In creating man, God endowed him with a wonderful organism that obeyed functions. In this article, we will discuss why is sleep important. Every man needs sleep. No human being can do without sleep. Even if some sleep little and others sleep enough! One thing that is certain, is that sleep is one of the common things that men share. It is, therefore, necessary to understand sleep and this is indeed what this article is about.
How to fall asleep? How to recover sleep? Why is sleep important? To better understand sleep, let’s recall some basics.
The usual duration of a night’s sleep varies between 7:00 and 8:30, but there are “little sleepers” (4 to 6:30 of sleep per night) and “heavy sleepers” (more than 9 hours per night). It is not a question of will or temperament, but rather a question of genetics.
The ideal duration of a night’s sleep is one that gives the feeling of being fit and effective the next morning.
Without further ado, let’s understand sleep by starting with the functions of sleep.
I – The Functions of Sleep-Why Is Sleep Important?
Why is sleep important? What is sleep for? Or, why do we need sleep? Sleep research is still a young science, but researchers put forward several hypotheses:
– It would save energy: when we sleep, our oxygen consumption decreases, our heart slows, body temperature declines, in short, our body spends fewer calories.
– It would allow the organization to “recover” the activities of the day before.
– It would help the brain to restore its abilities and promote memorization. Sleep would allow the storage and organization of new knowledge.
– Dreams would balance psychic life, allowing one to “let off steam” and to express one’s impulses without danger.
Did you know? Each of us has an internal clock! This means that everyone has in his or her body favorable or programmed hours to sleep. This is why men do not have the same length of sleep, let alone the same sleep frequency. Our internal clock varies and functions according to our activities and especially the personal use of our organization.
Let’s See an Example – the Internal Clock: A Reality!
Today we know that many functions of our organization vary with the 24 hours of the day. This is the case of temperature, mood, heart rate, our performance … And all these functions evolve in parallel during the day, with, in general, a peak in the afternoon (temperature of the highest body, increased heart rate, increased alertness …), a decrease in the evening to a minimum in the early morning. The sleep period is set on the decay phase of these values: from the late evening to the morning.
All these biological rhythms are therefore interdependent and it is this internal clock that explains the jet lag.
On a far-off trip, if the destination schedules are out of sync with the usual schedules, it is difficult to stay asleep, even though fatigue and lack of sleep are present! It will often take several days to reset our biological clock on a new day and night schedule.
By considering the notion of the internal clock in the context of sleep, it wisely leads us to explore the cycles of sleep. The following lines tell us moreover!
II – Sleep Cycles
The sleep cycles, does that tell you anything?
Paradoxical sleep, slow sleep … These are notions that we often hear about. To know how to sleep better, it is necessary to understand these notions, let’s dive together in the structure, (complex!) Sleep …
1 – Slow Sleep
Sleep is not a straight line between going to bed and waking up. A lot of things happen in the brain and body during the night. When it’s time to fall asleep, the eyes close, your breathing calms down, and you’re off to the first phase of sleep, called “Slow Slow Sleep” or Stage 1 Sleep. is the beginning of slow sleep. It is the moment when one can have the impression to fall or to have jolts and where a nothing awakes us. After a few minutes, sleep becomes deeper, this is stage 2 of slow sleep. It lasts a few tens of minutes and is succeeded by the “slow-slow sleep” stages 3 and 4.
2 – Deep Sleep
We are fast asleep, the breathing and the heart have a regular rhythm and the body does not move. This is a phase where it is difficult to wake up and the brain becomes more and more insensitive to external stimuli (noise, light …). Then the slow deep sleep fades and the slow-slow sleep reappears before making room for the first episode of paradoxical sleep (stage 5) which lasts a few minutes. REM sleep is the time when we dream the most, the heart and breathing can accelerate (depending on what we dream of), the muscles are totally relaxed, and the eyes describe the rapid movement as if the sleeper ” was watching “his dream …
3 – Sleep: From 4 to 6 Cycles per Night
Slow-slow sleep, deep slow sleep, and REM sleep: the sleeper has completed his first sleep cycle, which lasts about 90 minutes. One night will thus include between 4 and 6 sleep cycles. In fact, the sleep cycles are not quite similar as the night progresses: if the deep slow sleep is very present at the beginning of the night, it is rarer when the night advances and disappears completely at night. early morning. Conversely, paradoxical sleep, in short at the beginning of the night, will occupy an increasing place at each sleep cycle.
