The major role of the biological clock in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness is to provide an internal and very powerful wake-up signal to the rest of the brain. We call this signal clock-dependent alerting. CDA fosters consolidated periods of peak alertness, high energy, and optimal mental performance at specific times during the day. When CDA subsides at the end of the day, we are “given permission” to fall asleep.
- William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D
The biological clock is a term applied to the brain process which causes us to have 24-hour fluctuations in body temperature, hormone secretion, and a host of other bodily activities. Its most important function is to foster the daily alternation of sleep and wakefulness. The biological clock is housed in a pair of tiny bilateral brain areas called the suprachiasmatic nuclei.
- William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D
Sleep is not rest for the brain. If you think we sleep to rest the brain, then it would be appropriate to say the brain never sleeps. The one absolutely defining difference between wakefulness and sleep is this. When awake, we are conscious of the real world and navigate ourselves through it’s many challenges primarily in the service of survival. At the moment of sleep, our consciousness of the real world is completely shut down and we are conscious only of the inner world.
- William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D
Each individual has a specific daily sleep requirement. This is the amount of sleep that must be obtained each day on the average to avoid becoming sleep deprived. If the needed amount is not obtained, the lost sleep accumulates progressively as a larger and larger sleep indebtedness.
- William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D
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