Mikaela Kiel 1

Roxanna Dewey
Eng101
11/19/2019

Time to catch some Z’s

There are many people who wake up and feel negatively purely because they did not get enough
sleep the night before. This is an observance that started the phrase; “woke up on the wrong side
of the bed.” Sleep is one of the most important things the human body needs. However, it is
often looked at as a luxury rather than a necessity. The average person needs 7-8 hours of sleep
each night because it allows memories to be processed, helps our immune system, and decreases
reliance on bad habits.

When something is learned by the human brain, it does not get to be fully processed and
remembered without the body being at rest first. Meaning packing in a bunch of information an
hour before the test starts does not equal studying the night before and refreshing in the morning.
Unfortunately, the brain does not work like that when it comes to holding information. Each
night when sleeping the body goes through REM and non-REM cycles. These cycles are what
allow dreams to occur and memories to be formed. In sleep the activation of our brains
according to Hobson, we acquire new knowledge, become familiar with new skills, and weave
out out-of-date files. Young children are capable of more REM sleep compared to adults. At the
same time, noradrenaline and serotonin -- two chemicals and neurotransmitters critical to logical
thinking, focusing, and memory -- turn off. Their absence renders dream stories strange,
implausible, and hard to remember. However, what won’t be hard to remember is what was
studied the nights before, and not right before the test paired with a full 8-hour rest.

The human body often takes sleep as exercise, so calories are being burned while sleeping, and
all the food ingested that day is being digested and making it possible for the nutrients to be
used. It is proven the more hours of sleep obtained led to a higher performance of the brain and
body. “Want to lose weight? Get 45 more minutes of sleep every night. Want to lower your risk
of heart and kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke? Sleep more. Getting over a
cold or trying to heal an injury? Or just want your immune system to protect you a little better
from whatever is going around? Sleep is the answer.” (Shaw, par. 5) When asleep, the body is
working to repair muscles and damaged tissues. Shaw also explains that getting less than 6 hours
of sleep almost doubles the risk of dying prematurely. (par.5) Therefore meaning, by not getting
more than 6 hours of sleep, it could not matter how healthy you are to be at risk.

Without getting a good night’s sleep, people will wake up feeling angry and irritable. Leading
them to rely on caffeine to get through the day. This habit is not healthy as caffeine has
reportedly led to heart palpitations, convulsions, and amnesia in some from Canada. While some
intake of caffeine is not harmful, the overkill is what is. Depending on the age and well-being of
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the person ingesting it, they can be putting themselves at risk for illness or even death. Another
bad habit formed from lack of sleep is reliance on substances, usually alcohol or illegal ones.
People will partake in this to stay awake in times when their bodies need to be resting. Lastly,
one other bad habits it forms is a reliance on cell-phones and electronics. Often the most
common reason for not falling asleep on time for me is because I get distracted on my phone
before bed. However, screens before bed give off lighting that makes it harder to fall asleep.

The biggest reason people will give for not getting the recommended hours and think they can
run off less than 8 hours of sleep, is that they do not have the time to put aside for the full length.
They have to work two jobs or raise kids. Another reason could be mental illness linking to
insomnia, which does not allow them to fall asleep as easily or stay asleep for long. However, all
these reasons can be managed in a way to make time for it. Jeff Bezos, a wealthy leader in the
CEO-world said, "If you shortchange your sleep, you might get a couple of extra 'productive'
hours, but that productivity might be an illusion," (Bezos 6) When tired, the body is not working
at its fullest capacity. Often, the illusion that they are still being productive is what makes it
acceptable. However, this is not smart as the lack of time management lowers the possibility of
functioning at their fullest potential as a human,

Now that there is an understanding of the importance of sleep, think of different ways to work on
how to work in more time for sleep. People can always notice the difference between a day
running off full sleep compared to one with only a few hours. It’s only the own person’s job to
get the amount of sleep they need, and there are ways to improve the quality and quantity. It is a
matter of figuring out how and realizing nights of sleep’ importance enough to get it. Adding in a
nap whenever the time allows, putting the phone away an hour before going to sleep, not eating a
big meal before bed, all are only some of the ways to get more numbers in the Z’s department.

Works Cited
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Bruser, David. "Caffeine Products May Be Dangerous." Caffeine, edited by Amy Francis,
Greenhaven Press, 2016. At Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010963216/OVIC?u=mcc_glendale&sid=OVIC&xid=7
a520e09. Accessed 20 Nov. 2019. Originally published as "Energy Drinks Suspected to
Have Caused Deaths of 3 Canadians," TheStar.com, 11 Nov. 2012.

Lamberg, Lynne. "Dreaming: An Introduction to the Science of Sleep. (Science & Technology)."
The Wilson Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 2, 2003, p. 125+. Gale In Context: Opposing
Viewpoints,
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A103377066/OVIC?u=mcc_glendale&sid=OVIC&xid=6e1
33a3d. Accessed 24 Nov. 2019.

Shaw, Kristin VanderHey. "The fountain of youth for parents? Their pillows." Washington Post,
22 Feb. 2019. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A575237017/OVIC?u=mcc_glendale&sid=OVIC&xid=dfb8
930e. Accessed 13 Nov. 2019.

Weir, Kirsten. "Who needs sleep? Maybe you do. Here's what you need to know about slumber,
from A to Zzzzzzz's." Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication, Oct. 2005, p. 16+.
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A137873888/OVIC?u=mcc_glendale&sid=OVIC&xid=6ba
9ba94. Accessed 24 Nov. 2019.