What Does Sleep Do For Us?

You can spend thousands of hours by reading books on sleep, scientific magazines, or just surfing the Internet on this subject. The final result will be the same: every sleep researchers are still at the beginning of this exploration trying to understand exactly why people require sleep. All they could come up with that when study has been performed on animals, it shows that animals need sleep for their basic survival. Here is the result of that research:

Lab rats, being deprived from REM sleep, live only five weeks on average. However, they normally live for two to three years. Lab rats being deprived of all sleep stages manage to stay alive for 3 weeks. The rats’ immune systems also become impaired due to the act that rats’ body temperatures significantly decreases, as well as they develop considerable pain in their tails and paws.

All researches agreed that sleep deprivation affects the immune system in humans in detrimental way as listed below:

• We need sleep for our nervous systems function properly.
• Reduced sleep makes us drowsy and we have difficulty or completely unable to concentrate.
• Reduced amount of sleep leads to impaired memory
• Reduced sleep results on our physical performance
• Sleep deprivation leads to inability to carry out calculations, engineering tasks, and art
• Prolonged sleep deprivation may result in hallucinations and mood swings.

Latest development in sleep disorders conducted in different countries demonstrate common results:

• While asleep curtain number of our neurons are shut down performing self-repair.
• With sleep deprivation our neurons become depleted in electrical charge energy and even polluted with by-products of normal cellular activities that they begin to malfunction
• Our brain, being deprived from sleep, may also disconnect critical neuronal connections, which becomes deteriorate from lack of activity
• Release of growth hormone in children and young adults directly related to the amount of deep sleep
• Increase in production and less breakdown of proteins during deep sleep of the body’s cells also show
• During deep sleep curtain parts of the brain that control decision-making processes, our decision-making processes emotions, and our social interactions are dramatically reduced in their activity. It suggests that deep sleep may help people to maintain optimal emotional and social functioning while they are awake.awake

Deep sleep should be called “beauty sleep” based on the fact that proteins, neurons’ building blocks, are directly involved in cell growing process. Those building blocks are needed during cells repair after stress and ultraviolet rays from the sun.

Could you have a sleep disorder

Patients often come to me complaining of the following symptoms, periodic drowsiness, and sleepiness during the day, or falling asleep at inappropriate times. They insist that they spend plenty of time in bed, at least 8 hours a night, so why are they so tired

After ruling out other medical causes for their fatigue I proceed to ask a few questions:

Do you consistently take more than 30 minutes each night to fall asleep

Do you consistently awaken several times each night and then have trouble falling back to sleep, or you awaken too early in the morning

Are you told you snore loudly, snort, gasp, make choking sounds, or stop breathing for short periods

Do you have creeping, tingling, or crawling feelings in your legs or arms that are relieved by moving or massaging them, especially in the evening and when trying to fall asleep

Do you feel as though you cannot move when you first wake up

If the answer to one or more of these questions is yes, I explain that a sleep disorder might be the problem. It is estimated that 40 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder such as insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep), sleep apnea (sleep-disordered breathing), restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy (uncontrollable drowsiness). Although sleep disorders can significantly affect your health, safety, and well-being, they can be treated.

Why is Sleep So Important

At one time sleep was thought of as simply a period of time when you are not awake. But due to a great deal of research and scientific studies, it is now known that sleep has stages that cycle throughout the night. In essence vital tasks are carried out during this “down time” that help maintain good health and enable people to function at their best.

Performance

You need sleep to think clearly, react quickly, and create memories. The pathways in the brain that help us learn and remember are very active when we sleep. Cutting back by even 1 hour can make it tough to focus the next day and can slow down your response time. When you are sleep deprived, you are more likely to make bad decisions which lower your ability to perform well at your job and to carry out other daily activities.

Mood

Insufficient sleep can make you cranky and is linked to poor behavior and trouble with relationships, especially among children and teens. People who chronically lack sleep are also more likely to become depressed.

