Photo courtesy of the Daily Mail.

Students Beware…

A new study in Science News  magazine explains exactly what happens to our brains when we don’t get enough sleep… and it isn’t pretty.

Since sleep allows our brains to clear up excess connections formed during the day, our brains become, “more reactive as hours awake accumulate.” This helps explain why sleep deprivation can trigger seizures and hallucinations in some people.

Sleep, as any student in an 8:30 am class will tell you, is an essential bodily function.

One study has shown that depriving rats of REM sleep limits their lifespan to 5 weeks and depriving them of all stages of sleep will kill them within 3 weeks (rats typically live 3-5 years).

One survey finds two thirds of college students pull at least one all nighter in a given semester. We can only recommend to those of you reading this at 3AM that you put down the NoDoz and head for bed…or the couches outside the game room…whichever is closer.