The Science of Sleep (60 Minutes TV)

Have you ever noticed that the majority of “human error” accidents typically occur late at night? Looking back on situations such as Three Mile Island and the big oil spill into the gulf, many factors could have contributed to the outcomes of each. Maybe the workers were not focused, it could be that they were being lazy, their reactions may have been a little slower at that time of night, or maybe it was even a lack of comprehension in the communication going on. What so few people realize is, the amount of sleep affects virtually every scenario. “Sleep is Critical” (60 Minutes).  It not only energizes the body of all living creatures, but it also contributes to many other essential aspects of life. The amount of sleep one receives, determines how the brain responds, potentially puts the body at risk for heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, obesity, and even diabetes. Since your brain starts to slow down when the body is tired, it also slows the response from the stomach to the brain letting you know to stop eating. Therefore there is a greater risk for obesity if the body does not get an appropriate amount of sleep. Drowsiness while driving is very dangerous. It is said that it only takes two seconds to fall into a micro sleep and drift off the robe, and only four seconds to get into a wreck. Last but not least, after just six days of interrupting the sleep of a perfectly healthy teenage male, the subject was on the verge of having type two diabetes AND after five days of depriving rats of sleep, the rats began to die. Research has found that humans spend one third of their life sleeping. With that being said, there is clearly a big difference in the quantity versus quality of the sleep one accumulates. The appropriate amount of sleep varies from creature to creature, for human beings; it is around seven to nine hours. BUT if the quality of those seven to nine hours is not great, it does not really matter how much sleep you get. Waking up every hour for let’s say eight or so hours, affects your brain just as much as barely getting any sleep, it just occurs over time instead of right away. If and when the brain becomes affected, there is no telling how humans and other species will behave; it can produce mood swings, a change in judgment or lack thereof. Though it may not seem like it right away, sleep can be a life or death situation. Thus, we can now see how important sleep is, making it essential for life.