Have you ever noticed that you just do not think as well when you are tired? Well, we now know the scientific reason. And the research shows that long-term sleep deprivation could permanently damage your brain.
A rat study found that sleep deprivation caused a stress hormone, corticosterone, to damage a region in their brains called the hippocampus. This brain structure is involved in forming memories. When sleep deprived for 72 hours, the hormone went up, and the hippocampus made fewer new brain cells.
We have known for years that the brain continually makes new cells. A lack of sleep slows this process down. And constant sleep deprivation can cause permanent damage. In the case of the rats, when their sleep patterns were normalized, it took two weeks for nerve-cell production to normalize.
In other words, it took four times as long to repair the damage as it did to cause it!
Sleep is vital for repair and rejuvenation of your body and brain. Be sure not to deprive yourself. If you are having trouble sleeping, take one to three mg of melatonin or 500 mg of phosphatidylserine to protect you from high cortisol from stress.
Ref: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, December 12, 2006; 103(50): 19170-19175; Psych Central, February 12, 2007.