http://io9.com/the-real-reason-why-sleep-deprivation-can-destroy-you-1447241194
Interesting. We finally decided to put Ian in preschool and he loves it. Only thing is he misses his nap two days a week because of it. He was beginning to loose his afternoon nap anyway or so I thought, but it seems he still needs it. I’ve been wondering ifwe should look for a new school. He is really fond of his teachers and often a very sensitive kid so I worry he would really feel the loss of his teachers if we changed schools. On the other hand My mom has something like Alzheimers (doctors have differing opinions on what is happening but it is very much like my Grandpa who had dementia) so that article is kind of scary for me.
I’m a bit guarded about the conclusion of the paper. The primary reason is that the experiment is done on mice, not human. We know that mice physiology is subtly different than that of human; even some tiny details in physiology may dramatically change the mechanism by which the brain works. Given that, beta amyloid are present in both species, and so does Aquaporin 4. So chances are that the mechanism is very similar and the conclusion may stay the same.
Reminds me of that chapter in Nurture Shock on the “lost hour”.
Sleep studies performed on children are revealing that a single lost hour of sleep a night can reduce academic performance, affect emotional stability, and increase the incidence of medical conditions such as obesity and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They found that a single lost hour of sleep could result in 6th grade children performing at the level of a 4th grader.
http://figur8.net/baby/2009/10/26/nurture-shock-chapter-2-the-lost-hour/