According to BBC, Recent research suggests that lack of sleep
could lead to deteriorative mental health issues later in life. For many years,
evolutionary biologists have wondered why, in a predator-prey food chain
environment, animals maintain sleep above other functions when it so clearly
exposes them to harm. Now there is evidence that it is due to the restorative
processes occurring during sleep. These studies are centered on the function of
the glymphatic system of mice while they sleep, including the shrinking of the
glial cells, which enables the interstitial space to open and fluid to wash
away toxic chemicals that build up during the day.
This has led the way for studies to track the
mental health of those running daily on little to no sleep. Included in this
sleep-deprived population are students ranging from middle school through
college-aged, whose ration of homework each night keeps them from getting the
sleep they require. This has serious implications for those in secondary
education, during the critical formative years for brain and neuronal
development, who are staying up until the early hours doing homework and
playing video games. The grade-driven and technologically consumed culture has
become over-bearing and stressful for younger generations and in several decades,
could lead to an older population plagued with neurodegenerative disorders.
The article did not clarify the interstitial
fluid composition nor did it qualify what toxins were building up in the brain,
so I would be curious to know the biochemical pathways associated with this
process. If cleaning mechanisms or
lipid metabolics are influenced/inhibited by these toxins, then the possibility
for causation of neurodegenerative disorders is more than likely true. And if
that is the case, then there most definitely needs to be a stronger campaign
for youth to spend less time stressing about schoolwork, and more time resting,
meaning classes and teachers may have to reevaluate their techniques to
maximize time in the classroom to reduce time spent outside the classroom. Schools
should spend more time teaching students how to study and work, rather than
piling on lectures and expecting the students to process the information on
their own. It has always been said
that sleep is critical to good mental health, but now those words may be truer
than ever.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24567412
I read a similar article discussing how for higschoolers, the brain isn't fully alert and awake until two hours after they have woken up. Many schools start ridiculously early and most highschool students tend to sleep in till the very last minute when they have to be awake and be at school. Those first few classes a student has, they aren't receiving much of the information presented. This article adds to the worrisome evidence that students aren't getting the sleep they need, and they are not just not paying attention in class, but there are other serious mental health implications.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting article. I had never read anything about that before. The fact that while the body is sleeping, the brain is cleaning out waste seems incredible. It would be quite nice to be told that I need to sleep more and worry about studying less. I hope they conduct more research because I'd be curious to see what they find.
ReplyDeleteThis is super relevant/applicable to our mental development and behaviors as college students. I prioritize sleep, but I know many students who pull all nighters before big tests or papers are due. This can be really detrimental to us - and your point, Laura, about the importance of this kind of research in understanding how lack of sleep affects people during their formative years/in secondary education is critical to the concept of sleep deprivation and the need for it to be studied further. I think it's great that you went past the scope of this article to talk about how it relates to us as students.
ReplyDeleteLike Cannon, I have never read anything like this before. The interesting public health implications of this phenomenon lie in the stress that will be placed on the infrastructure serving older adults. Public health professionals tend to agree that older adults have a better quality of life if they can remain in their home, receiving home-based care and other community-based services as opposed to being institutionalized. However, populations with neurodegenerative disorders often require a higher level of care and oversight that might not be conducive to staying in their home during their later life years. If we still agree as a society that it makes more sense to keep people out of institutions for as long as possible, the social services and health care services needed to sustain a good quality of life for this population might overwhelm the current system.
ReplyDelete