Sleep is composed of identical stages throughout life, but its organization varies greatly from childhood to old age and according to individuals. Clearly, we are not all equal in the face of sleep!
Another fact draws our attention when we approach the subject of sleep. Indeed, we all need to sleep well and the time to go to bed can be experienced as a moment of grace in some and a dreaded passage in others. Sleep is fragile and is often apprehended by many of us.
Certainly, it may happen that you ask yourself such a question: Why do we sleep badly? In other words, why can we sometimes have disturbed sleep?
III – The Causes of a Disrupted Sleep
It can be difficult to fall asleep because of worries, a neighbor who makes noise, or a dinner too rich … The reasons are many, let’s go into detail.
1 – The Psychological Causes of Restless Sleep
Some psychological tensions can alter the quality of sleep. They cause a state of excitement, or nervousness that keeps us in a state of “hyper-evil”, not compatible to sleep well: falling asleep is more difficult, light sleep and finally not restorative. Worrying or brooding thoughts before falling asleep will also hurt sleep.
If nothing is done, we can enter a real vicious circle: by dint of bad sleep because of worries, we are afraid to go to bed, we fear that moment when we will turn off the light and be caught in the torment of his thoughts, watching the clock turn, in short, we create a new problem that will be added to others and during the day you can feel the effects of a lack of sleep.
2 – The Physiological Causes
Life is punctuated by moments when, naturally, the sleep cycle is disrupted. Pregnancy, age, can also be causes of disturbed sleep. The deep sleep decreases and wakes, sometimes prolonged, multiply and the desire to make naps increases! The lifestyle of the elderly helps to explain this phenomenon: there is a lack of exercise and activities in the day are sometimes fewer.
3 – External Causes
Sleep is affected by a multitude of external factors such as noise, light, ambient temperature, bedding, falling asleep alone or not … We do not all live in the countryside! Sometimes we are disturbed by traffic noise coming from the street, neighborhood noise in buildings … “Noise pollution” disturbs our environment. About 20% of 25-45-year-olds report being disturbed by outside noise at home! And unfortunately, when our sleep is disturbed, it is less restorative…
It also happens to have snoring problems that cause difficulties to fall asleep … 13% of 25-45 years complain! Some snoring can even reach 100 decibels, which is the equivalent of the noise of a passing truck!
Other events can upset our sleep, like the arrival of a baby. When the baby is born, it is not yet nights, that is to say, that its sleep cycle is not yet well established. It usually takes 3 months to structure itself … In the meantime, it remains an unavoidable and tiring period for parents!
So many external factors, which unfortunately are not always our responsibility!
When Sleep Is Upset…
How many hours of sleep do you need to sleep well?
To find out, evaluate your bedtime and get up during the holidays for example when you have no time constraints.
The ideal duration of a night is one that allows you to feel rested without feeling a particular lack of sleep in the day.
Conclusion on Why Is Sleep Important
Our body needs rest. He obeys the principle of life and time, the general rule of which is, ” There is a time for all things, and everything has its time ” (The Holy Bible, Ecclesiastes 3: 1). No matter what our activities, our profession, our skin color, our age, we all need adequate rest, that is to say, a balanced sleep. It’s all about our health and well-being. Good sleep contributes to the balance of our health.
In creating man, God has included sleep in the body and the life of man for his well-being. Take care not to deprive yourself of sleep!
If you really love yourself, then find some time to sleep, to rest better. Look for a peaceful sleep. Have regular and adequate sleep.