What Happens To Our Neurons When We Sleep
What happens to our neurons when we sleep? We’ll talk about that today, so read on to learn!
When you do not sleep properly, you will get tired. Not getting enough rest can have serious consequences for our health, both physically and mentally.
It is therefore of the utmost importance that you sleep well for the nervous system to function properly.
Science has repeatedly shown that sleep is important for functioning. In fact, if you do not get enough sleep for a long time, it can even be fatal.
The journal Nature Communications Sleep published an interesting study on what goes on in our neurons, or nerve cells, when we sleep.
It believes that sleep increases the ability of chromosomes to reduce the genetic damage that occurs in neurons. It also gives us some possible explanations regarding the purpose of sleep:
- Facilitates biosynthesis of macromolecules
- Helps save energy
- Helps clean up metabolites
- Facilitates neuronal plasticity
- Improves long-term memory
What happens to our neurons when we sleep?
According to the study mentioned above, there is an optimal opportunity to repair the brain’s DNA: when we sleep.
When we sleep, there is a significant reduction in the genetic damage to our neurons. This in turn reduces the risk of the cells’ functions being adversely affected.
There is something important to keep in mind. Genetic damage accumulates over time and can lead to neurodegenerative diseases and other neurological disorders. It is therefore important that you sleep well.
This particular dynamic of repair of genetic material has mainly been observed in neurons. It depends on what time of day it is, especially the circadian rhythm.
Other cell types that belong to other anatomical components do not seem to show noticeable differences when it comes to how effectively they are repaired.
Considering what we have discussed above, we can state that sleep is a psychological condition that makes the cells repair better.
Evolutionarily speaking
With that said, from an evolutionary perspective, we can say that humans need a strategy to keep their neurons healthy. That strategy is as you may have already guessed sleep.
This process is the most optimal in terms of which mechanisms are activated.
It has also been shown that lack of sleep can lead to death. This has been known for centuries. You should respect your circadian rhythm as much as possible in order to stay healthy. Remember: to sleep well is to live well.
