A recent study has confirmed that sleep is indeed vital to the health and brain. Contrary to popular belief that sleeping means turning our power off and allowing our energies to hum low, researchers have found that sleep is where the brain starts its work in full blast.
This does not mean that the brain is working just as it does when a person is awake; in fact, the brain works differently and in a unique way. during sleep, the neurons' legions start working, along with the cells. Together, they pulse with electrical signals, washing the brain with a hypnotic flow. This flow was found to be soothing to the brain.
While the neurons and cells are at it, the brain's data processor sor through the multitude of information that went through the brain the entire day. This is done at an extremely fast pace that seems impossible in real time.
Meanwhile, the brain also monitors itself to make sure that there is adequate balance of hormones, enzymes, and proteins. Also, there are cleaners that wipe out toxins that are polluting the brain; these toxins are responsible for all kinds of problems if they build up.
Such findings are quite new in the field. According to scientists, this is nature's ability to rejuvenate and restore the human body and brain, and no drug can top that. These discoveries confirm that we indeed need seven to eight hours of sleep to reap sleep's benefits, such as sharpened planning skills, improved concentration, enhanced memory, and maintained fat-burning system. Getting the right amount of sleep can lessen the risk for obesity and weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, and even Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and osteoporosis.
Experts such as those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that a lack of sleep has become a public-health epidemic, and that it has emerged as a very important factor for better health that there is a need for a societal shift to prioritize it.