Why We Need Sleep
Daniel Mariscal
Persuasive Essay
Why We Need Sleep Sleep is a very important aspect of our lives and people rely on it to re-energize them so they can continue onto the next day. Although sleep is thought to conserve energy it actually drains your metabolism by 5-10%. However, sleep is very beneficial to humans. Sleeping progresses the bodies’ growth and rejuvenates the immune, skeletal, nervous and muscular systems. Sleep also improves short-term memory, mood, efficiency, concentration, and it is actually believed that sleep also helps wound healing. Scientists proved this by doing a test on mice. Mice were deprived of sleep for 24 hours and compared to a control group; the sleep deprived rats ended up having a 20% decrease in white blood cells. Every living thing needs some form of recovery in their lives and sleep is the answer. Today more and more people are sleep deprived and society doesn’t realize how imperative sleep is to your daily life.
No one in America is getting enough sleep and according to Mary Carskadon professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University says, “Adults need 8 hours a night, but 50% get less, and 25% get less than 7 hours. Teenagers now average about 2 hours less sleep a night than they did 80 years ago…” This is an alarming fact and should be more publicly known throughout the country. Another fact to look upon is one reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that “40% of the population reported unintentionally falling asleep during the day, and nearly 5% reported nodding off while driving in the preceding 30 days.” Both statistics concretely show that today’s society is completely sleep deprived, and needs improvement. There are very serious risks and unbeneficial consequences coupled with continuous sleep deprivation. People encounter many unfavorable results when they introduce little sleep into their routines.
The consequences of sleep deprivation vary and are linked to many things. Some
Persuasive Essay
Why We Need Sleep Sleep is a very important aspect of our lives and people rely on it to re-energize them so they can continue onto the next day. Although sleep is thought to conserve energy it actually drains your metabolism by 5-10%. However, sleep is very beneficial to humans. Sleeping progresses the bodies’ growth and rejuvenates the immune, skeletal, nervous and muscular systems. Sleep also improves short-term memory, mood, efficiency, concentration, and it is actually believed that sleep also helps wound healing. Scientists proved this by doing a test on mice. Mice were deprived of sleep for 24 hours and compared to a control group; the sleep deprived rats ended up having a 20% decrease in white blood cells. Every living thing needs some form of recovery in their lives and sleep is the answer. Today more and more people are sleep deprived and society doesn’t realize how imperative sleep is to your daily life.
No one in America is getting enough sleep and according to Mary Carskadon professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University says, “Adults need 8 hours a night, but 50% get less, and 25% get less than 7 hours. Teenagers now average about 2 hours less sleep a night than they did 80 years ago…” This is an alarming fact and should be more publicly known throughout the country. Another fact to look upon is one reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that “40% of the population reported unintentionally falling asleep during the day, and nearly 5% reported nodding off while driving in the preceding 30 days.” Both statistics concretely show that today’s society is completely sleep deprived, and needs improvement. There are very serious risks and unbeneficial consequences coupled with continuous sleep deprivation. People encounter many unfavorable results when they introduce little sleep into their routines.
The consequences of sleep deprivation vary and are linked to many things. Some
Cited: Brody, Jane E. "A good night 's sleep isn 't a luxury; it 's a necessity." New York Times31 May 2011: D7(L). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.