The Nightly Elixir: Why Sleep is the Billion-Dollar Secret to Living Longer

The Cave of Constant Darkness.

In 1938, two men took hospital beds into Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, which is one of the deepest caves on Earth, where no sunlight penetrates. Professor Nathaniel Kleitman and Bruce Richardson stayed in total darkness for thirty-two days to find out if our bodies would ever forget how to measure time. They learned that our bodies have an internal, “endogenous” clock that ticks away regardless of whether we have sunlight or not, and it has a rhythm of about twenty-four hours.

We have been biologically programmed with an internal, rhythmic clock that controls our very survival, despite all the artificial lights that surround us.

The internal clock, which is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, is a small group of 20,000 nerve cells that orchestrates all the events of our lives, from our core temperature to our metabolism and hormonal secretions. When we do not heed our internal clock, we are not simply “tired”; we are out of synchronization with our bodies.

Being mindful of our internal clock is the first step towards regaining our health.

The Collision of Efficiency and Biology.

We are currently existing in a 24/7 society, which values productivity over physiology. This approach, which can be called an ‘industrialized’ approach, has led to the sleep loss epidemic that the World Health Organization refers to.

For Canadians who are feeling the ‘grind’ of the new economy, sleep deprivation is sometimes not the issue of lacking the strength to make better choices, but rather the result of the way that we have organized our communities.

By becoming supporters of chronodiversity, we can unleash massive amounts of human potential.

The Architect of the Night.

Matthew Walker, a neuroscientist with twenty years of research on the mysteries of the mind, has written Why We Sleep as a scientific intervention. He wants us to know that sleep is not the absence of wakefulness; it is an exquisitely complex, metabolically active process. His work proves that every single organ in the body, and every single process in the brain, is enhanced when we sleep and diminished when we don’t.

Sleep is the single most effective way to reset our brain and body health each day.

Walker’s work has also shown us that sleep has two different masters, or functions: one is called NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, and the other is called REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. “NREM sleep is like a master gardener, clearing out the weeds of unnecessary neural connections, whereas REM sleep is like a master pruner, strengthening the remaining connections.”

We need these two types of sleep to be smart and emotionally well-functioning.

A National Emergency for the Body.

The effects of this kind of chronic short-sleeping, however, are not limited to the grogginess one feels in the morning. In fact, research has shown that the effects of short sleep are a “significant tax on our physical well-being.” Walker also points out studies that show that sleeping fewer than six or seven hours per night is “strongly linked to a weakened immune system and the onset of various other serious and chronic diseases, including some types of cancer and Alzheimer’s.”

In fact, sleep is not just ‘rest,’ but the brain’s ‘nightly power cleanse,’ helping to process metabolic waste products that have built up in the body during the day.

The Canadian Context: Safety Comes First.

As Canadians face the challenges of our troubled healthcare system, the importance of the role that sleep plays in preventative healthcare has never been more salient. Although it is not possible to ‘sleep our way’ out of the problems that plague our system, recognizing sleep as a basic building block of health, similar to diet or exercise, allows us to begin to advocate for a stronger Canada. In making small changes where we can, we are not simply resting; we are working towards a more caring, better-rested world.

A well-slept Canada is a stronger, more productive, and more compassionate Canada.

Closing Reflection.

We must reclaim our right to a full night’s sleep without being judged as lazy. Sleep is our “chief nourisher in life’s feast,” something that evolution has granted us, which we have foolishly discarded so quickly. Tonight, as you go to bed, remember that sleep is the bridge between despair and hope. By choosing your pillow over your device, you are choosing life, and by extension, all its vibrancy.

The best version of yourself is only one good night’s sleep away.