Lack of Sleep Causes Brain Damage
Lack of Sleep Causes Brain Damage
Whether it’s a college student staying up all night, an employee who works the graveyard shift or even a night owl, it’s time to start putting a little more emphasis into your sleeping schedule. A recent study by the Journal of Neuroscience found that mice who stayed awake too long destroyed brain cells and may do the same to humans.
This is the first study ever conducted where sleep loss is seen to cause irreversible damage.
The researchers allowed test mice to sleep four to five hours over the course of 24-hours. After just three days of sleep deprivation, the mice were found to have 25% less locus ceruleus (LC) neurons, which plays an important role in keeping us alert and awake.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently announced that lack of sleep is even an “epidemic” in America. And almost 75,000 adults, sleep an average of less than seven hours of sleep a night.
In addition to losing brain cells, there are many other negative issues from not getting enough sleep such as weight gain, low productivity and more.
Recently, a noteworthy study showed how sleep may “detox” the brain, cleaning out waste products linked to Alzheimer’s and dementia.
However, there is some good news. The study also further elaborated a discovery that a protein called SirT3 (full name sirtuin type 3) protects LCs from the havoc caused by lack of sleep. This will pave the way toward crafting future treatments to boost SirT3 production and then protect brain cells from the damage caused by lack of sleep.
We want sleep to be your priority! It’s inarguable that sleep is essential and important to your health. Why do you think you don’t get enough sleep and what will you do to improve? Check out some sleep tips & tricks here!
