Sleep & Housekeeping

Sleep is critically important for the neuroglial cells (the personal assistants to the thinking cells or neurons) to be able to complete the many household brain tasks that apparently are done only while the brain is sleeping. Studies are showing the importance of getting these tasks completed. The protein beta amyloid falls during sleep, when the brain's immune system (glymphatic system) gets ride of these waste products. Loss of sleep and accumulations of these proteins are being linked with Alzheimer's Disease. Parts of the brain are more active while you are asleep than while you are awake. There are also the statistics that loss of needed sleep can increase the risk of hypertension, diabetes, depression, heart attack, and stroke. Sleep loss can lead to depression, dementia, psychosis, a plethora of dysfunctional behaviors—and may be irreversible. Sleep is independently linked with longevity. Just a one-hour nightly loss of sleep over time can shorten a person’s life. You might find it interesting to do an Internet search about Peter Tripp and find out how sleep deprivation reportedly drove him “out of his mind”—in Time’s Square.