Why We Sleep Research Paper

The function of sleep is to promote restoration. The human body accumulates damages due to impact strain and from reactive oxygen species that damage cells and buildup during times of activity (Sleep-wake cycle, 2006). During sleep, most of the body's systems are in an anabolic state, helping to restore the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems (Sleep-wake cycle, 2006). Most of the body has restorative processes that can supplement the restorative processes that happen during sleep for long periods of time, but the brain is more reliant on regular intervals of sleep for restoration as quiescent restoration is insufficient (Sleep-wake cycle, 2006). When the body does not get enough sleep, most body functions work at diminished capacity. (Brain Basics, 2017). Sleep deprivation is defined as obtaining inadequate sleep to support adequate daytime alertness (Kryger, Roth, & Dement, 2005). The pathological effects of sleep deprivation can lead to undesirable physiologic

Despite the unanswered questions and the unknown factors behind sleep and dreams, there are many theories behind their purposes. Many popular sleep theories have to do with keeping out body and mind in top shape. Some examples of sleep theories are: protection, recuperation, memory restoration, and growth. (Myers, 2014) All of these theories are beneficial to the body and its functionality. The protection theory assumes that the feeling of sleep kicks in when it is dark or dangerous out and danger is more prevalent.

Have you ever wondered why do we sleep ? Most people confuse it as a time period where we shut down to catch up on energy. When in reality sleeping means an active period in which a lot of restoration, strengthening, and important processing occurs. The power of sleep is so huge, it's quality directly affects the quality of your waking life. Affecting your mental sharpness, productivity, emotional balance, creativity, and your weight. One of the vital roles of sleep is to help us solidify and consolidate memories. While we are up during the day our brains take in an incredible amount of information. These facts and experiences first need to be processed and stored ; many of these steps happen while we sleep. Overnight a process called, consolation, takes place where pieces of information are transferred from more tentative, short-term memory to stronger, long-term memory. Researchers have shown that after we sleep we tend to retain information and perform better on memory tasks.

I searched the internet and I found many different theories on why we sleep? These theories include: Inactivity Theory, Energy Conservation Theory, Restorative Theories, and Brain Plasticity Theory. Furthermore, I found resources that help link the some of the theories together to give a stronger answer to why we sleep.

There are many theories scientists have made for way we sleep. Inactivity theory states humans use to sit still for long periods of time to wait out their predators and it is now manifested in the form of sleep. Energy conservation theory states that we sleep to conserve our energy to search for food, or in modern times, work. Restorative theory states we sleep to renew our bodies and minds. Then, there is the brain plasticity theory which states that we sleep so that our brains can grow.

Concerning this article which states that sleeping is good for productivity moreover is beneficial for our body since it makes us lively & ready for the challenges of the day.

Three theories of why we sleep are the Restorative Theory, Adaptive Theory, and the Energy Conservation Theory. The Restorative Theory states that while we sleep our body restores tissues and “heals” our body so we are ready for the next day. The Adaptive Theory states that we adapted to sleeping for the amount of time we sleep. We also sleep as a way of adapting to our environment this came from the idea that how long and how many times a day animals sleep is a way they adapt to their environment. The Energy Conservation Theory states that we sleep as a way to save energy and build our energy back up and prepare us for the next

Sleep was believed to be a passive state in the past. However, sleep as it unfolds is anything but a passive process. The brain’s activity is as complex as during wakefulness, never resting during sleep. Furthermore, sleep is indispensable for normal brain growth in early life. [1]

There are many theories as to why we sleep. Of the three most popular theories, I disregarded the first two. The final theory was that humans use sleep to regenerate our bodies. The body uses the time that we are stationary to renovate our bodies. Things like muscle growth, tissue repair, and protein synthesis occur at an elevated rate while we sleep. This is important and, on the evolutionary side, it could be worth it to keep ourselves healthy.

This added to the difficulties making it hard to fall asleep such as too much on your mind, time changes when traveling, physical pain/ailments, etc. make it hard for the Prolactin we secrete to do its job helping us relax and be calm. Sleep deprivation is unhealthy and can be dangerous. I know when I worked the graveyard shift and tried to stay awake over 24 hours for a trip we took, it made me cranky, physically ill and practically hallucinate. If I had been the driver, I would have been a danger to us and everyone around

The most interesting theory that we have studied to me is the sleep theory. Most of the world really do not know the correct amount of sleep our body needs. During this study I realized there are distinctive stages and each phase of rest affects the various elements of the body and can influence a person’s volume to work not only mentally, but physically. Numerous individuals are uneducated on the significance of getting the best possible measure of rest. At the point when the body does not get enough sleep, many issues can occur. For example, memory misfortune, condition of misery, poor occupation execution and fractiousness any many others. Rest has been divided into different stages and each stage has an essential influence. Each stage is

This theory is also known as the evolutionary theory or the adaptive theory of sleep and is one of the earliest theories that arose. The simplest explanation of the theory is that energy demand and expenditure is decreased during sleep due to sleep being such an inactive ‘activity.’ Endotherms use much of their energy for homeostatic purposes, especially for regulating their core body temperature. The theory that we sleep in order to conserve energy came from the observation that our core body temperature decreases by 1 degree during sleep resulting in reduced metabolic energy cost. This hypothesis was supported by the observations that smaller animals with higher metabolic rates slept for longer periods of time than larger animals with lower metabolic rates and ectotherms (such as reptiles) that do not need to maintain their core body temperature, slept less than endotherms.

Sleep serves several different functions throughout the brain and body such as repair or growth, learning, memory consolidation, and restorative processes affecting behavioral, physiological and neurocognitive processes (Kruger JM, Obal F 2003; Bennington JH, 2000).

Lack of sleep can cause me to be exhausted when I awaken, and unable to manage through the day, and although I may be in bed for eight hours, the deep sleep is not longer than five hours. The resulting lack of sleep and recall ability can create susceptibility to forgetting, and the inability to have a working memory.

 A most popular theory on why we sleep is the restorative theory of sleep: