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Mackenzie Stanifer

Professor Loudermilk

English 1201

30 April, 2020

How does sleep affect one's mental and physical health?

How many of you have spent countless hours late into the night binge watching your

favorite TV series on Netflix and Hulu, scrolling through Instagram and Facebook, checking

Snapchat, gaming,etc? Or conversely speaking, perhaps you’re not engaging in leisure

activities, but rather find yourself up late into the night for a justifiable reason, such as trying

to complete a work related project or last minute homework assignment. Regardless of the

reasons, have you ever stopped to consider the kind of implications the lack of sleep has on

your mental and physical health? Perhaps you wake up feeling a bit groggy, fuzzy in the head,

like you’re in a fog the following morning, or maybe you just feel a bit cranky and need a little

extra caffeine to get you through the day. So what? What bad can come from a few nights of

lost sleep you my say to yourself. And these are exactly the types of questions I’ll be

answering throughout this essay. All but seemingly temporary side effects of sleep deprivation

could be the onset of something far more severe. If this lack of sleep continues, the mere

beginnings of a detrimental decline to your health, wellness, and quality of life could even play

a role in your life expectancy. Is it worth it?

Loss of sleep has been an issue human beings have been facing since the dawn of time,

and it is still relevant to this day.

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Defining Terms

At this time, I would like to take a brief moment to define a few terms I’ll be using

throughout this essay that to some may be unfamiliar: biological clock, circadian rhythm,

Hippocampus, REM sleep, and sleep health.

Biological clock: In order to understand circadian rhythms, it’s important to also

understand what a biological clock is, how it works, and how they relate to each other. In the

simplest form of explanation, a biological clock is more or less an inborn timing device, created

through the organisms inside of us. Through this organism (which are compiled by molecules),

and the interacting with cells in one’s body, circadian rhythms are produced and regulated

(Circadian Rhythms, 2020).

Circadian Rhythm: Much like a daily schedule one may follow, a circadian rhythm

follows a daily cycle (24 hour duration) through mental, physical, and behavioral changes. These

combined factors all aid into sleep patterns. Although these are Natural factors the body

manufactures for us, they can also be affected by signals surrounding our environment. For

example, light-related circadian rhythms act in responses to, as I’m sure already guessed

darkness and light within the organism’s environment (Circadian Rhythms, 2020).

Hippocampus: A Hippocampus is a part of the brain that plays a significant role in the

process of learning and memory. It’s embedded in a S-shaped configuration, located deep within

the temporal lobe (Anand, Kuljeet Singh, and Vikas Dhikav, 2012).
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REM sleep: The “REM” in REM sleep stands for rapid eye movement, these are sleep

cycles that occur in 90-120 minute intervals, and we also describe as the deep part of sleep the

more vivid dreams are associated with (REM Sleep Deprivation & Migraines, n.d.).

Sleep Health: All too often we hear how important sleep is to our health, but have you

ever actually heard the words “sleep” and “health” side by side before? I know I hadn’t until

starting the research for this essay. Although there is a significant correlation between them, we

often don’t hear them put together. In order to gain a better understanding of the point I’m trying

to convey within this essay, it’s important that this term be defined. Doctor Daniel Buysse, an

MD who specializes in Sleep Disorders defines Sleep Health as, “a multidimensional pattern

of sleep-wakefulness, adapted to individual, social, and environmental demands, that promotes

physical and mental well-being.”

With no further ado, I present the research, statistics, and scientific studies to support my

claim.

Effects of Lack of Sleep

Can the amount of sleep one gets at night have an impact on work performance, academic

performance, as well day-to-day life? I want to answer this question in two parts; 1. How much

sleep should you be getting a night in relationship to your age as well as what aids into the

quality/quantity of sleep, and 2. What happens when you don’t get this amount on a regular

basis?

Part 1: Leading edge scientists and researchers complied and collected data on sleep.

Taking over two years in its completion process, the results were this, an updated, world-class

study on the recommended amount of sleep each individual needs per age. This information was
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then presented by The National Sleep Foundation and their recommendations are as follows

(How Much Sleep Do We Really Need? n.d.):

 Teenagers (14-17): Sleep range widened by one hour to 8-10 hours

 Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours (new age category)

 Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours

 Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours (new age category) 

Factors that contribute to a regimented sleep schedule, sleep quality, and quantity include:

 Quit sleeping quarters

 Cooler room temperature

 Limited exposure to blue light a few hours before bed

 A dark room

 Daily exercise

 Create a sleep schedule and stick to it, weekend or not

 Limit caffeine and alcohol intake

Part 2: Sleep contributes a tremendous amount in the function of learning and memory.

And Mathew Walker, former professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, director of the Center

for Human Sleep Science, and professor of neuroscience and psychology, has done several

observation studies in regards to sleep and its affects on memory and learning.

