— World Economic Forum (@wef) December 18, 2017
One of the best arguments for napping is the damage that can be caused by sleep deprivation.
A recent study in the journal Nature Medicine points out that sleep deprivation has been linked to a whole range of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, stroke, heart attack and even death.
Death may be caused by long-term sleep deprivation leading to various health problems.
But it can also be caused in an instant by a driver falling asleep at the wheel or an over-tired surgeon making the wrong incision.
The study, by neuroscientists and psychiatrists at American, French and Israeli universities, examined how the brain behaves when it is deprived of sleep.
It found that losing one night’s sleep stops our brain working properly. Neurons fire more slowly than usual, meaning our brain takes longer to translate visual input into conscious thought.
When a pedestrian steps out in front of your car, these extra seconds can mean the difference between life and death.