Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
I often write about the importance of attaining a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, many people believe in the adage that they can sleep when they die. Not getting enough sleep may certainly hasten that terminal event.
We all have heard of lymph nodes. They are a system of organs, vessels and tissues that protect you from infection and promote a healthy balance of fluids throughout your body. These nodes may swell with a sore throat.
The glymphatic system does some of the same for the brain. It is an organ system for waste removal in the nervous system. It takes the cerebral spinal fluid that surrounds the individual cells of the brain and cleans it out, which is a particularly important job.
Our knowledge of the glymphatic system is relatively new, only about 10 years old. However, it is a particularly important part of our body’s wondrous mechanism. It is thought to perform a significant amount of its work during sleep. When we sleep, the cells of our brain actually shrink in size. This allows us to clear metabolites or trash more easily from the brain.
Therefore, if sleep is disrupted and waste or trash is not cleared, there are consequences.
Deprivation of sleep results in the deterioration of how one performs, the memory deteriorates, people may become delirious and can even have seizures. The brain does not function well when it does not get enough sleep. There is evidence that the rate of waste production is decreased when one is asleep and parts of the brain are quiet.
One form of chronic sleep disruption occurs when people have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a respiratory condition in which sleep is chronically disrupted by frequent awakenings as the body is not receiving enough oxygen. In a long-term study, researchers found that people who did not have sleep apnea had a conversion to mild cognitive impairment (there is a decline in thinking and memory) at age 83. Those who had sleep apnea and did not use their C-PAP machines to correct their oxygen loss experienced this conversion around age 72. Those who had sleep apnea but used their C-PAP experienced this conversion around age 82. This shows that sleep apnea may be a risk factor for cognitive decline, and that the use of C-PAP modifies that risk by allowing one to sleep, which ultimately allows the glymphatic system to function properly.
Therefore, sleep is very important on many levels. Most adults need 6-9 hours of sleep each night. If you are only getting 5-6 hours of sleep, there is a caution.
One’s sleep should also be continuous, uninterrupted, with consistent bedtimes and wake-up times.
Some warning signs include achieving 7 or 8 hours of sleep but still feeling sleepy or taking naps during the day. Have a talk with your primary care provider and investigate if a sleep study is needed to find out what is going on.
Likewise, for people who may experience insomnia, there is the risk of experiencing sleep disruptions. There is also a concern as to whether some medications used to treat insomnia may perhaps increase the risk of memory loss. A lot of research still needs to be done on this area of sleep, but current information promotes getting a good night’s sleep, setting a regular bedtime, and waking up. These are invaluable to proper brain function and help with one’s longevity. Now I’ve got to go! It’s my bedtime.
