Brooke Safford Explains The Impact Of Lack Of Sleep
SARASOTA, FL, UNITED STATES, July 18, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Brooke Safford is a sleep expert who has recently completed a piece of research on the impact of sleep deprivation on the body and the brain. As an expert in psychology and neuroscience and a recognized author, he has made sleep his main field of study. It has long been known that insufficient sleep leads to the brain finding it difficult to make new memories. The how and why of this is what has interested Safford in particular, trying to understand the link between sleep and memory retention.
Also, Safford looked into the impact of lack of sleep on a production of beta-amyloid. This is a toxic brain protein that is linked closely to Alzheimer's disease. When people sleep, the brain flushes out toxins, including beta-amyloid. This means that those who do not sleep enough start to have a buildup of this protein. The larger the amount of this protein in the brain, the more likely it will be for that person to develop dementia.
Brooke Safford also explains how lack of sleep affects the physical body, which is in numerous ways. Firstly, the reproductive system is affected. Men who sleep only five or six hours a night have testosterone levels comparable to those who are 10 years their senior. In other words, lack of sleep can make someone age a decade in terms of wellness and virility.
At the same time, lack of sleep impacts the immune system. After a single night in which a person has just four to five hours of sleep, natural killer cells, which are immune cells that fight cancer, are reduced by 70%. This is why people who sleep for only short periods of time are more at risk of various forms of cancer, including breast, prostate, and bowel cancer. This link is now so well-determined that the World Health Organization (WHO) has become involved, classifying nighttime shift work as a potential carcinogen. Hence, working in a way that disrupts the rhythm of sleep could cause cancer.
Next, Safford explains that lack of sleep has an impact on the cardiovascular system. This is because, during sleep, the body is able to lower blood pressure. When we sleep, our heart rate also goes down, which leads to lower blood pressure. Essentially, sleep is a reboot of the overall cardiovascular system, which works better than any blood pressure medication on the market today. Those who sleep less than six hours per night are 200% more likely to suffer from a fatal stroke or heart attack during their lifetime.
Safford is particularly interested in the global experiment that is currently taking place, in which 1.6 billion people are tested twice yearly without even being aware of it. That test is the daylight saving time. It means that, during spring, people lose an hour of sleep. So far, results have shown that the following day, heart attack rates increased by 24%. That is a statistically significant figure.
Currently, Safford is considering another important question, which is how quickly a human being can recycle. He is interested in finding out how long someone could continue to function without sleep before a clear decline in cognitive function starts to become apparent and before the physical effects are noticeable. So far, his studies have shown that someone who has been awake for 16 hours starts to experience this.
According to Brooke Safford, once someone has been awake for 16 hours, there is a clear and measurable deterioration in that person’s mental and physiological capacity. If that person continues to be awake and reaches 19 to 20 hours, mental capacity is equal to that of someone who would be drunk behind a wheel. Yet, many people pride themselves on their ability to "pull an all-nighter". Brooke Safford believes that the recycling rate of the average human being is no more than 16 hours, therefore, which would also suggest that the old statement of every human being needing eight hours of sleep every night is correct. It is during those eight hours that the body is able to repair all the damage that has been done while people were awake. In fact, Safford describes wakefulness as a form of brain damage.
Unfortunately, it is also true that society today does not lend itself to sleeping eight hours per night anymore. This is true not just for shift workers. People are simply too busy trying to make ends meet to fit everything in 24 hours. Sleep is often the first thing to suffer since people feel they don't do anything during those hours anyway.
Also, Safford looked into the impact of lack of sleep on a production of beta-amyloid. This is a toxic brain protein that is linked closely to Alzheimer's disease. When people sleep, the brain flushes out toxins, including beta-amyloid. This means that those who do not sleep enough start to have a buildup of this protein. The larger the amount of this protein in the brain, the more likely it will be for that person to develop dementia.
Brooke Safford also explains how lack of sleep affects the physical body, which is in numerous ways. Firstly, the reproductive system is affected. Men who sleep only five or six hours a night have testosterone levels comparable to those who are 10 years their senior. In other words, lack of sleep can make someone age a decade in terms of wellness and virility.
At the same time, lack of sleep impacts the immune system. After a single night in which a person has just four to five hours of sleep, natural killer cells, which are immune cells that fight cancer, are reduced by 70%. This is why people who sleep for only short periods of time are more at risk of various forms of cancer, including breast, prostate, and bowel cancer. This link is now so well-determined that the World Health Organization (WHO) has become involved, classifying nighttime shift work as a potential carcinogen. Hence, working in a way that disrupts the rhythm of sleep could cause cancer.
Next, Safford explains that lack of sleep has an impact on the cardiovascular system. This is because, during sleep, the body is able to lower blood pressure. When we sleep, our heart rate also goes down, which leads to lower blood pressure. Essentially, sleep is a reboot of the overall cardiovascular system, which works better than any blood pressure medication on the market today. Those who sleep less than six hours per night are 200% more likely to suffer from a fatal stroke or heart attack during their lifetime.
Safford is particularly interested in the global experiment that is currently taking place, in which 1.6 billion people are tested twice yearly without even being aware of it. That test is the daylight saving time. It means that, during spring, people lose an hour of sleep. So far, results have shown that the following day, heart attack rates increased by 24%. That is a statistically significant figure.
Currently, Safford is considering another important question, which is how quickly a human being can recycle. He is interested in finding out how long someone could continue to function without sleep before a clear decline in cognitive function starts to become apparent and before the physical effects are noticeable. So far, his studies have shown that someone who has been awake for 16 hours starts to experience this.
According to Brooke Safford, once someone has been awake for 16 hours, there is a clear and measurable deterioration in that person’s mental and physiological capacity. If that person continues to be awake and reaches 19 to 20 hours, mental capacity is equal to that of someone who would be drunk behind a wheel. Yet, many people pride themselves on their ability to "pull an all-nighter". Brooke Safford believes that the recycling rate of the average human being is no more than 16 hours, therefore, which would also suggest that the old statement of every human being needing eight hours of sleep every night is correct. It is during those eight hours that the body is able to repair all the damage that has been done while people were awake. In fact, Safford describes wakefulness as a form of brain damage.
Unfortunately, it is also true that society today does not lend itself to sleeping eight hours per night anymore. This is true not just for shift workers. People are simply too busy trying to make ends meet to fit everything in 24 hours. Sleep is often the first thing to suffer since people feel they don't do anything during those hours anyway.
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