Importance of good sleep for our health
Today I am talking about the most important thing of our daily routine that is SLEEP. Like food , water, and oxygen, we require proper sleep for good health. Good sleep is necessary for every human being. Disturbed sleep is most frequent health complaints to the physicians . More than 50% of adults face a problem of sleep disorders in their life. It may be poor sleep in the night or sleepiness in daytime that affects their daily working. Due to a sleep disturbances person have some medical problems or psychiatric conditions.
Good sleep for our health |
Physiology of sleep and wakefulness
In general, most of the adults sleep 7-8 hour per day . Timing, duration, and pattern of sleep vary from person to person. Sleep pattern may be affected by age also. Sleep also disturbed by an environment, drugs or due to some illness. Studies by the University of California proved that 3% of people feel good by 6 hours of sleep due to a gene they have. Sleep prepare us for whole day energy and relaxation. During sleep, our muscles have time to repair and release of hormones needed for growth and development.
States and stages of sleep
Two states of sleep
(1) NREM- nonrapid eye movement sleep. NREM sleep has 4 stages. Both of these two make sleep cycle . NREM sleep 75% of night and REM 25% of night time.
When we fall asleep first we enter in NREM sleep. It has 4 stages;
Stage 1
Between awakening and falling asleep
Light sleep
Stage 2
Onset of sleep
Heart rate and respiration become regular
Stage 3 and 4
Deep sleep
Muscle and tissue repair
Growth hormone released
Restoration of energy
(2) REM sleep 25% of night
Repeat after every 90 minutes. During this time brain become more active . We see dreams. Energy to brain and body increases One third of our life we spend in sleep to stay fit for rest two third of life. So good sleep is necessary for health. Sleep affects our looks, energy level and performance. So quality and quantity of sleep both are important. Sleep Disorder
Insomnia
Difficulty falling asleep or if you wake in the night difficult to return sleep. Our brain has sleep cycle and wakes up cycle. When this cycle disturbs we have sleep disturbance or insomnia.
Occasional bouts of sleep disturbance are normal and called acute . When this disturbance occurs three nights per week for three months or longer doctor say this chronic . If you have chronic insomnia then consult your doctor.
Symptoms of insomnia
Difficulty falling asleep
Wake up in the night and unable to sleep again
Wake up in the early morning
Feel sleepiness during day time
Inactive and lethargy during the day
Do not feel fresh after wake up
Loss of interest in routine activities
Behavioral problems
Women are more affected than men. Pregnancy, menstrual problems, and menopause may also be a cause of insomnia in women.
Medical conditions related to respiratory and gastrointestinal system also cause sleep disturbances.In sleep apnoea, sleep disturbs in the night. Some psychiatric condition like depression and mania may be the cause.
Nonmedical treatments
Breathing exercises
Cognitive behavior therapy
In this person learn to change the behavior- fix pattern of going to bed and wake up time. In this, thinking about fear and beliefs for sleep change by attending sessions. After CBT improvement in sleep occurs.
Also read-What-Is-Depression
Medical treatment
Which medicine is right for your condition please consult the doctor. Do not take over the counter drug without consulting.
Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene means a different type of practices for good sleep so we stay alerted during the daytime.
Maintain fix timetable for a wake-up and sleeping time throughout the week. In the bedroom calm and quiet environment.
Do not take a nap more than 30 minutes in the day.
Take good and healthy diet -Avoid heavy spicy food in dinner. Take light meal.
Avoid coffee, alcohol or tea at bed time.
Do exercise and yoga in the morning or evening.
Take natural light in the day because it maintains your sleep-wake cycle.
Go to bed in a relaxing mood.
If you have a problem in sleep follow sleep hygiene for better sleep and to stay healthy. Sleep is very much important for our life so please give priority to taking adequate sleep.
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