The Power of Sleep

All of the above stressors are clearly obstacles that must be overcome; sleep is far too vital to the body. "Sleep researchers have found that our nightly slumber is important to critical bodily functions, such as learning ability, memory consolidation, immune function and mood regulation," explained Brad Douglass, Ph.D., technical advisor to Jarrow Formulas.

Jayson Kroner, C.S.N., editor for NOW Foods Health and Fitness, agreed with Douglass, noting, "The act of sleeping is vital for the body's ability to recharge, rebuild and prepare for the next day's set of adventures. Throughout the day, the human body takes a biological beating. Cells, proteins, hormones and other components are being used and broken down, muscles and joints work all day getting us from A to B, and the mind races in a decision-making frenzy of both voluntary and involuntary proportion. All of these systems need time to replenish their raw material supply, while restoring their ability to help us make it through the day. Sleep is also the one chance for the human heart to take a breather. In a 112-hour span, a healthy heart beats over 50,000 times. Without sleep, it does not have an opportunity to slow things down. As a result, other systems go without rest too. This is just one of many reasons why poor sleep has been linked to accelerated aging."

Accelerated aging is just one of many health problems, both short- and long-term, that can occur when the body is under duress. "In the short term, lack of sleep can decrease your performance and alertness; impair your memory and cognitive thinking ability; diminish your quality of life, because you're simply too tired to do anything fun or productive; put stress on your relationship with your partner; increase your chance twofold of occupation injury; and increase your chance of automobile injury," cautioned Steele.

Peter Lambrou, Ph.D., chair of psychology at Scripps Memorial Hospital, Calif., added, "Loss of sleep due to stress accelerates the effects of stress and can affect concentration, memory, emotional regulation, and mental stability."