If We Don't Sleep, Will We Die?

If you have ever experienced insomnia or poor sleep, you have probably asked yourself in frustration, 'Why can't I fall asleep?' But to answer this question, we first need to understand why we sleep at all, a question that still lacks a definitive answer. We know that ultimately we are powerless against insomnia, and no matter how much we try to resist, sleep will eventually overcome us, provided we are not afflicted by insomnia or sleep disorders. We also know that after sleeping for seven to nine hours, the body becomes ready for activity again and can function well for 15 to 17 hours until the feeling of needing sleep returns. Over the past fifty years, the study of sleep has taken a more serious form among researchers and scientists, and we have gained a lot of knowledge about the stages of sleep, although there is still much we do not know. For example, we know that our sleep is divided into light and deep sleep. We also know that all mammals and birds sleep. Dolphins sleep with half of their brain to keep the other half alert for potential dangers. Wild ducks sleep in a line, and the two ducks at either end keep one eye open to remain aware of predator attacks. Almost all animals must sleep in a lying or sitting position, which significantly increases their risk tolerance against attackers over a long period of a day. The most important question for researchers is why sleep is so vital for the body. Alan Rechtschaffen, one of the first and most prominent sleep researchers, states that if sleep is not a vital necessity for the body, it would be the greatest error of evolution. One theory regarding the reason for sleep suggests that we sleep because our brain commands us to do so. But what makes sleep vital for the brain, and how can this be proven with scientific data? Scientists say that the answer to this question depends on what kind of sleep we are talking about. National Geographic, in a detailed article about the nature of sleep, cites Dr. Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher at Harvard University, stating that students who take short naps throughout the day may enter deep sleep or light sleep (known as Rapid Eye Movement sleep or REM sleep, where the body is in deep sleep but the brain is active). However, after waking up, students who take light naps perform better in cognitive tasks, such as understanding grammar. In contrast, students who enter deep sleep during these intervals have better memory. Therefore, the type of sleep affects brain function. Another study on sleep performance indicates that during sleep, the brain clears unnecessary information from its memory. Thus, our purpose for sleeping may be to help remember essential and important information while eliminating unnecessary items. Sleep can also have psychological causes. Scientists know that individuals suffering from chronic and acute insomnia do not live long. However, they still do not know what causes the death of these individuals. Do they die from lack of sleep? And if insomnia is not the primary cause of death, to what extent does it accelerate this process? Although some observations indicate that sleep helps the body's defense system and controls infections, none of these studies have been definitively proven to scientists. In one of the most famous sleep experiments conducted in 1980 at the University of Chicago, laboratory rats died after two weeks of insomnia, but no scientific reason for their death, other than exhaustion, was found. No body tissue was damaged, and their brains were healthy. They died from exhaustion caused by insomnia. When this experiment was repeated in 2002 with more precise technologies, the same results were found; researchers did not find any specific reason for the death of these rats. According to William Dement, a prominent sleep researcher, what we know today, after fifty years of studying sleep, is that we sleep because 'sleep comes to us,' but the opposite is not true. That is, some individuals may never feel sleepy. Sleep-related disorders are significantly increasing in advanced societies. Between 50 to 75 million Americans suffer from insomnia-related issues, and for example, in 2008, fifty-six million prescriptions for sleep-related issues were issued by doctors. However, our knowledge and the extent of research and education regarding sleep and its related diseases are very limited.