Every night we undoubtedly perform the same mysterious ritual – closing our eyes and falling into a form of consciousness for hours on end. Or, at least, we are thinking.
But the full meaning behind why we sleep, the restorative benefits of getting a good night’s rest, and the secrets of our dreams are topics that scientists continue to struggle with.
World Sleep Day 2022, led by the World Sleep Society with the aim of “promoting worldwide sleep health”, takes place on Friday, March 18th. To mark the day, here’s what experts say about some of the key questions surrounding this biological phenomenon.
Why are we sleeping?
The NHS says that sleep has significant health benefits – suggesting that sleep acts as a “downtime” of the body, a vital period in which rejuvenation can take place. “It is now clear that a solid night’s sleep is essential for a long and healthy life,” says its website.
The health service highlights seven ways sleep can improve a person’s well-being. First, it improves immunity – because prolonged sleep deprivation can affect the ability to fight infection.
Second, less sleep can help someone gain more weight. “It is believed that people who are deprived of sleep have reduced levels of leptin (the chemicals that make you feel full) and increased levels of ghrelin (the hunger-stimulating hormone),” the NHS said.
Sleep is also said to strengthen mental well-being. “Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to long-term mood disorders such as clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder in adults,” says the NHS. “When people with anxiety or depression were examined to calculate their sleeping habits, it turned out that most of them slept less than six hours a night.”
Meanwhile, it is believed that deep sleep loss will increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by having an impact on the way the body processes glucose, the sugar that the body uses for energy. Not getting enough sleep also reduces sexual drive, the research indicated.
The NHS also says: “Long-term sleep deprivation seems to be associated with increased heart rate, an increase in blood pressure and higher levels of certain chemicals associated with inflammation that put extra strain on your heart. Claims to be one of the effects of sleep deprivation. , in both men and women. Apparently, regular sleep disorders can cause infertility by reducing the secretion of reproductive hormones.
How can I get a better night’s sleep?
The World Sleep Society states whether or not sleep is restored “depending on sleep duration, sleep depth, and continuity.” It says that in order to improve sleep, people allow an adequate amount every night; establish regular sleep and wake-up schedules, and minimize disruption as much as possible. “If you have changed your usual sleep schedule, try to get back to your normal schedule as soon as possible,” the company says.
The NHS recommends exercise to relieve tension, reduce coffee, avoid smoking and avoid excessive alcohol consumption. “Alcohol may help you sleep early, but it will interfere with your sleep later in the night,” he explains.
Why do we dream?
Dreams are described by the NHS as “a narrative or sequence of story-like events” that occur in sleep, in which people and places are enclosed. It is believed that people prefer dreaming during REM – rapid eye movement – sleep, a repetitive phase that first begins about 90 minutes after sleep. This phase is characterized by enhanced brain activity and darting movements of the eyes.
Various theories about the meaning of dreams have been advanced throughout history. In ancient Greece, it was thought that dreams foretold the future and that visits to the dead would occur, while Sigmund Freud, whose landmark book The Interpretation of Dreams was published in 1900, argued that “dreams are the hidden fulfillment of oppressed infants. Wishes are. “
Nobel laureate Francis Crick, who co-discovered the DNA, wrote in 1984 that “we dream of forgetting” – a 2007 study of anesthetized mice that suggested that dreaming helps the brain to decide how to provide information in the long run. Reminders are transferred. But other research findings point to dreams being used as a means of problem solving, or a way to simulate potential threats as a form of defense.
The flipside of dreams are nightmares, defined by the NHS as dreams that are frightening and lead to intense anxiety or fear when you wake up.
“They only happen in REM sleep,” the NHS says. “There is no detectable movement until the patient wakes up at the end of the nightmare, except in some sleep disorders such as REM sleep behavior disorder.”
The health service says that nightmares can be associated with anxiety, drug use, previous stressful situations or due to sleep deprivation, and they can be a feature of narcolepsy, a condition that puts a person to sleep at inappropriate times at once.
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