Sleep: What is it…really?
First, let's take a look at sleep itself, and why it's so important to our children--and ourselves.
Sleep is a mysterious phenomenon experienced by all mammals, though to different extents. Humans are rather unusual for the lengthy periods they spend asleep, and the fact that our bodies "fast" as we sleep. Other animals, such as rats, wake up consistently through their sleep period to take quick bites.
We call sleep "mysterious" because it's still a poorly understood activity. While we know more about what happens to the body during sleep than ever before, the question of exactly why we do it still hasn't been conclusively answered.
Of course, most people would say that it's obvious--that we sleep in order to repair the stresses and strains put on the body during the day, and to rest the mind. Yet this is only half true.
While in other animals the sleeping state may be the only period during which the creature rests its body, humans are able to relax and conserve energy almost at will. In fact, there's very little physical difference between a human "resting" on a couch watching television and a sleeper. Relaxing quietly conserves almost as much energy, and the body repairs itself nearly as well.
It is true, however, that the mind is rested during sleep. The human mind, like the bodies of other animals, is always "on" when awake. Sleep provides it with a chance to power down, and conserve its own energy.
Still, just how much the mind suffers when sleep deprived is a subject of debate. Sleep is extraordinarily helpful for assimilating newly learned material into the brain. And it's also key for keeping alert (the next day).
Humans show few physical effects, however, in terms of degradation, tissue damage, or anything else, when sleep-deprived. Studies concerning sleep-deprivation's effect on the human immune system are still being conducted. It's clear, however, that a lack of sleep isn't of itself disastrous for the body.
This isn't true of all animals. Rats, for instance, die after about two weeks of no sleep. Humans, on the other hand, have surpassed that in quite a few documented cases without dying.
Though we know as adults we can get along without enough (or any) sleep--and this is, of course, a necessary ability for a new parent to have--a lack of sleep for children can be nothing short of disastrous.
Vilma Fynn
Copyright 2006
http://www.babysleepsuccess.com
