SLEEP code
> HOW CAN I DETOXIFY MY BRAIN OVERNIGHT?
As soon as we start failing to make proper use of the regenerative tool of sleep, the consequences for health can be severe. In fact, researchers at the University of Chicago have proved: Those who sleep for less than seven hours per night are three times more likely to come down with a cold as those who sleep for a longer period. What’s more, a long-term study by the BBC—IN which 1 million people were surveyed about their sleep habits—discovered that:
But why is the nightly rest period so important for our bodies? When we sleep, something strange occurs in our brains: “A special glandular system pumps so much fluid into the brain that the organ’s volume almost doubles,” says Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Copenhagen. The skull would likely burst were it not for an ingenious trick: “During sleep neurons shrink by up to 60 percent.” This process is essential to survival. Thanks to this flushing action, we detoxify our brains each night—helping prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In fact, this procedure is only one of many. The reason: When in a waking state, the body’s maintenance program is running on standby. But during sleep the body launches an offensive— most of its functions are channeled into regeneration mode: Heart rate decreases, blood pressure drops, muscles relax. Growth hormones ( like somatotropin) are circulated. Receptors in the kidneys become increasingly fueled by the enzyme renin, which augments the organs’ detoxification function. Damaged cells are disposed of through the blood and lymph system. In this way up to 50 million cells are renewed— per second. Even functions such as wound healing and the regeneration of the immune system are basically limited to the deep sleep phases.
People who sleep for six hours or less per night have a 12% higher risk of dying— on average this equates to 10 fewer years of life! “A LACK OF SLEEP SLOWS DOWN THE HEALING OF WOUNDS AND ACCELERATES THE AGING PROCESS.”