Sleep...something we are all familiar with, takes up about one third of the time of every day. However, why is sleeping so important to us? What are some important facts about sleeping?
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Because we cannot learn about anything regarding both the external world and our internal conditions while sleeping, have you been curious about the scientific facts about sleep? Read this article to learn about them!
What is sleep
Sleep is an active state in which the brain continues to process information and the body undergoes changes. Although we may not know anything when we are sleeping, we know our brain is constantly working because we will have dreams.
Stages of sleep
Have you ever noticed that there are stages of sleep? You may have had the experiences of awakening suddenly and cannot decide if you were asleep or not earlier; you may remember you had a dream when you wake up in the morning but can’t recall what the dream was about… These are all about the stages of sleep. There are four stages of sleep: stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, and REM sleep.
Stage 1: this is the lightest stage of sleep. During this time, the eye movements are slow, and when there are noises or disruptions around you get awake easily. Additionally, you may experience hypnic jerks or abrupt muscle spasms and even sensation of falling while drifting in and out of stage 1.
Stage 2: During this stage, you don’t wake up as easily as in stage 1. Your brain waves are slower, body temperature begins to decrease, and heart rate slows down.
Stage 3: This is the most restorative stage of sleep. During this time, you have the deepest level of sleep, and it is hard to get awake. Sleep walking, sleep talking would occur during this time.
REM sleep: REM, also known as rapid eye movement. This is the time when you dream during sleep. Brain waves are more active, and your eyes roll side to side. Compared to the stage 3 sleep, awakening can happen easier, and you are most likely to remember your dream when you are awakened during REM sleep.
It takes roughly ninety minutes to go through all sleep stages. The cycle repeats after the REM sleep stage until you awake.
Getting adequate rest
As you may already know, sleeping and getting adequate rest is important for good health, growth, as well as development. Infants sleep about 16 hours per day; from age two to puberty, children need about ten hours of sleep per day; teens need about eight hours; adults need about seven hours; older adults need about six hours of sleep per day. Lack of sleep affects concentration levels, or academic performance, and it affects physical or athletic performance as well. Restoring damaged tissue and muscle fiber as well as physical, emotional, and mental energy highly depend on sleeping.
Sleep disorders
Because sleeping is so important to us, it is painful to have sleep disorders.
The most common sleeping disorder is insomnia, or habitual sleeplessness/inability to sleep. People with insomnia suffer from difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night with difficulty returning to sleep, and unrefreshing sleep.
Another common sleep disorder is sleep apnea, which basically means snoring. This not only affects the patient him/herself, but also other people.
Sleep tips
To get adequate rest and keep healthy, here are some tips and suggestions about sleep:
Establish a sleep pattern
Engage in nightly rituals that encourage sleep
Avoid napping too long
Create a comfortable place to sleep
Avoid substances that can interrupt sleep
Watch what you eat before you go to bed
The facts above are only a little part of the information about sleep. There are other facts that are not listed here, and scientists are having a lot of new discoveries as well. Because sleep is one of the biggest parts regarding health, knowing more about it would help us to live healthily. After reading this article, please remember to get adequate rest, not only for yourself, but also for the people that care about you.
Written by: Benetta Wang
Resource:
“Stages of Sleep - Non-REM and REM Sleep Cycles.” Tuck Sleep, 1 Aug. 2020, www.tuck.com/stages/#:%7E:text=Usually%20sleepers%20pass%20through%20five%20stages%3A%201%2C%202%2C,each%20stage%20lasting%20between%205%20to%2015%20minutes.
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