorance to sleep that we cultivate and this is clearly manifested through man’s hunger for more and more with little thought on the effects of his physical and mental health. Man’s ambitions has been achieved but at the expense of our bodies and bodily functions. As evidenced by the presence of alarm clocks in our rooms, many of us lack sleep and the benefits we can derive from it. Our mood is often altered negatively and the way we relate is impacted once our sleep is distorted (Hawkins 25). Sleep impacts on the brain’s activity greatly as findings have shown that the human body can sleep with the eyes open or even in locations with loud music. The quality of life is greatly hampered in all aspects i.e. socially, mentally and physically when we are derived off sleep. It is accompanied by dreams that also exercise the brains muscle and has been shown in some research findings to have some positive psychological effects. Whether we want to elude sleep voluntarily or involuntarily, symptoms such as tiredness of the human body will force the body to sleep in the end.
Characteristics of Sleep
The effects of has been exhibited more greatly in animals through studies and all animals have been shown to sleep in different forms. The quality and quantity of sleep in the animal kingdom greatly differ. Sleep is characterized by brain activity as through electrodes when placed on the head of a human being or animal. Sleep causes inactivity of the body in most animals and ruminants have been shown to chew cud. Posture also varies from all animals as some birds have been shown to sleep with one leg and others have been shown to sleep upside down as demonstrated by bats. Human beings and primates lie when sleeping, however they can also sleep in any position if the need is too great. Many people can sleep in buses and airplanes and this is proof enough that whether standing, lying or sitting the human body cannot escape sleep. Another characteristic of sleep is that all animals go back to the same location when sleeping and this has been attributed to need for security from internal or external threats such as weather effects or prey while in an unresponsive state (Dinges 122).
Although not completely disconnected fro reality, sleep has the ability to make the body relax. This state of relaxation is different from that of a coma or fainting as one can be quickly aroused in times of danger. All animals sleep in times when activities are less critical towards their basic survival. This has been shown by how animals sleep when they have finished feeding, the same as for humans who have been shown to sleep when they have finished their daily activities. Most animals sleep at night as their body temperatures cannot sustain activities in the freezing night cold. Dolphins and other special animals exhibit unihemispheric sleep which allows them to carry out bodily activities while asleep. This has been contributed to their submergence of sleep on one hemisphere of the brain while the other half is very active (Schenck 54). Sleep is swapped between the two hemispheres in intervals thus ensuring vital bodily functions to continue. For example this allows the dolphin to breath while in water and not drowning.
Need For sleep
Man’s craving for education has come at the expense of sleep. While we acknowledge that the basic purpose of education is to exploit human potential, we also need to take into consideration how sleep plays a big part in the achievement of education. Investigations have shown that there has been continued evolution in sleep patterns of learners all around the world due to competition and the rise in globalization. It is common to find students in our learning institutions “pulling all-nighters,” which is to go for about 24 to 48 hours non stop. The case is even worse as students approach exams as this becomes the norm. An effect of this behavior has been demonstrated by student’s poor performance in the exam. Findings have concentrated into common assumptions and the effects of lack of sleep on cognitive and non cognitive functions of the body. Results in the short term varied between sleep deprived and participants who had a good night rest as some of the students queried reported of better performance when they sleep less and study more but there was an overall acceptance on the long term effects of sleep deprivation and this could be seen through the change in behavior by the participants during the period of research (Schenck 76).
Conclusion
Despite the increasing work load, every person should strive to at least get eight hours of sleep which is enough for the body to rest. As stated earlier more research should be conducted in this field in order to get more insight into how man spends one third of his/her life.
Works Cited
Dinges, Ernest. The Nature of Sleepiness: Causes, contexts and consequences in Eating, sleeping and Sex. New York: Erlbaum, 2002.
Hawkins, John. Self-reported Sleep quality in college students: A repeated Measures Approach. London: Oxford Publishers, 2005.
Schenck, Carlos. Sleep: The mysteries, the problems, and the solutions. California: Avery, 2007