– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

In 1965, 17-year-old high school student, Randy Gardner

stayed awake for 264 hours.

That's 11 days to see how he'd cope without sleep.

On the second day, his eyes stopped focusing.

Next, he lost the ability to identify objects by touch.

By day three, Gardner was moody and uncoordinated.

At the end of the experiment, he was struggling to concentrate,

had trouble with short-term memory,

became paranoid,

and started hallucinating.

Although Gardner recovered without long-term psychological

or physical damage,

for others, losing shuteye can result in hormonal imbalance,

illness,

and, in extreme cases, death.

We're only beginning to understand why we sleep to begin with,

but we do know it's essential.

Adults need seven to eight hours of sleep a night,

and adolescents need about ten.

We grow sleepy due to signals from our body

telling our brain we are tired,

and signals from the environment telling us it's dark outside.

The rise in sleep-inducing chemicals,

like adenosine and melatonin,

send us into a light doze that grows deeper,

making our breathing and heart rate slow down

and our muscles relax.

This non-REM sleep is when DNA is repaired

and our bodies replenish themselves for the day ahead.

In the United States,

it's estimated that 30% of adults and 66% of adolescents

are regularly sleep-deprived.

This isn't just a minor inconvenience.

Staying awake can cause serious bodily harm.

When we lose sleep,

learning,

memory,

mood,

and reaction time are affected.

Sleeplessness may also cause inflammation,

halluciations,

high blood pressure,

and it's even been linked to diabetes and obesity.

In 2014, a devoted soccer fan died

after staying awake for 48 hours to watch the World Cup.

While his untimely death was due to a stroke,

studies show that chronically sleeping fewer than six hours a night

increases stroke risk by four and half times

compared to those getting a consistent seven to eight hours of shuteye.

For a handful of people on the planet who carry a rare inherited genetic mutation,

sleeplessness is a daily reality.

This condition, known as Fatal Familial Insomnia,

places the body in a nightmarish state of wakefulness,

forbidding it from entering the sanctuary of sleep.

Within months or years,

this progressively worsening condition leads to dementia and death.

How can sleep deprivation cause such immense suffering?

Scientists think the answer lies with the accumulation of waste prducts

in the brain.

During our waking hours,

our cells are busy using up our day's energy sources,

which get broken down into various byproducts,

including adenosine.

As adenosine builds up,

it increases the urge to sleep, also known as sleep pressure.

In fact, caffeine works by blocking adenosine's receptor pathways.

Other waste products also build up in the brain,

and if they're not cleared away, they collectively overload the brain

and are thought to lead to the many negative symptoms of sleep deprivation.

So, what's happening in our brain when we sleep to prevent this?

Scientists found something called the glymphatic system,

a clean-up mechanism that removes this buildup

and is much more active when we're asleep.

It works by using cerebrospinal fluid to flush away toxic byproducts

that accumulate between cells.

Lymphatic vessels, which serve as pathways for immune cells,

have recently been discovered in the brain,

and they may also play a role in clearing out the brain's daily waste products.

While scientists continue exploring the restorative mechanisms behind sleep,

we can be sure that slipping into slumber is a necessity

if we want to maintain our health and our sanity.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
sleep /sliːp/ A1	noun - the natural periodic suspension of consciousness and bodily functions verb - to rest in a state of natural unconsciousness
awake /əˈweɪk/ A2	verb - to stop sleeping; to become conscious adjective - not sleeping; alert
deprivation /ˌdɛprɪˈveɪʃən/ C1	noun - the lack of basic necessities, especially sleep
memory /ˈmɛməri/ B1	noun - the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information
paranoid /ˈperəˌnɔɪd/ C1	adjective - characterized by extreme and irrational distrust of others
hallucinating /həˈluːsɪˌneɪtɪŋ/ C1	verb - to experience a perception of something that isn’t actually present
adenosine /əˈdɛnəsɪn/ C2	noun - a nucleoside that builds up in the brain and promotes sleep pressure
melatonin /ˈmɛləˌtoʊnɪn/ C2	noun - a hormone that regulates sleep–wake cycles
glymphatic /ɡlaɪmˈfætɪk/ C2	adjective - relating to the brain’s waste‑clearance system that uses glial cells and lymphatic pathways
cerebrospinal /ˌsɛrəbrəˈspaɪnəl/ C2	adjective - pertaining to the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord
inflammation /ˌɪnfləˈmeɪʃən/ C1	noun - a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and painful
stroke /stroʊk/ B2	noun - a sudden interruption of the blood supply to the brain, causing tissue damage
insomnia /ɪnˈsɒmniə/ B2	noun - the chronic inability to fall or stay asleep
fatal /ˈfeɪtəl/ B2	adjective - causing death; deadly
hormonal /hɔrˈmoʊnəl/ B2	adjective - relating to hormones or their activity
imbalance /ˌɪmbəˈlæns/ C1	noun - a condition in which something is out of proportion or equilibrium
replenish /rɪˈplɛnɪʃ/ C1	verb - to fill again; restore to a former level
pressure /ˈprɛʃər/ B1	noun - the force exerted on a surface or the feeling of urgency or demand