Sleep

A healthy mind resides in a healthy body, and an adequate amount of sleep will help you conserve both of them. Sleep is the only way you recharge your body for the next day's turmoil and hardships. A healthy sleep cycle keeps you going the whole day without those mid-work ZZZs. Studies show that about 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders. You may be unaware of their symptoms if you continue to suffer from day sleep and sleeplessness.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's research, one in every three adults complains of sleep cycle disorders or disturbances when questioned. Sleeplessness is nowadays a common problem among the Gen-Z population. Adequate sleep has always been underrated by our current generation. You may be one of those suffering from sleep disorders, and this is seen in the form of hormonal imbalances with frequent mood swings. You must have observed that infants and children under 5 years of age are more prone to sleeping for about 12 hours a day. This is because sufficient sleep helps their body and brain grow and develop. In this article, I would like to shed some valuable light on the benefits of sleep.

What are the Benefits of Sleep Rather than Saying "Healthy Sleep"?

There are different benefits of sleep, but what is essential is a night of quality sleep. Now, the question comes, what is "healthy sleep"? Have you ever heard of insomnia, parasomnia, sleep attacks, narcolepsy, and similar medical terms used by any medical professional? Then you must be aware that these are sleep disorders that are most often taken very lightly. This can be due to a lack of awareness among the public.
An adult requires at least 7-8 hours of undisturbed sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to mental health issues such as irritations, uncontrolled emotions, and lack of concentration during working hours. But if you are one of those who thinks that 7-8 hours of sleep is a misnomer, then you could be on the radar for developing depression, obesity, cardiovascular ailments, and diabetes with a haphazard eating and sleeping cycle.

Is Sleep Dormant or Dynamic?

Many researchers have spent half of their working hours studying the science behind sleep. It was once thought that when you sleep, your brain shuts down and you become nothing more than a dormant sac in a bag. But recent advances in science have proved that sleep is a dynamic process. Science says that sleep cycle stages have an impact on the quality of sleep you get. Part of this research also tends to solve the mystery of dreams. Where do these dreams come from? Dreams are an outcome of what gets stored in your cortex the whole day.

What are the Sleep Cycle Stages?

While you are unaware of this materialistic world and busy having naps, your brain is running between the REM and non-REM sleep cycle. The cycle starts with non-REM or non-rapid eye movement sleep. This is followed by the REM mode of sleep, which has a comparatively shorter duration. It is during the REM phase that you get dreams. You may experience multiple dreams in one sleep cycle.

Non-REM Sleep phases:

Let’s take a deep dive into the stages of REM and non-REM sleep. Starting up with the non-REM mode of sleep consists of three phases. The approximate duration of these three phases is 5–15 minutes.
Phase 1: This is the initialization of your sleep. You are not in a deep sleep, so it’s pretty easy for you to wake up.
Phase 2: This is your deep sleep's yellow light phase.Your heart rate and body temperature fall. But you are still not in a deep sleep.
Phase 3: This is the final or deep sleep phase of your sleep cycle. It is difficult to wake you up, and if you are woken up forcibly, you may become groggy or feel disoriented. It is during this part that the body starts repairing your torn and broken cells and tissues. You build immunity and strength. The older generation may experience less deep sleep due to their health conditions, but higher amount of deep sleep is important as when you were younger.

The REM Sleep

This is the active phase of your sleep cycle. There may be a lot of hustle-bustle going on in your cerebral cortex. It starts only after you are in a deep cycle or after 90 minutes of falling asleep. The benefits of sleep lie in this phase. The heart starts pumping blood rapidly and breathing counts elevate. Initially lasting 10 minutes, this phase can last up to one hour in the final hours of sleep. There are intense slideshows of dreams. Your retention power will be compromised due to the increased production of proteins. Infants and kids are more prone to spending half of their sleep cycle in the REM phase, while adults spend very little of it.

Sleep or No-Sleep?

Sleep is important in maintaining brain plasticity as well as for the nominal functioning of the brain. More is the brain plasticity, higher is the adaptability and ability of your brain to learn new things rapidly. Your retention power will go up phenomenally. Sleep deprivation in children and adults can lead to massive health issues related to both mental and physical activities. Sleep is an efficient way of making your brain garbage-free. Every morning should make you feel fresh and enlightened, not groggy.


Note: The article is meant for general awareness of the readers. In case, you are finding it trouble falling asleep, kindly consult a medical professional.

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