Why You Should Never Avoid Sleep At All Costs

An illustration of a sleeping person.

Throughout life, sleep is often treated as something optional, a simple luxury to be sacrificed for productivity, schoolwork, or scrolling on your phone at 2 A.M. in the morning. Yet, from the scientific perspective, sleep is anything but optional. Sleep is a biological necessity that is as vital to human survival as food or water. Over the past few decades, countless studies in biology, neuroscience, and psychology have proved that sleep plays one of the most important roles in brain function, memory formation, emotional regulation, and physical health. Although modern culture rewards sleep deprivation, your body does not, and it is time to acknowledge that. 

From an evolutionary standpoint, sleep presents almost a paradox: while asleep, organisms are vulnerable to deadly predators. But despite this deadly disadvantage, sleep is observed to happen across nearly all animal species, from small insects to the largest of mammals. This pattern suggests that the benefits of sleep outweigh its harms, so much so that the act of sleeping is fundamental to survival. 

Now, scientists have found that sleep is a critical function for you on a molecular level. One of the most important aspects of sleep is its role in waste removal. In 2013, researchers discovered the glymphatic system, a network in which the brain clears out any metabolic waste. Specifically, they found out that this system became a lot more active during sleep, and more significantly, that it flushed out dangerous proteins associated with numerous disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. When sleep is disrupted or shortened often, these toxins accumulate, eventually increasing the risk of neurodegenerative disorders over time. 

Sleep is also important for memory consolidation, which is the process in which the brain reorganizes and strengthens neural connections, transferring memories to the cortex for long-term storage. While you’re awake, the brain constantly absorbs new information and stores it in a fragile, short-term state in the hippocampus, before, as stated above, being transferred to the cortex for long-term storage. That’s why studies have shown that students who sleep after learning perform much better on recall tasks than those who remain awake. 

Emotionally, sleep puts in a lot of work, as the regions of the brain responsible for processing emotions, like the amygdala, become hyperactive when sleep-deprived. Furthermore, the prefrontal cortex, which regulates impulses and decision-making within your brain, becomes far less effective. This imbalance explains why lack of sleep is associated with higher irritability, anxiety, and poor judgment. Chronic sleep deprivation has also been linked to higher rates of depression and mood disorders, especially within teenagers. 

The importance of sleep goes far beyond the brain. Sleep plays a key role in immune function by supporting the production of cytokines that help fight infections. Therefore, individuals who constantly get less than six hours of sleep per night are much more likely to become ill after exposure to bacteria and viruses. Furthermore, sleep regulates metabolism and appetite through hormones such as leptin and ghrelin. Thus, when the amount of time you sleep is insufficient, leptin levels decrease while ghrelin levels increase, which means you will feel a heightened sense of hunger, leading to an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and high blood pressure. 

The constant complaints of teenagers regarding being sleepy and tired during school is scientifically true. Because teenagers feel a biological shift in circadian rhythm, their natural sleeping cycle, during puberty, they are much more likely to feel alert later at night. Despite that, many schools have early start times, which forces them to wake up before their bodies are actually ready. This mismatch leads to decreased academic performance, higher stress levels, and an increased rate of depression among students. Therefore, researchers have found out that delaying school start times would lead to better academic performance, happiness levels, and a culture of mental health within schools. 

Despite the overwhelming amount of scientific evidence that points towards the absolute importance of sleep, it is still often undervalued within modern society. Productivity culture frequently glorifies exhaustion, framing sleep deprivation as a sign of dedication or ambition. Ironically, the research shows the exact opposite is true. Well-rested individuals that consistently get enough sleep are more efficient, creative, and emotionally resilient than those who sacrifice sleep. In professions that require high levels of attention, such as medicine, transportation, and engineering, sleep deprivation can have fatal consequences. 

Recently, scientists have also begun exploring how sleep quality, not just duration, can impact a person’s health. For example, sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea can disrupt normal sleep cycles, which can prevent people from reaching their restorative sleep stages, such as REM.

Ultimately, sleep is one of the most important active biological processes required for survival. The simple process of laying down and closing your eyes to drift off into deep sleep influences how we think, feel, and function as human beings. Despite modern society’s unhealthy obsession with productivity and sleep deprivation, it has become increasingly clear that prioritizing rest is not a matter of comfort, but of health. Recognizing sleep as a cornerstone of human biology may be one of the best steps toward improving both individual well-being and public health today.