Analysis Of Russell Foster: Why We Sleep

I have chosen to watch the video by Russell Foster: Why do we sleep? Russell Foster says that “If you're an average sort of person, 36 percent of your life will be spent asleep”. That sounds like a lot to me, but I know that sleep in a necessary part of life. Although scientists don’t have a definitive answer as to why we sleep, they do have some theories. One of those theories is that during sleep our bodies are resting our muscles or recuperating and our brains go through a sort of restoration process. Another theory is focused on “brain processing and memory consolidation”. As stated by Russell Foster, “after you've tried to learn a task, and you sleep-deprive individuals, the ability to learn that task is smashed”. Sleep deprivation studies have shown that when a subject is deprived of his/her sleep for a period of time they are more likely have mood swings, reaction times are disrupted, their perception can be off, mental abilities can be disrupted along with complex motor skills, (Bonnet, 2005). So, the next question would be, “how do we determine what the right amount sleep is”? According to Russell Foster, if an alarm clock is needed to to wake you in the morning, if you are cranky, if you need caffeine or you are being told that you look tired then you are sleep deprived. You should be able to rely on your body’s biological alarm clock also known as the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN). Your SCN is able to help you regulate your sleep-wake cycle by being able to detect the decrease in light and the increase in light, sunset …show more content…
(n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2016, from https://www.ted.com/talks/russell_foster_why_do_we_sleep?language=en

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