By Meera Shanmugam
By Kate Stone Matheson from Unsplash
Introduction:
When people think about sleep they think about lazing around or taking a break, but very crucial to maintaining a healthy body and life. The importance of sleep isn’t just about being rested; it also plays a role in many physiological and psychological processes. Understanding how sleep is important can teach us to prioritize it and improve our health.
Stages of Sleep:
While sleeping might seem simple, it consists of many different stages including light sleep, deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Each stage has a different purpose and benefits to our health so it is important to go over each of them. The sleep cycle first starts with light sleep, which is also known as stages 1 and 2. Stage 1 is the transition between being awake and just starting to fall asleep, lasting only a few minutes. During this stage, the body starts to relax and your heart rate and breathing slow down. Muscle activity also decreases. This light sleep is quick and is easily disturbed compared to the other stages. Stage 2 follows, making up about 50% of our total sleep time. In this stage, the body keeps relaxing as the body's heart rate and body temperature slowly drop. Brain activity also slows but sometimes has quick spikes in the brain waves called sleep spindles which are important to process the memories and learning that your brain gains throughout the day.
The next step is deep sleep, also known as stages 3 and 4. Another name for this stage is slow-wave sleep (SWS) because during this stage brain waves slow down, called delta waves. This stage is important for resolving physical stress and generating growth. During deep sleep, the body goes through many different repair processes like fixing tissues and rebuilding muscles. For this to happen the body secretes a growth hormone during this stage. The body also produces cytokines, proteins that help fight infections and inflammation. This is why it is said that sleep can help cure illnesses. When a person is in deep sleep it is extremely difficult to wake them up.
REM sleep is the final stage of the sleep cycle and most of your dreams happen during this stage. This stage gets its name because your eyes rapidly move back and forth when reaching this stage. This causes your brain activity to increase (therefore leading to more vivid dreams) and temporary muscle paralysis (which stops you from acting on what happens in your dreams). During this stage, the brain processes and organizes information from the day, solidifying new memories and connecting them to your previous knowledge. REM sleep also helps to balance mood and stress. REM sleep happens in many separate cycles during the night, slowly getting longer and more intense.
Dreams Impacts:
Now to talk about dreams. Many people think they are just there for entertainment purposes but in reality, they play a very important role in processing your emotions and mental health. They let us experience our daily experiences and emotions in a safe, subconscious space, which can help manage stress and even social anxiety. When sleeping your body also decreases its levels of Cortisol, a hormone also known as the stress hormone. Dreams can also help to improve problem-solving skills and creativity, giving us solutions and ideas that you may use when you wake up. When dreaming, increased retaining occurs of our memories and thoughts, improving cognitive ability. When your mind is well rested it is also more alert, less sleep can cause mental fog and increase the risk of accidents and mistakes made by human error.
Physical Health Impacts:
We have talked about mental health, but sleep is also very beneficial for physical health. When the body is lacking sleep its immune defenses go down, which can lead to disease. Sleep also keeps your heart healthy by balancing blood pressure and body inflammation. Poor sleep has been proven to lead to more cardiovascular diseases like hypertension, heart attack, and stroke. Sleep also manages your appetite/hunger hormones, which if not balanced can lead to different diseases such as obesity or diabetes. Finally, athletes need sleep because it helps them recover from their physical exertion from the day and get prepared for the next day.
Conclusion:
To make sure that your body always has the sleep that it requires, consider trying to create a routine. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends, and try to sleep in an environment that won’t wake you up easily. To achieve this, you can keep your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool. Having comfortable mattresses and pillows can also help improve sleep. Avoid screens at least an hour before bedtime, because the blue light that phones, tablets, and computers contain can mess with melatonin production which is important for sleep. You should also avoid heavy meals, caffeine, and alcohol close to bedtime because they interfere with your sleep patterns. Instead, relaxing activities like reading can aid in better sleep before going to sleep. Sleep is not just for fun, it helps keep our bodies running. By prioritizing our sleep and having good habits, we can keep our bodies running the best that they can.
MCR Committee: Physiology
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