What is this thing about young children and adults dying after not sleeping for hours?
This situation now leaves people in wonder of what could be the reason the death after a sleepless night happens.
In the past 6 months we have seen cases of this sudden collapse and death of young children and adults. Some in the church and others in their rooms.
In 2019, we saw a report of a young boy who died after he lost several nights’ sleep, because he was playing a game.
The report read: “Since Piyawat finished school late last month he had been locking himself in his bedroom and playing multiplayer battle games on his computer”.
“His parents said he would stay up all night – and even close his curtains during the day – so he could continually play the game for endless hours in their family home in Udon Thani, northern Thailand” (1).
Also, in 2021, in February to be precise, a 16-year-old boy collapsed and died after he reportedly played an online game continuously for several hours (2).
On August 26, 2021, the Sun in the UK reported that a teen gamer, 18, was reportedly found dead at his house after continually staying up through the night to play on his smartphone (3).
“Dej Nam, was discovered by his devastated mother, who was checking up on him after he failed to go down for lunch,” the online news platform wrote.
How Not Sleeping For Hours Could Kill
You see, not sleeping for hours could put a person in trouble. But not many people can really place their mind on why this happens.
We found a couple of things that explain why not sleeping for hours could lead to death afterwards.
Studies on sleep and premature death have revelations that you should see.
In 2010, a study found that when you sleep less than recommended 8 hours per night and maintain that habit for some time, you open the door to death (4).
WE will put different study results together to explain better, how these things happen.
Let’s dig deeper.
Experts at the Warwick Medical School published a research in the European Heart Journal.
The study was on how prolonged sleep deprivation and disrupted sleep patterns can have long-term, serious health implications.
They linked lack of sleep to strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular disorders which often result in early death (5).
One of the researchers, Professor Francesco Cappuccio, explained that “if you sleep less than six hours per night and have disturbed sleep you stand a 48% greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease and a 15% greater chance of developing or dying of a stroke.
“The trend for late nights and early mornings is actually a ticking time bomb for our health”.
He suggests you should act now to reduce your risk of developing these life-threatening conditions.
All he is saying is that you should target to get adequate sleep.
An Identified Reason Not Sleeping Kills
A further probe into what actually causes death due to lack of sleep leaves us with something to worry about.
When you are sleep-deprived, the first signs are often similar in everyone.
You will feel tired, fatigue and have difficulty concentrating.
For other persons, it could come in form of disorientation, paranoia and hallucinations (6).
But why does it lead to death?
According to neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School (HMS), there is an unexpected, causal link between sleep deprivation and premature death.
In a study, the researchers found that when you do not sleep, there is a build-up of molecules known as Reactive Oxidative Species (ROS) in the gut (7).
This build-up of ROS in the gut is often followed by sudden death.
Additional experiments in mice confirmed that ROS accumulate in the gut when sleep is insufficient (8).
In chemistry, reactive oxygen species are highly reactive chemicals formed from diatomic oxygen.
ROS participate in cell signaling as mediators and regulators of vascular function. ROS include free radicals such as superoxide anion (9).
When there is an overproduction of oxidative stress-related factors like ROS, risk of heart issues and diabetes increases.
This ROS activity could happen in the gut. That is when there is an imbalance of micro organisms in the gut.
A rise in inflammation could then trigger the onset of heart issues.
According to a study, when there is increase in ROS in the body, it could result in sudden cardiac death and heart failure (10).
This is why not getting adequate sleep could result in death of an individual.
What To Do If You Lose Hours Of Sleep
Interestingly, there is something that a person that could not sleep for hours could do to stabilise the system.
This ‘little support’ is in a study by experts at HMS.
According to the study, when fruit flies were given antioxidant compounds that neutralise and clear ROS from the gut, sleep-deprived flies remained active and had normal lifespans.
Furthermore, this finding suggests the possibility that animals can indeed survive without sleep under certain circumstances.
The Place Of Super Foods If You Lose Sleep
From the above, we know that what you eat, contributes to how much effect not sleeping for hours could have on you.
As a result, it is worthy of mention that you should not load your system with foods that promote oxidation while you are aware.
Processed foods is a no-no when you go hours without sleep.
Instead, take green tea, eat nuts like almond cashew and the likes.
Also, you can go for a combination of turmeric, chamomile tea. These natural tea contains antioxidants that will help reduce ROS in your gut and keep you going.
Bottom Line
It is not enough for you to go hours without sleep. Do your best to meet the recommendation – 8 hours of sleep – if you are an adult. Remember, the goal is quality sleep.
Children even need more hours.
The truth is that the antioxidants will never take the place of sleep and studies have not also shown how long the effect of antioxidants can carry you.
If you deprive yourself adequate sleep and eley on the superfoods, you would be making a big mistake.
Parents, please, watch your kids and begin to kill every habit of sleepless nights, even if it is for reading.
Reading overnight will not make the child become a scholar in life. It can only give momentary success, but then, the health risk is huge.
“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows – Psalm 127:2.