SLEEP

SLEEP

Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles.^[It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than being in hibernation or a coma. Sleep is a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems. It is observed in all mammals, all birds, and many reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partially clear and are the subject of intense research. Sleep is often thought to help conserve energy, but decreases metaHibernating animals need to sleep despite the hypo metabolism seen in hibernation, and must return from hypothermia to euthermia in order to sleep, making sleeping "energetically expensive."

 Importance of Sleep

1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
3. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
4. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

The Disadvantages of Oversleeping

Oversleeping can cause you to be tired and groggy all day.

The average adult needs between seven and 10 hours of sleep, with some people functioning on less and others on more. While you might enjoy the sleep in on the occasional weekend or day off, it is not recommended that you sleep excessively because of health and behavioral issues than can arise from oversleeping. Try to keep your oversleeping to a minimum in order to prevent these issues from occurring.

11. Tiredness and Obesity

o    It might seem like a backwards concept, but getting too much sleep can actually make you feel more tired. This is because the longer you sleep, the lower your body temperature becomes, which can ultimately lead to extreme tiredness and lethargy when you do wake up. Unfortunately with oversleeping, you are more at risk of obesity because it takes your body longer to recover from the excessive sleep and begin burning calories throughout the day.

2. Depression

o    Depression is a common disadvantage to those who oversleep. This might be because of the fact that the longer you sleep the less physical activity you are getting, thus a decreased amount of endorphins to fuel your mood. When you wake up from a long sleep, you feel "out of it" for a longer period of time, have a harder time getting energy for your day and might become withdrawn and anti-social as a result. This can lead to psychological effects such as depression.

3. Diabetes and Heart Disease

o    Studies have shown that diabetes and heart disease are linked to oversleeping. A rather large amount of people with these conditions are excessive sleepers. While the cause for this might be unknown, the fact that obesity is a risk for those who oversleep continuously puts any person at risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.

4. Headaches

o    Headaches are a common occurrence of those who oversleep, especially in the hours upon waking from a very long sleep of more than nine hours. Sleeping for long periods of time has a negative impact on the neurotransmitters in your brain that are active during sleep, which cause you to wake with a throbbing migraine or pounding headache. The persistent headaches only make it harder for you to adjust and be ready to start your day.

5. Lifestyle

o    With the headaches, lethargy, depression and overall bad mood that are associated with oversleeping, your daily lifestyle can become erratic from these unhealthy sleeping patterns. As you continue to sleep for longer periods of time, you give yourself less time to get ready in the morning, go to work or school or get things done. This will cause you to be complacent and regretful about the long sleeping hours, which might result in being unmotivated and more tired -- a vicious cycle to get wrapped up in.

 

Hours by age

Children need more sleep per day in order to develop and function properly: up to 18 hours for newborn babies, with a declining rate as a child ages. A newborn baby spends almost 9 hours a day in REM sleep. By the age of five or so, only slightly over two hours is spent in REM. Studies say that school age children need about 10 to 11 hours of sleep.

Age and condition	Sleep Needs
Newborns (0–2 months)	12 to 18 hours
Infants (3–11 months)	14 to 15 hours
Toddlers (1–3 years)	12 to 14 hours
Preschoolers (3–5 years)	11 to 13 hours
School-age children (5–10 years)	10 to 11 hours
Adolescents (10–17 years)	8.5 to 9.25 hours
Adults, including elderly	7 to 9 hours
Pregnant women	8(+) hours

 

NAP

A nap is a short period of sleep, typically taken during daylight hours as an adjunct to the usual nocturnal sleep period. Naps are most often taken as a response to drowsiness during waking hours. Cultural attitudes toward napping during the work day vary; children and the elderly are often expected to nap during the day and are provided with designated periods and locations to do so, but most working adults are not and napping on the job is widely considered unacceptable. On the other hand, many cultures (especially those in hot climates) serve their largest meals at midday, with an official allowance for a nap period (siesta) afterwards before returning to work.

Negative effects

Naps (even multiple per day) are not typically long or deep enough to provide the same restorative benefits as a continuous 6-8 hour period of sleep, and can result in the accumulation of a sleep deficit if naps are regularly used as a substitute. Naps are also not recommended for those suffering from insomnia or depression, as they may aggravate already disrupted rest/wake patterns.

Beauty sleep

*The body needs 7 to 8hrs of sleep everyday.

*If you have a busy schedule that doesn’t allow an 8hr sleeps every night take power naps in the afternoon. It lasts for 15-30min.

*The longer the nap the deeper the sleep and the harder it is to wake up.

*Beauty sleep keeps your body and mind healthy alert and awake.

Insomnia

Insomnia is a general term describing difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Insomnia can have many different causes, including psychological stress, a poor sleep environment, an inconsistent sleep schedule, or excessive mental or physical stimulation in the hours before bedtime. Insomnia is often treated through behavioral changes like keeping a regular sleep schedule, avoiding stimulating or stressful activities before bedtime, and cutting down on stimulants such as caffeine. Patients are often counseled to improve their sleep environment by installing heavy drapes to shut out all sunlight, and keeping computers, televisions and work materials out of the sleeping area.

A 2010 review of published scientific research suggested that exercise generally improves sleep for most people, and helps sleep disorders such as insomnia. The optimum time to exercise may be 4 to 8 hours before bedtime, though exercise at any time of day is beneficial, with the exception of heavy exercise taken shortly before bedtime, which may disturb sleep. However there is insufficient evidence to draw detailed conclusions about the relationship between exercise and sleep.

Sleeping medications such as Ambient and Lunesta are an increasingly popular treatment for insomnia, and have become a major source of revenue for drug companies. Although these nonbenzodiazepine medications are generally believed to be better and safer than earlier generations of sedatives, they have still generated some controversy and discussion regarding side-effects.

White noise appears to be a promising treatment for insomnia.

 I hope you will now be able to enjoy a good night sleep...

                            

                                  

                                 GOODNIGHT........