Sleep is one of, if not the most important asset, in the retention of newly learned

information. Think of your brain as a Word document that you’ve just spent hours and hours

writing. When you sleep, your brain then acts as a hard drive and essentially hits the “save

button,” adding this new document to your saved files. In a 2019 TED talk titled, “Sleep Is Your
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Superpower,” Matthew Walker describes that, while sleep is essential to the retention of newly

learned information, it is just as critical to get sleep before learning as well. He gives an example

where he describes your brain as being a sponge and newly learned information as the water that

is being absorbed. When you sleep at night, this sponge has time to, essentially, dry up and turn

the once “water” into save information (i.e. memories). However, when deprived of sleep,

“memory circuits of your brain become waterlogged”, and you’re now unable to absorb new

memories (Walker, 2019).

To further prove this hypothesis, Walker

constructed an experiment in which he split

individuals into two groups. The first group he

titled “sleep group” and the second, “sleep

Figure 1: Matthew Walker "Memory deprivation group.” Keep in mind, this experiment
Encoding Deficit" 2019.
was done in a controlled environment, and

precipitants were monitored. The first group was

allowed to sleep a full eight hours, meanwhile, the

second group was kept awake. The following day,

precipitants were placed in a MRI scanner, simultaneously, their ability to learn new information

was tested. Their brain activity was monitored throughout this whole process and at the end, they

were again tested, but this time to see how effective they’re learning had been. After the tests

were completed, both the sleep and sleep deprivation groups where evaluated on their brains

ability to construct new memories without sleep. When measured, there was a 40% deficit

between the two groups. And when viewing the hippocampus, the sleep group expiated a healthy

level of learning activity, whereas, with the sleep deprivation group, there was no evidence of
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activity. In fact, Walker states that there was “no significant signal, whatsoever.” And to refer

back to my earlier example of the Word document, in the case of sleep deprecation, it is as if

your “save bottom” ability has been disabled, if not completely done away with all together

(Walker, 2019).

Immune System Effects

In continuation with the

negative effects of sleep

Figure 2: Matthew Walker "Natural Killer Cells" 2019.

deprivation, I would now like

directed attention towards lack

of sleep and its effects on our

immune system. Our body

produces what is known as

natural killer cells, you can think of them as your own personal hit man, but purely for the

purpose of doing good. These cells help seek out hazardous elements within our bodies and

destroy them. Alright, so what is the association between sleep and natural killer cells, you may

be asking yourself. When you deprive yourself of sleep, the number of these cells is greatly

diminished. According to Matthew Walker, by restricting sleep to just four hours one night there

was a, “70% drop in natural killer cell activity (Walker, 2019).” If this comes as a shock to you,

then good, because it should. These cells are absolutely imperative to our immune system and

overall health, they protect us from harmful diseases, virus, even cancer, but by skipping out on

this life giving water (e.g. sleep), you’re putting yourself at risk.
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Sleep and Mental Health

Mental health is complicated and can be difficult to define in any one category. It

includes not only your psychological well-being but also emotional and social well-being. It’s a

faucet that trickles down into almost every area of life, and can be held responsible for lot of our

responses to various situations we find ourselves in. It affects the way we feel, how we think, and

even how we act. And the state of our mental health can result in how stress is handled, as well

as how we relate to others (“What Is Mental Health?”, 2019). We live in day and age where the

importance of mental health is widely made aware, there are numerous services which include;

psychological therapist, psychiatrist, support groups, call centers, etc, but have you ever thought

of how sleep or lack thereof contributes to all of this?

I would like to take a brief intermission in regards to the research aspect of this essay and

take a moment to share the importance of sleep in my life and how the lack of it greatly fed into

my depression. Looking back at the fall of 2018, this was, by far, the lowest point in my life I

have ever reached. Usually, I would describe myself as an individual who is very emotionally

stable, optimistic in thinking, and a person who always tries to find the positive in negative

situations. However, this outlook was far from my view in 2018. Of course, there were other

various factors within my home/family life that contributed a great deal towards my depression.

It may also be important to add up until this point in my life, I had never dealt with depression

before. But looking back now with new lenses, I can say that a lot of the affliction I felt at the

time could have been eliminated if had only been getting the appropriate amount of sleep each

night.
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Although on the outside, to the visible world, I must have looked put together but on the

inside, I was far from it. I felt as though if anyone actually took the time to ask me how I truly

was feeling, my true emotions would begin to pour out, uncontrollably, as if a flood gates

bursting open. Again, it’s relevant that I mention, I’m not an individual that cries often. So the

fact I felt like weeping my eyes out all of the time was a completely unnatural feeling for me. I

felt miserable, but at the same time, numb. I was emotionally and mentally exhausted, and to be

frank, I had reached a point where I honestly cared less if I were to live or die.

Now to the point and why exactly I’m sharing all this very personal information with

you. During this time of my life, I was getting an average of 4-6 hours of sleep a night

(sometimes less, and a few nights, none at all). My mental health rapidly degraded, and with

each passing day I spiraled down into a deeper pit of depression. I was emotionally unstable, and

my zest for and quality of life was all but gone. I have experienced the hard way what kind an

impact extended sleep deprivation can have on a person. My hope is, by reading this, you are

able to use my personal firsthand experience and not go down the same path as I did. Now, back

to the research.

