Success lies over your pillow at night

Have you ever wondered what is the key for success in the everyday life of people like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, or Lebron James? Some might argue that it's their hard work, others might say that their success relies on their talent and ideas. However, according to all of the listed subjects above, the key for their success is sleep. Jeff Bezos, who sleeps at least 8 hours per day argues that a full night of sleep makes a big difference for him, and that it should always be made a priority. In the end, he is right, the truth is that you´re playing with your health. But have you ever wondered,to what extent?

According to the professor in neurology Mathew Walker, author of the book, Why we sleep? The extent of the consequences of not having a good night of sleep range from hormonal, neurological, and performance imparities to higher risk of cancer and dementia, as well as Alzheimer's disease, however, the extent of the causes is far more complex than that. Understanding sleep and its processes: In one side there's the circadian rhythm, also known as the biological clock, this clock regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus, above the hypothalamus in the frontal lobe, it also helps regulate hormonal, metabolic and neuronal functions with the help of chemicals such as melatonin. On the other hand, adenosine builds up in your brain from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep. And it is known as the sleep pressure. With time, and other risk factors, the frontal lobe in which sleep consolidation takes place degenerates and affects the ability to fall asleep. However, it is important to point out that this does not mean in any way that people are able to have less hours of sleep.

With the constant sleep deprivation culture in society nowadays, sleep impairment issues have been more regularly among teenagers. Moreover, people have entered a stage of imperceptible chronic fatigue for their bodies. According to Mathew Walker, as stated in his Ted Talk: Sleep is your superpower, Having less than 5 hours of sleep triples the chance of

having a car accident. And being awake for more than 20 consecutive hours accounts to the same brain dysfunction as being legally drunk.

However, the consequences are far from being over, having 1 hour less of sleep chronically can awakes consequences such as doubling cancer risk, high alterations in sugar levels in blood, increasing risk of heart failure, heart stroke or hypertension, memory corruption and impairment, muscle consumption from the body, change in hormonal levels, reduction of performance for over 400%, increasing fatigue time and injury chance by 30% and 74% respectively and lowering strength, resistance, speed and power. At the end, as Mathew Walker states and makes sure that we understand it as a society, is that “Sleep is truly an object of awe”, and if we want to have a better life and performance, sleep is the key.

References:

Image was retrieved from healthline.com

Aguirre, Claudia. “What Would Happen If You Didn’t Sleep?” TED Talks, uploaded by Ted Talks, 7 Sept. 2017,

www.ted.com/talks/claudia_aguirre_what_would_happen_if_you_didn_t_sleep

DeDieu, Valda, and Bahati Bashir. Why We Sleep. Valda DeDieu, 2021. Foster, Russell. “Why Do We Sleep?” TED Talks, uploaded by TedTalk, 14 Aug. 2013, www.ted.com/talks/russell_foster_why_do_we_sleep.

Gamble, Jessa. “Our Natural Sleep Cycle Is Nothing like What We Do Now.” TED Talks, uploaded by TedTalk, 15 Sept. 2010,

www.ted.com/talks/jessa_gamble_our_natural_sleep_cycle_is_nothing_like_what_we _do_now

Huffington, Arianna. “How to Succeed? Get More Sleep.” TED Talks, uploaded by Tedtalk, 3 Jan. 2011,

www.ted.com/talks/arianna_huffington_how_to_succeed_get_more_sleep. Lee Chiong, T. Sleep a Comprehensive Handbook. Denver, Colorado, Wiley, 2006. Wiley, drive.google.com/drive/u/1/my-drive.

Mednick, Sara. “How Long Should Your Naps Be?” TED Talks, uploaded by Tedtalk, 29 Apr. 2021, www.ted.com/talks/sara_c_mednick_how_long_should_your_naps_be. Mejri, M. A., et al. “Effects of Two Types of Partial Sleep Deprivation on Hematological Responses during Intermittent Exercise: A Pilot Study.” Science & Sports, vol. 29, no. 5, 2014, pp. 266–74. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.scispo.2014.05.001. Walker, Matt. “A Walk through the Stages of Sleep.” TED Talks, uploaded by TedTalk, 15 July 2020, www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_a_walk_through_the_stages_of_sleep.

---. “Hacking Your Memory — with Sleep.” TED Talks, uploaded by TedTalk, 10 Aug. 2020, www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_hacking_your_memory_with_sleep. ---. “How Sleep Affects Your Emotions.” TED Talks, uploaded by Matt Walker, 12 Aug. 2020, www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_how_sleep_affects_your_emotions. ---. “Sleep Is Your Superpower.” TED Talks, uploaded by TEDTalk, 10 May 2019, www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_sleep_is_your_superpower.