29.03.2024

Sleep, my joy, sleep

The story of a man deprived of sleep, spending midnight with painful thoughts about how to sleep today, how to work tomorrow and how to live on is a suitable option for horror films. 

Yet sleep takes a third of our lives, and it is better if this third is not worse than the other two.

Meanwhile, boast a perfectly strong sleep in any situation can only the babies. Answers to common questions about the quality of sleep were given to us by Sergei Yarosh, a neurophysiologist, a somnologist at the Research Institute of Physiology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.

How does the dream translate the clock forward?

It has been scientifically proven that the translation of arrows influences the state of the organism, especially during flights to the west and at the end of winter, when the arrows are moved forward. People are deprived of the morning hour of sleep, because it is more difficult to go to bed early in the evening, and it is necessary to get up on an alarm clock. The morning is exactly the phase of fast sleep, which is responsible for the processes of mental recovery, so people do not feel very well. It is stress for the body, and, like any stress, it especially affects the weakened people and children.

How to ease the morning awakening?

Of the means that work for sure, is a bright light. It helps awakening on the neurochemical level, the production of substances that cause drowsiness is reduced. But it is worth considering that household lamps do not have the right spectrum and are not powerful enough, so the best option is to wake up with the rays of sunlight. All other recommendations are very individual.

Is it true that the duration should be a multiple of 1.5 hours?

Duration of sleep from 5 to 10 hours is considered the norm. As for the period of about one and a half hours – here it is a question of the cyclical nature of sleep. The phase of slow and fast sleep is a complete cycle lasting about 1.5 hours. First, there is a phase of slow sleep from several stages, and then the phase of fast sleep, or paradoxical sleep, when we see dreams, at this time there is a complex mental activity. That is, the work of the brain is a kind of analogue of awakening, and if a person wakes up and remembers that he just saw a dream, then he woke up after a fast sleep phase, and this shows that the cycle was completed.

If you wake up and see what else there is, for example, twenty minutes before the alarm, then it’s better not to fall asleep again, but to get up. Otherwise, sleepiness will be greater than if they had not slept “another half hour.”

Self-awakening in the phase of fast sleep depends on the time of falling asleep, but the cycles of sleep are unchanged.

Can I learn to sleep a little and sleep?

It is possible, although this is a long process. It is not the quantity, but the quality of sleep that is important. Many sleep is disturbed due to stress, because of this, a person goes to sleep for a long time, awakens at night – and this happens several times. If you learn how to quickly fall asleep, and most importantly – qualitatively, then the total number of sleep will be less. Find out if you have enough sleep, you can only feel. If the day is not drowsy, thinking and memory are not disturbed – this is enough, even if you sleep a little.

And if a person slept for a long time, but still feels overwhelmed?

A long sleep does not guarantee the quality of sleep. It says that a person spends the night in a stage of superficial, rather than deep sleep. In this case, recovery processes do not occur. A person may not know that he has sleep disturbances, some of which are detected only after a special hardware study.

What is dangerous to lack of sleep, except for daytime sleepiness? 

Some hormones are produced only in the deep stages of sleep, for example, growth hormone. One of its main functions is the regulation of fat metabolism. If there is no deep sleep, the hormone is not produced, there is a metabolic disorder. All attempts to lose weight from such a person will be unsuccessful – it does not work on diets and drugs that burn fat.

What should I do if I have trouble falling asleep?

If there are difficulties with falling asleep or frequent awakenings within three weeks – this is an occasion to turn to a specialist. If you do not eliminate the cause of the violation, it will go into a chronic form, and it will be much more difficult to treat it. If it is a question of single difficulties with sleep, you can not immediately use sleeping pills, they have side effects.

If we talk about herbal preparations, we must bear in mind that they have not a hypnotic effect, but only a sedative effect. Most often they are simply useless, and some, for example valerian, with regular use have the property of accumulating in the body.

If the drug does not work for ten days, do not continue to use it. If futile attempts to fall asleep is a reaction to stress, one must understand that this is how the process of adaptation takes place in the body, and it is important not to concentrate on thoughts of the impossibility of falling asleep. It is much more useful to do quiet things.

What recommendations are useful to fall asleep better? 

The cycle “sleep-wakefulness” is associated with a temperature cycle – at night it decreases. Therefore, a cool place is more suitable for sleep. And a cool shower, and not a hot bath – it, especially in combination with salt, can cause a reverse, tonic effect. On the other hand, everything is very individual, it is important to choose a relaxation option for yourself.

Do not use bright lights in the evenings. If you visit a solarium, you should not do this in the afternoon, especially for those who have problems falling asleep. Sleep itself should occur in the dark, with a full-fledged sleep impossible (that’s why daytime sleep does not provide a normal rest).

Is it possible to sleep “for the future”, and also to sleep off all week at once? 

You can not get enough sleep beforehand. But to sleep for a few sleepless days can be for one night, sleeping a little longer. But getting enough sleep at the expense of the weekend is not very correct – it can provoke the inability to sleep in the evening and increases the risk of insomnia in the future. It is better to develop the habit of going to bed, and most importantly, getting up at about the same time, even on weekends.

One thought on “Sleep, my joy, sleep

  1. Thank you for another magnificent article. Where else could anybody get that kind of info in such a perfect way of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I’m on the look for such info.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *