Why do we sleep? The answer is short, simple and obvious …
Sleep is a necessary process to sustain life and sleep disorders at any level, rob a person of this sustenance. Hundreds of thousands of people are dying each year in part because of undiagnosed and untreated sleep disorders. For the estimated 40 million Americans who suffer from a chronic sleep disorder and the 20 to 30 million others who experience occasional sleep disturbances, going to bed doesn’t always mean going to sleep.
According to The National Sleep Foundation, on any giving night, 1 in 4 Americans rate the quality of their night’s sleep as either “fair” or “poor”. We have tendency to overlook our need for sleep which puts us at higher risk for accidents (more than 100,000 auto accidents, many fatal, are directly attributed to sleepy drivers each year) and more vulnerable to a whole host of physical ailments, including heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes, to name a few.
If you think nothing really happens when you sleep, think again. Sleep is the time when the brain directs the body to heal and repair itself, rebuild damaged or worn-out tissues, and restore chemical balance. Your immune system manufacturers more natural killer cells to fight infection and disease and your pituitary gland produces growth hormone (in children, growth hormone promotes growth; in adults it helps repair and renew tissue).
Even though your body may essentially be motionless while you sleep, your brain is active, cycling though the Five Stages of Sleep, and organizing and storing memories. Even with all this activity, your brain still manages to recharge during a good night’s sleep so you feel energized and ready to go.
THE FIVE STAGES OF SLEEP
Sleep is divided into 5 stages and serve different purposes.
Stage 1-4 are non as non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) and the 5th is rapid eye movement sleep (REM), the stage when most dreaming occurs. The brain cycles through these stages about 5-6 times each night. During the first sleep cycle, you spend a long time in deep sleep or Stages 3 and 4, and relatively short time in the 5th stage REM sleep. As the night progresses, your brain continues to cycle through the sleep stages with REM sleep periods getting longer and deep sleep periods shorter. As morning approaches, deep sleep ceases almost completely and your brain cycles between Stages 1 and 2 and REM sleep.
STAGE 1 : The transition between wakefulness and sleep. Your brain and body relax, your breathing becomes more regular and your muscle activity gradually decreases, although you may make some jerky movements as you pass from wakefulness to sleep. You may experience dream-like flashes of images, hear loud noises or even distinct voices. Most people who sleep normally stay in this stage for about 5 minutes.
STAGE 2 : Your heartbeat and respiration slow and become very regular, your body relaxes more deeply. Most spend about 30 minutes in Stage 1 and 2 before passing into a deep sleep Stage 3.
STAGE 3 & 4 : These are deep sleep states. There is no visible eye or muscle movement especially as you progress into Stage 4, which is the deepest and most restorative sleep. The body performs much of its necessary repair work during Stage 3 & 4.
The first deep sleep of the night usually lasts about 1 hour in the young adult before the sleep cycle begins its first REM sleep. As people get older, their deep sleep shortens and they may feel less rested after sleeping.
STAGE 5 (REM) : This is when you dream. Your eyes move rapidly back and forth. During REM sleep you are actually temporarily paralyzed, Mother Nature’s safeguard to prevent the physical acting out of dreams. Brain blood increases, heartbeat speeds up and breathing rate increases. Sleepers usually spend about 90 minutes in the first four stages of sleep before passing into the first REM of the night. The first REM usually last about 10 minutes and become progressively longer in successive NREM-REM cycles with the final REM episode lasting as long as an hour.
David Lanz – Dreams Of The Forgotten Child
I WOULD HAVE USED ANOTHER TYPE OF MUSIC FOR THIS VIDEO.
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IS IMPORTANT … SO, HERE GOES!!
Why sleep is important?
We ALL are ONE!!
Be proactive for HEALTH!!
It Is What It Is 