Video: Why do we sleep? - 360
Shantha Rajaratnam
Published on February 12, 2024
Sleep is of fundamental importance to our health, wellbeing and productivity.
Professor Shantha Rajaratnam, Professor of Sleep and Circadian Medicine in the Monash School of Psychological Sciences and the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health explains why sleep is of fundamental importance to our health, wellbeing and productivity.
Quotes attributable to Professor Shantha Rajaratnam from the Turner Institute for Brain & Mental Health at Monash University.
“We know that sleep is of fundamental importance to our health, our wellbeing and our productivity. We know this because actually virtually every organism studied has some form of sleep.”
“We know that sleep is important for maintaining energy and restoring energy. We know that sleep is important for vital functions such as metabolism, cardiovascular system, immune function. We know that sleep is important for a number of other brain functions, such as cognition, learning, memory.”
“More recently, there’s been increasing evidence that sleep plays a role in the clearing of toxins through a system called the glymphatic system in the brain.”
“Our sleep/wake cycle is regulated by multiple processes and one is called a circadian process. It’s regulated by a clock system located throughout the body.”
“And we probably should view this system more like an orchestra with the conductor of an orchestra in the brain and multiple components of the orchestra distributed throughout the body.”
“The circadian system’s function is to maintain the appropriate timekeeping mechanisms within the body and also to ensure that we are at appropriate synchronisation with the external environment.”
“Apart from light and dark information that our system is receiving, we know that other cues are also important. For example, the liver and the pancreas all have clock systems that are acutely sensitive to the timing of meals, and so appropriately timed meals, we understand now, are going to be really important for preventing diseases such as diabetes and other conditions like that.”
“So to maintain good circadian health really is all about having regular sleep/wake cycles, regular behavioural rhythms including the cycles of eating, and also ensuring that our light and dark environment and our exposure to light is optimal.”
Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.