When we sleep well, we wake up
feeling refreshed and alert for our daily activities. Sleeping affects how we
look, feel and perform on a daily basis, and one can have a major impact on our
overall quality of life. We spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping. But far from
being wasted time, from the moment we slide into unconsciousness, a whole raft
of functions takes place to make sure that we get optimal benefit from our
nightly rest. To get the most out of our sleep, both quantity and quality are most
important. Teens need at least 8 hours and on average 9¼ hours a night of
uninterrupted sleep to leave their bodies and minds rejuvenated for the next
day. Sleeping is the time the body can undergo repair and detoxification. Poor
sleep patterns are linked to poor health - and those who sleep less than six
hours a night have a shorter life expectancy than those who sleep for longer. If sleep is cut short, the body doesn’t have
time to complete all of the phases needed for muscle repair, memory
consolidation and release of hormones regulating growth and appetite. Then we
wake up less prepared to concentrate, make decisions, or engage fully in school
and social activities.
Sleep is the time the body can
undergo repair and detoxification. Poor sleep patterns are linked to poor
health - and those who sleep less than six hours a night have a shorter life
expectancy than those who sleep for longer. So sleep has a profound effect on
our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
How Does Sleep Contribute to All of These Things?
Sleep architecture follows a
pattern of alternating REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye
movement) sleep throughout a typical night in a cycle that repeats itself about
every 90 minutes.
What role does each state and stage of sleep play?
NREM (75% of night): As we begin to
fall asleep, we enter NREM sleep, which is composed of stages 1-4
Stage 1
- Between being awake and falling asleep
- Light sleep
Stage 2
- Onset of sleep
- Becoming disengaged from surroundings
- Breathing and heart rate are regular
- Body temperature drops (so sleeping in a cool room is helpful)
Stages 3 and 4
- Deepest and most restorative sleep
- Blood pressure drops
- Breathing becomes slower
- Muscles are relaxed
- Blood supply to muscles increases
- Tissue growth and repair occurs
- Energy is restored
- Hormones are released, such as: Growth hormone, essential for growth and development, including muscle development
- REM (25% of night): First occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep and recurs about every 90 minutes, getting longer later in the night
- Provides energy to brain and body
- Supports daytime performance
- Brain is active and dreams occur
- Eyes dart back and forth
- Body becomes immobile and relaxed, as muscles are turned off.
