The importance of sleep
Below is the brief talk that the middle school had at assembly on the importance of sleep as a way of
marking World Mental Health Day on the 10th October 2013.
Shakespeare refers to it as ‘nature’s soft nurse;
Whilst Keats quotes ‘O soft embalmer of the still midnight’
However, not all views are as positive about sleep
Edgar Allen Poe says ‘sleep those little slices of death – how I loathe them’ whilst Margaret Thatcher
is famously quoted as saying ‘sleep is for wimps.’
Film directors have created dramatic stories around sleep just as judges have pondered over the
dilemma of whether a crime committed whilst sleepwalking is murder or not.
However, the most important findings on sleep come from the growing body of neuroscience and
neuropsychology. Sleep, accordingly to Professor Foster is one of the most important behavioural
activities in humans. Theories for why it is vital are varied but the most consistent are that sleep is
needed for restoration and most significantly for brain functioning with regards information
processing and memory consolidation. It also provides flexibility in thinking so that complex
cognitive tasks and creativity occurs.
We also know that lack of sleep leads to poor judgment, reduced concentration, increased
impulsiveness, increased aggression, increased stress and poor memory. Sleep deprivation is no
different to a tired brain as a virus in a computer central command system and since we constantly
work to try and re-set our equilibrium, tired brains demand more sugar or more stimulants, with
further negative consequences in the areas of increased weight gain, increased stress and
vulnerability to addiction. There’s also more and more information on the link between lack of sleep
and mental illness whether it be depression or schizophrenia.
So how can you do what Auden suggests of sleep, which is ‘but in my arms til break of day let the
living creature lie’? The length of sleep time for teenagers, according to scientists should be 9 hours.
Current research information reveals that sadly this is not the case – today’s teenagers approximate
6 ½ hours sleep.
Here are some of my suggestions for a toolkit for sleep Nuts and bolts – no stimulation - turn those machines off, darkness – the darker the better, a good
atmosphere preferably not too hot or cold, and no caffeine preferably after 3 pm.
Simple tools – having a sleep routine, learning to switch off, having a notebook to jot worrying
thoughts, prioritizing and protecting the boundaries you set for sleep, sophisticated sheep counting
Power tools – forms of meditation, challenging circular thought patterns, effective time management
that leaves space for ‘down’ time, sleep programmes.
I will leave you to ponder on a humorous study that scientists haven’t been able to explain. A 1998
study on sleep revealed that a bright light, shone on the backs of human knees could reset the
brain’s sleep-wake clock.
Dr Nihara Krause,
Consultant Clinical Psychologist