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Sleep—Luxury or Necessity?Awake!—2003 | March 22
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During deep sleep (non-REM sleep stages 3 and 4), our blood pressure and heart rate reach lower ranges, providing rest for the circulatory system and helping to ward off cardiovascular disease.
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Sleep—Luxury or Necessity?Awake!—2003 | March 22
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Vital for Health
But that is not all. Sleep makes it easier for our body to metabolize free radicals—molecules that are said to affect the aging of cells and even cause cancer. In a recent study carried out by the University of Chicago, 11 healthy young men were allowed only four hours of sleep a day for six days. At the end of this period, their body cells were performing like those of 60-year-olds, and their blood insulin level was comparable with that of a diabetes sufferer! Sleep deprivation even affects the production of white blood cells and the hormone cortisol, making a person more prone to infections and circulatory diseases.
Without a doubt, sleep is vital for a healthy body and mind. In the opinion of researcher William Dement, founder of the first sleep study center, at Stanford University, U.S.A., “sleep seems to be the most important indicator of how long you’ll live.” Deborah Suchecki, researcher at a sleep study center in São Paulo, Brazil, comments: “If people knew what is going on in a sleep-deprived body, they would think twice about concluding that sleep is a waste of time or just for the lazy.”—See the box above.
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