Sleep???

[rthmjohn]

I've always wondered what goes on inside our bodies (chemically and mechanically) while we sleep. What is happening at the molecular level that makes sleep soooooo important that it takes up one-third of our entire lifespan? Why is sleep essential to most all lifeforms?

[Bluenoise]

Good question.

[Sisyphus]

Nobody really knows for sure, but there are a number of theories. Probably, it's a means for the brain to process and sort the information of the waking period and for the body to repair itself unhindered, as clearly the brain functions much better when you're well rested, and you recover from illnesses much faster if you sleep more. It also may have evolutionary significance in the fact that it forces you to find shelter and stay out of trouble during the time when you're most vulnerable, in the night time.

[jowrose]

Perhaps we are just storing up a surplus of energy (ATP or whatnot) to use for the next day. Our digestive systems and metabolism and all that fun stuff is working all night, the energy has to go somewhere. The body, when functioning normally, uses more energy than it creates, so sleep is just catch-up time.

[rakuenso]

Sleep is primarily used to organize the information that your brain processes every day. It is less of a physical recovery than it is of a mental recovery. It's basically brain maintenance.

[jowrose]

Then why, after pulling an all-nighter, will someone collapse physically? Are they lacking energy, or is it a symptom of mental exhaustion?

[Sisyphus]

Because your brain is angry at you.

[Bgoatgruff]

I became interested in sleep in 1995, It seemed in humans at least that some sleep related phenomena didn’t quite make sense. I began a series of experiments to test an idea I was developing that one side of our brain is less efficient than the other. I stayed awake for periods between 36 and 180 hours on a regular basis, typically once or twice a week for 60-84 hours for 3 years.

I noticed quite rapidly that many assumptions about our sleep requirement seemed flawed. Rather than extreme tiredness and associated dysfunction I began to experience a reducing window of tiredness then a transition into a period that was free from tiredness and more functional than 'normal'. I also felt anything from generally very good to ecstatic. My normally right handedness would slowly shift to being ambidextrous with a more fluid balanced feeling in all movement. Sensory perception seemed enhanced, brighter colours, greater depth/clarity in hearing, improved sense of smell etc. In addition I felt more energetic less physically tired if exercising and a greater sense of strength. My mind seemed to work differently though more difficult to quantify, more visually based in my thinking etc. This may seem a little far fetched though similar experiences were reported by others who took part in some of the experiments. In 1998 a well known Professor of sports science at a UK university agreed to conduct and supervise a study to test my claim that amongst other things physical performance seemed to improve. They agreed with a remit to demonstrate that my perceived improvements were delusions associated with sleep deprivation. Myself and another subject were monitored 24/7 or in this case 5 days and tested every 3 hours for strength stamina dexterity balance coordination reflexes etc. The results were conclusive, no drop off as would be expected and significant improvements. As they could not explain the results and did not like my theory they declined to publish without further study. Unfortunately they had no funding for such a study, nor did I. The one factor that was different in the informal experiments and the formal study was the diet of the subjects, it was designed to replicate the typical diet of a forest dwelling ape rich in complex plant bio-chemistry. Some of the results are posted at http://www.kaleidos.org.uk go to downloads chapter 1. The manuscript is a first draft written for a non scientific audience, the performance graphs are near the end. A related post in the evolution section can be found under epigenetic inheritance.

 

Comments welcome

[Nevermore]

I became interested in sleep in 1995' date=' It seemed in humans at least that some sleep related phenomena didn’t quite make sense. I began a series of experiments to test an idea I was developing that one side of our brain is less efficient than the other. I stayed awake for periods between 36 and 180 hours on a regular basis, typically once or twice a week for 60-84 hours for 3 years.

