[Marxism] the biology of sleep

[Les Schaffer <schaffer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

there is an interesting perspective article in a back issue of Nature 
Reviews Neuroscience, from May 2005, entitled "The rhythm of rest and 
excess" by Russell G. Foster and Katharina Wulff on sleep (and the lack 
thereof) in the modern industrial age. below is the introduction, the 
full paper is available here:
http://www.chronobiology.ch/chronobiology.data/Dokumente/PDF/PDF_Informations/Nature%20Neurosci%20Foster%20Wulff.pdf

Les



Introduction:


Abstract | There is a stark contrast between our attitudes to sleep and 
those of the pre-industrial age. In Shakespeare’s Julius Cæsar we are 
told to “Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber”. There seems little 
chance of this today, as we crave more, work more and expect more, and, 
in the process, abandon sleep. Our occupation of the night is having 
unanticipated costs for both our physical and mental health, which, if 
continued, might condemn whole sectors of our society to a dismal future.

For centuries, sleep has been regarded as a simple suspension of 
activity; today we appreciate that it is a complex and highly organized 
series of physiological and behavioural states. On average, we spend 30% 
of our lives asleep, and we have little idea why. This ignorance is 
probably the main reason why our society has such little regard for 
sleep. At best we tolerate the fact that we need to sleep, and at worst 
we think of sleep as an illness that needs a cure. This attitude is not 
only dangerous but unsustainable. Our immune defence, cognitive 
performance and mental health are all affected by sleep and our 
circadian rhythms. Disruption of the sleep–wake axis results in a broad 
range of interconnected pathologies, including poor vigilance and 
memory, reduced mental and physical reaction times, reduced motivation, 
depression, insomnia, metabolic abnormalities, obesity, immune 
impairment and even a greater risk of cancer. There is an intimate 
connection between these pathologies and the way in which we have 
organized our society in recent years[1].

The introduction of artificial lighting and the re-structuring of 
working hours has progressively detached our species from the 24-hour 
cycle of light and dark. Our working culture of long hours and shift 
work, and the 24-hour availability of almost everything have conspired 
to demote sleep in our priorities. In our 24/7 society, we have 
established a new
benchmark for wakefulness, in which many employers expect their staff to 
work to the beat of an artificial rhythm and to perform with equal 
efficiency throughout the 24 hours of a day. This imposed structure 
conflicts with our basic biology and is suboptimal for our health. In an 
attempt to cope with tiredness, we have fallen into a stimulant–sedation 
loop, in which stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine, are used for 
wakefulness during the day and sedatives, such as hypnotics and alcohol, 
are used at night to induce sleep. The following morning, stimulants are 
needed once again to override the sedatives and impaired sleep. In 
addition, many drugs have been developed to modify sleep and alertness,
to beat jet lag and to create ‘metabolically dominant soldiers’ — 
warriors who can fight 24 hours a day for 7 days without rest.

In this perspective, we consider some of the causes and consequences of 
sleep and circadian rhythm disruption. In the space available, this 
article cannot be all encompassing, but our aim is to highlight the 
importance of this topic, illustrate how many agents of sleep disruption 
are interconnected, and promote discussion about how we might use this 
information to adjust the way we organize our lives. ...




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