Sleepy and the Brain

By Quinn J. Jenkins

Do you love to sleep? Is your bed your favourite place? Or perhaps you’re someone who fights it until the last second, wanting to claim every moment as your own. We all have a relationship with sleep. Often it’s shaped by the habits instilled into us as children. Perhaps you had a strict 7pm bedtime, or perhaps you drifted lazily into the nighttime hours. As adults, we walk a fine line between two camps. One praises sleep deprivation as a mark of the high achiever, and the other prioritizes wellness above productivity.

I won’t tell you which camp you should fall into, instead we’re going to talk about what sleep, and sleep deprivation, actually does.

Sleep — Your Body’s “Repair Mode”

We’ll start with sleep. Think of sleep like a computer “Repair Mode” for your body. All that stuff we do while we’re awake has stopped, and our body has time to process and heal from the day we just had.

Your brain takes the information you’ve learned & stores it for you, your own file management system.

Your cells start to repair themselves, and release energy and hormones. They try and balance everything out after all that stimuli sent your bio readings out of whack. 

Your muscles build themselves back up, after exertion has worn them down. Proteins synthesize, and tissues regrow. 

Did you know that sleeping is when your body manages its hunger levels? The two hormones relating to feelings of hunger, ghrelin and leptin, have their levels regulated during your sleep cycle.
Ghrelin impacts your appetite, while leptin creates the feeling of being full. Irregular sleep can lead to an elevated level of ghrelin while suppressing the level of leptin, leading to an increased caloric intake and potentially weight gain.

Sleep also allows your neurons & brain cells to reorganize, and for your glymphatic system to clear out any waste (toxic by-products that build up in your brain over the course of the day). 

Sleep impacts almost all areas of your brain’s ability to function, from concentration and problem solving to creativity and decision making. 

As a result, sleep and mental health are deeply intertwined. Sleeping poorly can hasten the onset or worsen the symptoms of a mental illness. Likewise, a mental illness can contribute to poor sleep. 
As you now know, sleep is vitally important for many areas of bodily function. From your organs to your brain. So why do so many of us wear sleep deprivation as a badge of honor? 

Sleep Deprivation — A Silent Killer

First, let’s talk about what sleep deprivation is. 

Sleep deprivation is dangerous. Driving while sleep deprived or drowsy can and has caused motor accidents. Furthermore, while sleep deprived your judgement and reactions are impaired, which can lead to injuries and/or falls that otherwise may not have occurred. 

We already discussed that sleep is when your brain stores and sorts information, so it makes perfect sense that one impact of sleep deprivation is the occurrence of memory problems. Alongside decreased focus, frequent changes in mood, weight gain, and an increased chance of early death. 

If you don’t get enough sleep, it will affect you from head to toe. When you’re dealing with extra barriers to functioning, such as neurodiversity or mental illness, sleep becomes even more necessary. 

Our already compromised ability to function becomes compromised further, ADHD symptoms worsen, sensory overload occurs more easily, perhaps you, like me, get irritable & easily agitated. 

All this is to say that a recipe for a healthy day starts with a healthy night’s sleep. 

Tips & Tricks

Of course, it is not always that simple. Here are some tricks that you can use to fall asleep:

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

1. Flex a group of muscles. Tense them as hard as you can, really squeeze. 
2. Hold it. Hoooolllldddd itttt. Keep holding. 
3. LET GO !!!!!!!!! RELEASE THE TENSION !!!! LIKE A DEEP SIGH FOR YOUR MUSCLE
4. Repeat until unconsciousness with different muscle groups 

Midnight Meditation Method

1. Set up a comfy TV show. Ideally, set it up on a laptop or phone, something you can tuck out of sight. A TV works too. 
2. Get comfy. Get the blanket, the pillow, the teddy bear you’ve had since childhood. Snuggle your loved one if you have one to snuggle. 
3. Close your eyes. 
4. Now, focus on the sound coming from your TV. Really focus, don’t let your mind wander from the dialogue, sound effects, the foghorn of the Brooklyn Nine Nine opening. 
5. If you’re someone who can visualize things, now is the time to visualize. Paint their faces, clothes, and scenes. Bring them to life with the sounds you hear, and let your mind take you to another world. 
6. How long can you follow along, keeping up with changing your visuals along with the narrative as it progresses? How long until you fall asleep, drifting seamlessly off to dreamland? 

Next time you think about powering through the moonlit hours, pause and consider the bigger picture. Is the sacrifice you are making to your health and well-being, worth what you are spending those hours on? 

If it is, by all means, power through. Sometimes a situation calls for a late night, and one or two probably aren’t going to kill you. But if it isn’t, maybe it’s simply time to go to bed & get some rest. 

A Glimpse into the Past

Perhaps, you can learn from my mistakes. Allow me to set the scene. 

Fifteen Years Old. Dull-eyed and depressed, caught in a vicious cycle of self-harm, pill popping, and alcohol consumption, I would also frequently pull all-nighters to yet further escape my emotions. 

I sat down at my desk in Language Arts. I had just consumed what is known as, A Big Monster™. I had been awake for over 32 hours. 

A boy is seated next to me. He is awkward with me, and mentions the book he’s reading. He hands it to me, expectantly. 

“Slkdjklwn, A:DFojewkd,. Fdopwe “JOPDPFOKEW”
Djoijewlkdms. FP:Ooiwekjd.
Lijpwiejf:ljdfope? f)239fdlkje”

“Gonna be real with you, I can’t read right now.” 

Chat, I was so embarrassed. 

I once read over 100 books in a year, I LOVE BOOKS. I wanted to be an author before I pivoted to mental health education & indie game development. 

I couldn’t fucking read. 
Next time you’re debating an all-nighter for work, or play, or roleplay – remember me, fifteen and over-caffeinated, under-rested, rendered illiterate.

Maybe you’d like to learn more about my shenanigans as a messed up teenager? I teach through lived experience, sharing anecdotes about my personal life & getting into the reality of mental illness. I believe in bonding through shared stories, in healing through connecting, and most importantly, in teaching practical tools that actually work.