No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to go without sleep, sooner or later you will fall asleep. But why is sleep essential?
Various experiments have been carried out on laboratory rats, leading to one conclusion: complete sleep deprivation leads to death even faster than starvation. Insomnia can destroy the body, and after a certain point, it is virtually impossible to avoid sleep.
If you are sleep deprived, you first become irritable and then forgetful. Without sleep it becomes increasingly difficult to concentrate, and the simplest task becomes impossible to complete, not to mention something more complex, like driving a car. Prolonged periods of sleep deprivation also lead to a reduced immune system response, fluctuating blood pressure, and changes in metabolism.
However, the dream cannot actually be fully understood; there is no obvious chemical change, such as the buildup of carbon dioxide when we don’t breathe, to explain its effects. The body simply shuts down when we sleep, while the brain continues to function.
More than fifty years ago, scientists discovered two distinct stages of the brain during sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. While in REM sleep your eyes obviously move rapidly under your eyelids, during non-REM sleep the brain seems to go into a slower state. Breathing and heartbeat are regular, and few dreams occur.
During REM sleep, the brain is very active and the neurons seem to react almost as they do when awake, and dreams occur in this part of the cycle. When we dream, the parts of the brain that control body movement function much as they do in the waking state; however, the neurotransmitters that carry signals from the brain to the muscles are inhibited, except those related to eye movement.
Non-REM sleep is a period of lower metabolic rate and lower brain temperature. If during REM sleep the neurotransmitters are turned off, but the cells function normally, during non-REM sleep the brain can replenish the enzymes necessary to function properly. Periods of REM sleep may be the time during which key links in neurons can be restored and, according to the researchers, these links control mood and learning. In addition, sleep is also necessary for the brain to organize the memories and data of the day and to develop as the rest of the body is left out of the process.
Simply put, you really can’t go without sleep. You can go without food for a while, but total sleep deprivation will surely kill you. You need sleep to function and survive, and without it the brain can’t do anything. Although we sometimes wish there were more hours in the day, and ignore sleep for other “more important” activities, lack of sleep will only make things worse.