Exactly why do people die when they are not allowed to sleep?

Question

Does the brain overheat?

Answer 1

Interestingly enough, while there are lots of different theories about why sleep is important, nobody really knows exactly what it is or exactly why you need it. I think one scientists put it really well when he said, "Someone who finds the answer to what sleep is will win the Nobel Prize."

Of course, we can't perform sleep deprivation experiments on people to the point where they die. But when we do them on rats they lose the ability to maintain their body heat and CAN'T get fevers to fight off infections. Long-term effects of loss of sleep on humans include:

- high blood pressure
- heart attack
- heart failure
- stroke
- psychiatric problems
- mental impairment
- obesity
- general increased mortality risk

You'll note that pretty much anything on that list might kill you by itself if it's bad enough. The whole combination is obviously bad news!