I noticed quite rapidly that many assumptions about our sleep requirement seemed flawed. Rather than extreme tiredness and associated dysfunction I began to experience a reducing window of tiredness then a transition into a period that was free from tiredness and more functional than 'normal'. I also felt anything from generally very good to ecstatic. My normally right handedness would slowly shift to being ambidextrous with a more fluid balanced feeling in all movement. Sensory perception seemed enhanced, brighter colours, greater depth/clarity in hearing, improved sense of smell etc. In addition I felt more energetic less physically tired if exercising and a greater sense of strength. My mind seemed to work differently though more difficult to quantify, more visually based in my thinking etc. This may seem a little far fetched though similar experiences were reported by others who took part in some of the experiments. In 1998 a well known Professor of sports science at a UK university agreed to conduct and supervise a study to test my claim that amongst other things physical performance seemed to improve. They agreed with a remit to demonstrate that my perceived improvements were delusions associated with sleep deprivation. Myself and another subject were monitored 24/7 or in this case 5 days and tested every 3 hours for strength stamina dexterity balance coordination reflexes etc. The results were conclusive, no drop off as would be expected and significant improvements. As they could not explain the results and did not like my theory they declined to publish without further study. Unfortunately they had no funding for such a study, nor did I. The one factor that was different in the informal experiments and the formal study was the diet of the subjects, it was designed to replicate the typical diet of a forest dwelling ape rich in complex plant bio-chemistry. Some of the results are posted at http://www.kaleidos.org.uk go to downloads chapter 1. The manuscript is a first draft written for a non scientific audience, the performance graphs are near the end. A related post in the evolution section can be found under epigenetic inheritance.

 

Comments welcome[/quote']

 

Your experiences were a sleep deprivation euphoria. Your brain begins to behave strangly without it's desired >8 hours of sleep.

And if you don't mind, could you provide some proof of your studies? If you are being truthful then I appologise, but we have a problem with dishonest users here.

[Bgoatgruff]

So what exactly does ‘sleep deprivation euphoria’ mean? What do you suggest is it that creates euphoria? While I could accept the term ‘strange’ as in not typical it does not offer much of an explanation when it comes to improvements in function beyond those typical for ‘normal’ sleep quotient. Also the desire for 8 hours, what do you mean?

 

As for dishonesty, why would you presume I’m being dishonest? Did you follow the links suggested?

 

Anyway the formal study was supervised by Professor Dave Collins currently performance director for the UK athletics team. He would be happy to confirm the experiment took place though being exceptionally busy I tend not to contact him unless it is media interest related.

 

http://www.ukathletics.net/vsite/vcontent/page/custom/0,8510,4854-13182

 

 

He was assisted by several scientists and technicians, Dr Mark Bellamy was present for much of the study

 

http://www.performt.com/bellamy.html

 

 

In addition Harvey Jones a producer working for the BBC at the time filmed the study and conducted interviews.

 

Of course the whole thing may have been a hallucination while I was sleep deprived.

 

More seriously I’m really not looking for confirmation that what I’m suggesting does not fit current thinking, I figured that out already. Rather could the results I demonstrated suggest a differential in sleep requirement between the hemispheres. Would such a scenario offer any insight into say sleep walking, or lucid dreams or the changes in handedness reported by other studies etc?

[rakuenso]

Then why, after pulling an all-nighter, will someone collapse physically? Are they lacking energy, or is it a symptom of mental exhaustion?

 

it's a symptom of mental exhaustion, when you're brain is tired, you can feel as if everything else is tired, even though they may not be. If I tie you up in a chair for 30 hours so that you can't move, in other words, not use any energy, you can still collapse

[Bgoatgruff]

it's a symptom of mental exhaustion, when you're brain is tired, you can feel as if everything else is tired, even though they may not be. If I tie you up in a chair for 30 hours so that you can't move, in other words, not use any energy, you can still collapse

 

 

OK thanks that’s fair enough re orthadox opinion though still not sure how it relates to my post. The euphoria I mentioned was repeatedly experienced in conjunction with improved function and no sense of tiredness in fact a feeling of increased energy, much more so than when I slept normally. These effects became increasingly pronounced after 2-3 days without sleep. Also can anyone cite one sleep/sleep deprivation study or any neural function study for that matter involving subjects who ate long term (several years) a diet similar to our accepted ancestral forest diet. While I cannot yet conclusively prove the relevance of this factor it was the only significantly unique factor in the experiments I conducted. It therefore follows that any study without this factor (all neural function studies I know of) is of limited relevance.