Vaughn Week 7 - Importance of Sleep
Over the past few weeks, my sleeping schedule has become more and more irregular. This week I've been trying to keep my sleeping schedule as consistent as possible and although I haven't noticed any positive effects yet as it's only been a couple days, I did learn some interesting facts regarding sleep and its importance.
A study on medical interns showed that interns with “extended work hours of more than 24 hours made 36% more serious medical errors than interns on a schedule that allowed more sleep.” Although I always knew lack of sleep can cause learning and concentration issues, I would never expect it to have that much of an effect on the interns. As a student, this is interesting because I wonder if lack of sleep can potentially cause me to make 36% more errors.
Another study that was held in 2009, determined that events in the brain called sharp-wave ripples are what consolidates our memory. These also transfer learned information to the neocortex, which is where long-term memories are stored. These only occur during the deepest stage of sleep.
Lack of sleep also weakens the area of the brain that manages problem-solving, organization, and planning. Lack of sleep also reduces our self-control, which can cause people to get frustrated more easily, and give up on tasks.
Overall, as a student, I've realized that I've been underestimating the effect of lack of sleep on my performance in school and other tasks. I've noticed that I've been getting very tired in class lately and it's probably harming my performance a decent amount. Although I've always been aware of the harms, I've never taken them as seriously as I should, and I look forward to improving my sleep schedule.
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