I was reading
in the November issue of “New Scientist” about the way the body is swept clean using the lymphatic system. This does not
apply to the brain. Your brain cleanses itself during sleep and a
person getting less than the suggested eight hours of sleep does not
have their brain swept as it should be. The same type deposits that
are seen in the brains of those with Alzheimer's after death are left
to accumulate and clump, the hypotheses being lack of sleep may make
one predisposed to the disease. Again, this is speculation.
On a more
personal note, I have always found it interesting the amount of sleep
we are supposed to get. Think about it for a minute. I normally get
probably five hours per night. For this example let's use six hours.
If one sleeps for six instead of eight they are losing about 8% less
of their awake time. Going to the far end of the spectrum, if at 80
you had slept 8 hours per night you would have effectively been awake
a little over 53 years. If the same person slept 6 hours per night
the awake years would be 60 years. That is seven years of additional
productive time. Which would you prefer?
Ken