After enduring a rough batch of finals, where I was constantly baffled by the number of people who just don’t sleep for two weeks straight, I decided to do a little research on just how bad disrupting your normal sleep cycles are. I have always been aware of the fact that consistent sleeping hours are very important to our daily function. I was surprised however, upon reading an article by Fernandez et al., that chronic disruption in our circadian cycles can lead to impaired declarative memory. The sad irony from this being that, those students who decide to pull frequent all-nighters in attempting to achieve their academic goals might actually be setting themselves back.

In a few other studies, it seems as though chronic alternations of sleep-wake cycles can lead to minor cognitive impairment (MCI) or even dementia (Schlosser Covell et al.). In Schlosser Covell et al.’s article, they highlight that “optimal cognitive function depends upon the appropriate timing of sleep, wakefulness, and synchronization of brain clocks in the cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum.” Therefore, by hindering the appropriate timing of sleep, we are decreasing our optimal cognitive functioning. Additionally, Schlosser Covell et al. go on to discuss the importance of the suprachiasmic nucleus in sleep regulation. This area naturally becomes less active with age. It is therefore hypothesized that decreased activation of the suprachiasmic nucleus is correlated with both sleep disturbances and MCI or dementia. While this is not a direct cause-effect relationship, studies have shown there to be a significant correlation.

This therefore begs the question: are people with current sleep disturbances (whether it is naturally occurring, stress-induced or students pulling all-nighters) are setting themselves up for MCI in the future? This could be a serious consequence of trying to get straight A’s in university. If this is in fact the case, high schools and universities need to be doing more to ensure the wellbeing of their students, so long-term irreparable damage is not done during these few short years studying.

This is also a question for professionals to glance at. By working shift-work, especially alternating between days and nights frequently, one is also disrupting their body’s natural sleep-wake cycles. The same case can be made for people traveling lots for their jobs, who are constantly dealing with time-change. How should this be handled? We can’t force people into positions where their sleep-wake cycle won’t be disturbed. However, one alternative way would be to make people more aware of these facts, and continue research in this area so people can become more mindful of this fact, and try their best to maintain a “proper” sleep schedule.

 

Works Cited:

Fernandez, Fabian, et al. “Dysrhythmia in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Inhibits Memory Processing.” Science 346.6211 (2014): 854-7.

URL: here

Schlosser Covell, Gretchen E., et al. “Disrupted Daytime Activity and Altered Sleep-Wake Patterns may Predict Transition to Mild Cognitive Impairment Or Dementia: A Critically Appraised Topic.” The neurologist 18.6 (2012): 426-9.

URL: here