Even after seven days of unlimited sleep, following an earlier 10-day period of not getting enough sleep, many parameters of the body do not return to normal – showed an experiment conducted at the Jagiellonian University.
Scientists have long known that lack of sleep worsens human functioning – for example, memory and concentration disorders appear, the risk of accidents increases, as well as heart disease and other health problems.
Researchers at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow have tested whether a person can recover a week after ending a period of sleep deprivation.
“Twenty-three people participated in the experiment, of which data from 13 met all quality criteria. Not everyone managed to adapt to the demanding nature of the study. However, such a number of volunteers was sufficient to obtain statistically significant results,” Dr. Jeremi K. Ochab said Polish Press Agency (PAP), one of the main authors of the publication, which appeared in the journal “PLOS ONE” (article).
“First, participants followed good sleep hygiene for four days, and then for 10 days, they shortened their sleep by about 30 percent. Sleep and wake cycles were measured, among other things, by electronic wristbands worn on the wrist. After this time, the volunteers were allowed to sleep as needed, and we studied their condition for another week,” said the scientist.
It turned out, unfortunately, that even after a week many parameters remained disturbed. This includes the electrical activity of the brain, as well as the frequency and length of periods of rest and increased activity, or coping with intellectual tasks.