How important is sleep?

I heard a podcast this last week that talked about sleep and the effects of lack of sleep with sleep scientist and researcher Matthew Walker. I wanted to share some of my revelations with you all because it's getting me to bed earlier.
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Take aways:
First, there are 2 different types of sleep:

1.Non REM. Has 4 separate stages. In stages 3 and 4 is where all the body replenishments cardiovascular system, metabolism,
2. REM-Non dream sleep

Things that stood out.
1. 1/2 of brain will not sleep as deeply as if you were as home.

2. Pre frontal cortex region of the brain, responsible that's rational logical part if the brain is first things to go when you're sleep deprived. It is almost like it gets switched off and deep emotional centers of the brain- because the are kept in check by that pre front cortex, erupts,

3. human being are the only mammals that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep.

4. Lack of sleep has also been correlated with short life, alzheimers, and dementia.

5. 3rd shift workers or any job that interfere with sleep can be a linked with obesity, diabetes and cancer. The associate of lack of sleep and cancer is so powerful that World health organization decided to classifies any type of night time shift work as a probable carcenigen or that jobs that may induce cancers because of brain wave rhythms.

6. Lack of sleep can be associated an increase heart attacks, car crashes and suicide rates and well as cancers such as bowel, prostate and breast cancers. Studies show one hour of sleep can make a difference. For example, hour hour less of sleep (Daylight saving time is the spring) there were 24% increase of heart attacks. When we gain an hour of sleep there was an 21% decrease! One hour can make a difference.

7. Lack of sleep increases your Ghrelin and decreases your leptinthere are two hormone that control your appetite and weight: Leptin and Ghreline-leptin is the hormone that tell your brain that you are full, satiated and you've had enough. It is an appetite suppressor. Ghrelin is the hormone does the appetite that increases hunger and plays a role in body weight. People that are sleeping 5-6 will on average eat 200 extra calories each day. More of the wrong things there you make bad decisions.
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8. Alcohol and marijuana are chemicals that are used to sleep but are also good at blocking your REM sleep.

9. There is no bank account when you sleep. You can't really catch up on sleep. Only thing that is efficient is consistency every day. Go to sleep at the same time everyday even weekends and wake up the same time as well.

10. Inefficient sleep can erode the fabric of biologic life itself, your DNA code. In one study, a group of health adults were limited them to 6 hours of sleep a day for one week. The compared their profile of gene activity relative to when they were getting 8 hours of sleep per day. The two critical results that came out were a) First 711 genes were distorted in their activity caused by one week. b) Half of those genes were increased in their activity, the other half were supressed by the 6 hours of sleep. They were genes that were related to your immune system, so you become immune. The genes that were increased were genes related to promotion of tumors, genes relation to chronic inflammation with in body, genes that were associate with stress and as a result, cardiovascular disease.

11. during deep sleep at night, and only then does a sort of sewage system in the brain that gets kicked into high gear and it cleansed the brain of all the metabolic toxins that have been built up throughout the day. One of those sticky toxic protiens that gets built up is: betamyloid which is one the the leading causes of underlying mechanism of Alzheimer's, when it doesn't get cleaned it is built up. Two
known light sleeper were such as Ronald Regan had died of alzheimer's disease and the other Margret Thatcher of dementia.

These epidemiological studies were done with the measurement of brain activity on groups that were sleep deprived and non sleep deprived states. He's book goes into more detail.

It was such an eye opener, I recommend your checking out this materials:
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Matthew Walker has a book out called" Why we Sleep."
Ted talk can be found, here
Interview with Joe Rogan, here