Health

Lack of sleep or getting poor quality sleep on a regular basis increases the risk of having high blood pressure, heart disease, and other medical conditions.

How much sleep is enough

Does it really matter if you get enough sleep Yes it does, without a doubt! Both the quantity and quality of your sleep is important. Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Many people believe that this number changes as you age and older adults need less sleep. There is no real evidence to support this notion. However, we do know that as you age you are more likely to awaken easily and spend less time in the deep, restful stages of sleep.

What If You Discover You Have A Sleep Disorder

I always assure my patients that having a sleep disorder is not life threatening. Most sleep disorders are treatable with changes in lifestyle routines combined with herbal sleep aids, or prescribed medications.

The first thing is to figure out why you are having trouble sleeping. It might be related to stress or illness. Sometimes patients drink too many caffeinated drinks or too much alcohol. Medications, diet, or daily living routines may affect the quality of sleep. After medical problems are ruled out I suggest trying a few self-care methods that I have found to be helpful.

Here are some recommendations by category of the most common sleep disorders:

Insomnia

Stick to a regular bedtime schedule. Try to get out of bed at the same time each morning, even if it’s a weekend or holiday.

Avoid napping during the day.

Avoid stressful activities and vigorous exercise for two hours before going to bed. Do exercise regularly, but earlier in the day.

Before going to bed, try relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, yoga, or meditation.

Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and cool. Use earplugs or eye shades if needed.

Consider trying nutritional supplements such as: Melatonin or herbal remedies such as: Valerian, Corydalis, Lavender, Chamomile, Passion Flower and Hops

Sleep Apnea

Avoid alcohol and sleeping pills.

Consider an evaluation at a sleep laboratory for a device called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) that increases the air pressure inside your throat.

Narcolepsy

Napping helps to relieve the sleepiness of narcolepsy.

Some prescriptions such as Ritalin or dextroamphetamine help with alertness during the day.

Provigil (modafinil) is a new, less powerful type of stimulant that has recently been found to be effective in maintaining wakefulness.

Restless Leg Syndrome

Cut caffeine intake.

Take a warm bath or do relaxation exercises before bed.

Hot or cold packs on your legs may provide relief.

Getting a good night’s sleep is right up there with a healthy diet and being physically active when it comes to overall well-being. Don’t cut back on your sleep when you are in a rush to get things done. Make sure you get enough quality sleep to fully enjoy your life.

Are you getting enough sleep these days? Most Americans are not, and do you know why; financial stress is the number one reason. If you do not get enough sleep your health will indeed suffer. Do you have a plan to guarantee that you are getting your fair share of sleep?

Sleep is a fascinating subject indeed, I will not get up, unless I have to after sleeping unless I’ve had 3-complex dreams, and I often go to sleep with unsolved problems or thoughts just to sleep on them, amazing how it just comes to you and you wake up, so I keep a pad of paper by the bed.

I’ve decided that I will not go to sleep unless I am tired, I don’t want to force it and if I am physically active or my brain is thinking, or I’m doing something, I certainly do not wish to force it. Why sleep if you are not tired? Makes no sense to me, other than some of these circadian rhythm theories, which I believe has a lot to do with conditioning. If I can work for 17-22 hours and then sleep, then my schedule rotates on a different cycle than the Earth-Sun-Moon Cycles. No big deal.

But some scientists and sleep specialists say it is a very big deal, and that our human bodies have evolved to sleep on the Earth-Sun-Moon cycles. Still one could argue that if we study many of the “ten-foot tall” men in human history we find a good number of them worked at night, which makes perfect sense because there is no one to disturb their work.

Now there is another huge concern with the Vitamin D issue, the body needs it and the Sun helps this, yet, perhaps is not such a serious issue because there are ways to get it elsewhere. But it would have been a serious issue prior to the 1850s, unless one lived in a certain region with a certain diet. What about Nordic Genes? If someone has “blonde hair and blue eyes,” sunlight is perhaps not as important to their system as others. Please consider all this.