SLEEP - BENEFITS AND NEEDS

Sleep is essential to complete our daily activities. It plays a critical role in both physical and mental functioning. Not maintaining a good amount of sleep can affect our day-to-day activities, emotional balance, energy levels, weight. But we still struggle to get a decent amount of sleep every night. It might seem difficult to take control of the sleep schedule but it is well within our reach to determine our sleeping hours. Slight change in our routine activities can get you tucked in your bed like a baby.

Sleep deprivation can put your health at great risk and if we don’t adjust our sleep cycle it can make you feel lethargic and depleted of energy during daytime. So, it is in our own hands to prioritize sleep on daily basis. Many factors can alter the production of melatonin and the circadian rhythm. 

 

MELATONIN: Melatonin is a hormone secreted principally by the pineal gland and mainly in the night. It helps in regulation of sleep-wake cycle. Secretion is high during daytime (making you be active and alert) and low during night (making you feel sleepy). 

Reasons to get sleep: 

• Can improve concentration and productivity
• Helps in maintaining or lose weight 
• Enhance your performance and boost your immune system 
• Can keep you energized for the whole day 
• Poor sleep can lead to depression 

How do I sleep better at night? 

• Avoid bright screens 1-2 hours before going to sleep. Because the blue light emitted from phones, laptops, TV, etc. can lead to disruption of the normal sleep cycle. Avoid using such gadgets or try to reduce the exposure time and take frequent rest in between work hours. 
• Try to use heavy curtains or shades to restrict the amount of light coming from the windows. 
• Try using a dim light to make sure it does not affect your sleep in anyway. 
• Exercises are the way to lead a healthy life and to have a proper sleep cycle. People who do regular exercises enjoy a good night sleep and feel less sleepy during the day. More vigorous the exercise more powerful the sleep you get. It takes couple of months to get used to the exercise patterns but in long term can help you in achieving a good sleep pattern. Exercise promotes hormone production such as cortisol, elevates body temperature, boosts your metabolism. Avoid doing intense workout just before sleeping instead low intense exercises like yoga and stretching can promote sleep. 
• Sleeping and getting up at the same time every day, helps in maintaining your body’s internal clock and optimize the quality of your sleep. Pick a bed time when you generally feel tired, so that you don’t simply keep lying on the bed. If you are getting enough sleep, you should wake up naturally without an alarm. But if you need an alarm clock, it is clear that you may need to go to bed early. 
• Avoid heavy or large meals within a couple of hours of bedtime. Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol too. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to wear off and can wreak havoc on quality sleep. And even though alcohol might make you feel sleepy, it can disrupt the sleep later in the night. 

How to feel less sleepy during daytime? 

Expose yourself to sunlight at least for 20-30 minutes in a day since it helps you to stay active as well as help in production of Vitamin D. Keep the blinds and curtains open so that the room is gets exposed to daylight and set your table near a window and do the work which you love the most. Make a table about what you want to do in that particular day and try to complete the tasks. 

Our body experiences several phases of sleep which are classified as REM (Rapid eye movement) and NREM (Non rapid eye movement). We go through both these phases repeatedly in cycles (4-6 times) in our sleep. 

DURATION: 7-8 HOURS 

STAGES OF SLEEP: 

NREM (75%) 

STAGE I – 5% 

STAGE II – 45% 

STAGE III – 12% 

STAGE IV – 13% 

REM (25%) 

NOTE: MAXIMUM TIME OF HUMAN SLEEP IS SPENT IN STAGE II 

 

SL.NO	PARAMETERS	NREM(ORTHODOX)	REM(PARADOXICAL)
1.	BRAIN ACTIVITYAND PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS	LOWER THAN AWAKE STATE	INCREASED (EXCEPT MUSCLE TONE)
2.	PULSE, BP AND RESPIRATION	LOWER THAN AWAKE STATE	HIGHER THAN THOSE IN NREM AND MORE THAN AWAKE AND VARIABLE (DESYNCHRONISED SLEEP)
3.	BODY MOVEMENT	INVOLUNTARY & EPISODIC	NEAR TOTAL PARALYSIS OF SKELETAL MUSCLES
4.	TEMPERATURE	HOMEOTHERMIC	POIKILOTHERMIC (INCREASE IN CORE BODY TEMP)
5.	PENILE ERECTIONS	NIL	OCCURS IN ALMOST EVERY REM PERIOD
6.	DREAMING	IF PURPOSEFUL & VIVID (LUCID) -NOT REMEMBERED	MOST DISTINCTIVE FEATURE (SURREAL & ABSTRACT) -REMEMBERED

Memory is processed and stored during REM sleep. REM tends to occur later at night and into early morning. A lack of deep sleep can leave one feeling tired in the morning even if achieving an adequate duration of sleep. 

Nearly everyone will have occasional sleepless nights. Contact your doctor if you have repeated episodes of trouble sleeping. Finding out the underlying cause can help you to get to restore your proper sleep schedule.

Thank you for reading and keep supporting us. We will be posting regularly about commonly asked medical queries.

Click on the following TOPIC to know more about Rotator cuff muscles:

ROTATOR CUFF MUSCLES - Musculotendinous cuff of the shoulder

Click on the following TOPIC to know more about CLAVICLE -LONG BONE OR FLAT BONE:

CLAVICLE - LONG BONE OR FLAT BONE

The information provided here is only for educational purposes. The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.