Imagine, if we could operate like robots, functioning 24 hours a day with sleep deprived, what would the world look like?
We would no longer be tethered to the rhythm of the sun rising and setting, and the boundaries between work and life in human society would increasingly blur. Picture receiving calls from clients to discuss product issues at midnight, because you don't need to sleep and are always "online". Each day would effectively grant us an additional eight hours, seemingly extending our lifespan by a third.
Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?
However, it's commonly accepted in society that everyone needs sleep. But have you ever wondered if we genuinely need to sleep? Until now, no one has reportedly died from sleep deprived, although there are numerous cases of death from hunger and thirst. Guinness World Record for longest period without sleep stands at 11 days and 25 minutes.
What Exactly Is Sleep?
Undoubtedly, sleep is a necessary physiological process, much like eating when hungry or drinking when thirsty. Wikipedia describes sleep as "a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain sensory activity is inhibited. ” Scientists consider this reversible disconnection from the environment one of the defining characteristics of sleep.
Most species require sleep, though the amount and nature of sleep vary significantly. Giraffes, for instance, need only about 30 minutes of deep sleep per day; in contrast, the brown bat sleeps for nearly 20 hours daily. Dolphins use a unihemispheric sleep mode, whereby only one half of the brain rests at a time, allowing the other half to stay alert to breathe and be wary of dangers.Sleep is typically associated with specific postures and stillness, making it challenging to determine whether animals are truly asleep. However, a straightforward and effective method is to introduce stimuli that would normally elicit a strong reaction, such as unexpected noise. If there is no response, the animal is likely genuinely disconnected from its environment — hence asleep, not just resting.
the Significance of Sleep
Sleep helps rid the body of toxic free radicals and rebuilds tissues; for the brain, it acts as a comprehensive restructuring process. Our brain's hippocampus, responsible for processing and storing information received during the day, has limited capacity. Similar to a USB stick, exceeding its capacity risks data loss or overwrite, known as "interference forgetting". Fortunately, during sleep, our brain smartly transfers the information to a more permanent long-term storage area—the cortex—freeing up our short-term memory storage in the hippocampus. This is why, after a good night's sleep, we feel refreshed and mentally rejuvenated—our brain cells have been repaired, and the hippocampus is ready for new information.
There's a saying: "Sleep is the third pillar of health, alongside diet and exercise." This is no exaggeration. More than twenty extensive epidemiological studies tracking millions of people over decades have consistently concluded: the shorter your sleep, the shorter your life. inadequate sleep impacts every major system, organ, and tissue in the body, weakens immune function, and impairs cellular repair. Diseases like heart disease, obesity, dementia, diabetes, and cancer have all been linked to inadequate sleep.
Alternative to sleep?
Clearly, sleep is an indispensable part of human life. But is it absolutely necessary? Is there an alternative to sleep that can achieve the same effects? Meditation, as practiced in Buddhism, is one such alternative. Our discussion above highlighted how the brain transfers "cargo" between the hippocampus and the cortex during deep sleep. A process of memory reorganization and playback also occurs during meditation. When meditating, the body remains still, but the brain is busy, similar to the rambling thoughts during light sleep or daydreaming.
To manage wandering thoughts, one can focus intensely on a single object or simply observe thoughts as they arise and dissipate without engaging or interrupting them. The rise and fall of these thoughts confirm the brain's active work. Meditation offers a similar brain restructuring effect to sleep.
Overall, meditation might provide a superior restorative effect compared to sleep, though truly mastering the art of meditation, achieving deep meditative states, or "samma-samadhi " require significant skill and practice.
In summary, sleep is a privilege bestowed by nature upon living beings, and we should be thankful we are not built to live like non-stop working robots. In today's fast-paced world, maintaining adequate sleep is key to preserving energy and health.
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