Sleep… Do We Really Need It?

By Ava Foulk '23

Are you tired? Currently thinking about the next opportunity you can take a nap? That fatigued feeling is due to the buildup of adenosine— a neurotransmitter involved in many chemical pathways— which causes you to feel increasingly tired the longer that you stay awake. When you sleep, your body gets rid of the adenosine which is why you feel well-rested after a nap or a particularly good night of sleep. While you are resting, your body conducts repairs, measures hormonal activity, decreases your metabolic rate, and strengthens your immune system.

However, the question still remains: why exactly do we even need to sleep? To answer this precise question, scientists have conducted numerous research studies and proposed potential answers which include the inactivity theory, energy conservation theory, restorative theories, and the brain plasticity theory. (If you feel compelled to learn more about any one of these, feel free to click on the link.)

The brain plasticity theory is especially intriguing because it examines how the instinctive need to sleep affects one’s ability to absorb and retain information. In other words, it deals with the relationship between sleep and your memory. Studies have indicated that REM sleep— the fourth stage in the sleep cycle during which your brain activity increases— is vital to your declarative and procedural memory processes. Declarative memory deals with factual information whereas procedural memory focuses on how you do an activity. During REM sleep, your brain consolidates those memories so that you will retain the new knowledge and skills that you absorbed while you were awake.

While there is still a lot that scientists do not understand about the necessity of sleep and its connections to your key biological processes, the fact of the matter is sleep is essential. To answer the question in the title of this article, yes! We really do need sleep, so the next time you consider pulling an all-nighter on a school night, you just might want to think twice…

Sources:

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/what-happens-when-you-sleep

https://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memoryhttps://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep