How does sleep deprivation affect our brains?

Sleep is like breathing and eating—something our body really needs to do. Every organ is impacted by sleep deprivation and research shows that it’s linked to almost every chronic illness, including cancer and cardiovascular disease; there are a lot of causal studies showing the relationship there. We’re going to talk about the link between sleep deprivation and Alzheimer’s. Sleep cleans out a lot of the bad plaques that build up during the day. Also, there are things [sleep affects] that you might not even think about. For example, you’re more sensitive to pain when you’re sleep deprived. It isn’t surprising that we have a hard time empathizing and are more likely to take risks when we’re sleep deprived. If you could improve your sleep a little bit, it will improve a whole swath of health needs, as well as your ability to perform cognitively at your job and in your life.