Why we sleep

We tend to think of sleep as a time when the mind and body shut down. But this
is not the case; sleep is an active period in which a lot of important processing,
restoration, and strengthening occurs.
One of the vital roles of sleep is to help us solidify and consolidate memories. As
we go about our day, our brains take in an incredible amount of information.
Overnight, bits and pieces of information are transferred from more tentative,
short-term memory to stronger, long-term memorya process called
"consolidation."
Researchers have also shown that after people sleep, they tend to retain
information and perform better on memory tasks. Our bodies all require long
periods of sleep in order to restore and rejuvenate, to grow muscle, repair tissue,
and synthesize hormones.
While adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per night, one-year-olds need roughly 13
hours, school age children around 11, and teenagers a little over 9.

What happens when we sleep

Sleep architecture follows a pattern of alternating REM (rapid eye movement) and
NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep throughout a typical night in a cycle that
repeats itself about every 90 minutes.
NREM (75% of night): As we begin to fall asleep, we enter NREM sleep
During night we have more stages to go through
Stage 1-* Between being awake and falling asleep and if we wake up suddenly,
you may not realize that we slept.

Stage 2- specific brain waves can be detected. Heart rate and respiration are
regular and body temperature decreases.
Stages 3 and 4-are considered deep sleep. If we wake up in the fourth stage of
sleep, we feel disoriented, defending the so-called state of "sleep drunkenness."
At this stage the blood pressure drops, breathing is slower, the muscles relax and
the period in which the body is recovering , loads of energy and tissues heal. They
release hormones, including growth hormone, which is essential for children's
development.
REM (25) of night)- rapid eye movements occur under closed eyelids. At this time
the brain is active and is the moment when dreams are formed.
During sleep there are more important things that brain makes like
1.Taking decisions
2. Creation and consolidation of memories.
3.Creative conections.
4. Elimination of toxins.
5. Memorizing specific tasks.-happens during rem sleep

What happens when we dont sleep

While the occasional lack of sleep may not seem like a big deal, the impact of
sleep deprivation can be intense and its effects can linger. In extreme
circumstances, sleep deprivation can ultimately lead to death.
The consequences of sleep deprivation at 24 hours is comparable to the cognitive
impairment of someone with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 percent, according
to a 2010 study in the International Journal of Occupational Medicine and
Environmental Health.

At 36 Hours high levels are in the bloodstream, high blood pressure. Additionally,
hormones are affected your emotions can be all over the place.Another effect
can be losing the motivation.
At 48 hours of no sleep you begin to be desorientated.
At 72 hours you can expect at significant deficits in concentration, motivation,
perception, and even halucinations.
Russian researchers in the late 1940s kept five people awake for fifteen days
using an experimental gas based stimulant. They were kept in a sealed
environment to carefully monitor their oxygen intake so the gas didn't kill them,
since it was toxic in high concentrations. This was before closed circuit cameras so
they had only microphones and 5 inch thick glass. The chamber was stocked with
books, cots to sleep on but no bedding, running water and toilet, and enough
dried food to last all five for over a month.
The test subjects were political prisoners deemed enemies of the state during
World War II.
Everything was fine for the first five days; the subjects hardly complained having
been promised (falsely) that they would be freed if they submitted to the test and
did not sleep for 30 days.
After five days they started to complain about the circumstances and events that
lead them to where they were and started to demonstrate severe paranoia. They
stopped talking to each other and began alternately whispering to the
microphones and one way mirrored portholes.
After nine days the first of them started screaming. He ran the length of the
chamber repeatedly yelling at the top of his lungs for 3 hours straight. The other
captives didn't react to it. They continued whispering to the microphones
After 3 more days passed The screaming promptly stopped.So did the whispering
to the microphones. The researchers checked the microphones hourly to make
sure they were working, since they thought it impossible that no sound could be
coming with 5 people inside.They decided to open free them.

One subject was found dead, lying in several inches of bloody water. Chunks of his
flesh had been torn off and stuffed into the floor drain. All of the test subjects
were found to have been severely mutilated, in fact, and the wounds appeared to
be self-inflicted. They had ripped open their own abdomens with their bare hands
and disemboweled themselves. Some had even eaten their own flesh.
The four who were still alive were terrified of falling asleep and refused to leave
the chamber, again pleading with the researchers to turn the gas back on.
Each gave the same answer: "I must remain awake."