Lack of Sleep in Ageing

At some point or another in life, I’m sure we’ve heard an older individual say something

to the effect of, “I just don’t sleep like I used to” or “my memory’s not what it used to be.” But

have you ever thought that these two ideas could be in connection with each other? Matthew

Walker suggests just that in his 2019 presentation on TED Talk tiled “Sleep is Your Super

power.” He goes on to talk about the context of aging and dementia and how your memory and

learning capabilities often decay with the onset of aging. To tie this into the sleep related issue
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he states loss of sleep and memory is, “co-occurring but interrelated.” He states that, “a

physiological signature of aging is that your sleep gets worse.” When there are continual

disturbances in one’s deep sleep, this aids in what he describes as “cognition decline” and relates

to aging and Alzheimers (Walker, 2019).

Sleep and Your Cardiovascular System

One hour of sleep is all it takes to make a world of difference when it comes to your

cardiovascular system. Exhibit A: Daylight Savings Time. A major example of sleep at work in

your cardiovascular system is in the spring time when we lose an hour. According to statistics

presented by Matthew Walker, the day following Daylights Savings Time, there is a 24% spike

in heart attacks. Conversely, when we gain an hour back, there is 21% in heart attack rates

(Walker, 2019). The National Sleep Foundation also presented an article on how those who have

a job where they work rotating or night shifts are at a much higher risk in developing a

cardiovascular disease as well as coronary heart disease (“ How Atypical Work,” n.d.).

Your Genetic Code

Amidst all of the research I’ve done, countless hours spent sifting through article after

article on sleep, from medical intuitions far and wide, this bit of information I’m about to share is

by far one the most compelling pieces of evidence I’ve yet crossed on the utter importance and

impact sleep has on the very essence of who we are as human beings, our DNA. As if playing a

huge role in one’s mental health, immune support, cardiovascular system, perseveration of

memories, learning performance, and overall cognition function didn’t say enough to it’s

significant in life, its position in the very fabric of our genetic code should. When we lose sleep,

the very foundation of biological life itself begins to erode.

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Neuroscience and psychology professor, Matthew Walker proves this point with an

observational study. A group of healthy individuals were selected and directed to sleep six hours

a night, no more, and this continued for the length of one week. At the end of the experiment,

they measured the genes of these individuals and their activity profile in relationships to when,

before, they were sleeping eight hours each night. Walker states that there were two critical

findings: 1. Because of the lack of sleep, 711 genes had been distorted. 2. Of those 711 genes,

half where increased in their activity and half decreased. The genes that were decreased, or as

Walker claims “shut off” were genes that are in association with our immune system. He goes on

to state, “ In contrast, the genes that where unregulated increased by way of lack of sleep were

genes associated with the promotion of tumors, genes associated with long-term chronic

inflammation within the body, and genes associated with stress, and as a consequence,

cardiovascular disease (Walker, 2019).”

Conclusion

In conclusion, the shorter your sleep the shorter your life, and to deprive yourself of it is

to deprive yourself of a longer life. If bad sleeping habits persist, and a regular schedule is not

implemented and regulated, the effects of sleep deprivation will ultimately seep through every

area of our physiology and can eventually tamper with DNA itself (Walker, 2019). “Sleep isn’t

an optional lifestyle luxury. Sleep is a nonnegotiable biological necessity. It’s your life support

system (Walker, 2019).”So next time you find yourself in a situation where missing a few hours

of sleep doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, ask yourself one question, is it worth it?
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Works cited

Anand, Kuljeet Singh, and Vikas Dhikav. “Hippocampus in health and disease: An

overview.” Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology vol. 15,4 (2012): 239-46.

doi:10.4103/0972-2327.104323.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3548359/. Accessed 2 May, 2020.

Buysse, Daniel J. “Sleep health: can we define it? Does it matter?.” Sleep vol. 37,1 9-17. 1 Jan.

2014,doi:10.5665/sleep.3298. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3902880/

Accessed 30 April, 2020.

“Circadian Rhythms.” National Institute of General Medical Sciences, U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, 4 Mar. 2020, www.nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-

sheets/Pages/circadian-rhythms.aspx. Accessed 2 May 2020.

“How Atypical Work Schedules Affect Performance.” National Sleep Foundation,

SleepFoundation.org, www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/how-atypical-work-schedules-

affect-performance. Accessed 30 April 2020.

“How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?” National Sleep Foundation, SleepFoundation.org,

www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need. Accessed 30

April 2020.

“REM Sleep Deprivation & Migraines.” National Sleep Foundation, SleepFoundation.org,

www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/rem-sleep-deprivation-and-migraines. Accessed 30

April 2020.
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Walker, Matt. “Sleep Is Your Superpower.” TED, 2019,

www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_sleep_is_your_superpower?language=en. Accessed 30

April 2020.

“What Is Mental Health?” What Is Mental Health? | MentalHealth.gov, Department of Health &

Human Services, 5 Apr. 2019, www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health.

Accessed 3 May 2020.