Sleep remains a mysterious phenomenon, and its relationship to health has not yet been fully explained, but researchers have uncovered a great deal about what takes place during sleep, what disturbs a sleep, and how to improve sleeping habits.
Myth: Everyone needs eight hours of sleep.
FACT: Nonsense whiles the average person sleeps seven or eight hours, a good night’s sleep is whatever leaves you feeling refreshed and alert the next day. This varies from person to person and with age. Some need ten hours, others six. Interesting, most of us overestimate our need for sleep, and underestimate the amount of sleep we actually get during restless nights.
But how solidly we sleep is as important as how long. Most of us feel more rested when we consolidate sleep than when we parcel it out over five or six periods in a day.
Myth: Sleep is a simple, uniform phenomenon.
FACT: Sleep is a highly organized series of events. It alternates between two phases: REM (rapid’ eye movement) and non REM, both of which are necessary.
Non REM sleep: This is the first phase, called quiet sleep. There’s little ‘or no body movement, brain activity is ‘slow and regular and the five senses shut down, The non REM phase passes through four stages as sleep gets progressively deeper, generally lasting a total of 70 to 90 minutes. The fourth and deepest stage, called delta sleep, is the most restorative.
REM sleep: This is when dreams ‘occur; it appears to be vital for psychological health. The eyes dart behind closed lids, heartbeat and metabolism speed up, and breathing gets faster and more irregular as do brain waves. An average episode of REM last 10 to 20 minutes, but by the final cycle it can be. 30 to 40 minutes long. During a typical eight hour sleep, 1.5 to 2 hours are REM sleep.
A complete cycle of non REM followed by REM sleep averages 90to 100 minutes and recurs four to five times during the night.
Myth: Poor Sleep is a sign of poor health, particularly in an older person.
FACT: To a large extent, changes in sleep patterns are a natural part of the aging process and are nothing to worry about. Ace is one of the most important factors affecting sleep. Infants can sleep 18 or more hours day; by age 12 sleep patterns approximate those of adults. The next dramatic shift appears: after age 60, Sleep becomes increasingly fragmented, we tend to wake up more often (and for longer periods) during the night and earlier in the morning, and we sleep less deeply. Though the amount of time we spend in bed may remain fairly constant, sleep time usually lessens averaging about 6.5 hours a night.
Though increasingly fragmented and interrupted sleep is normal in older people, in some cases poor sleep results from a sleep disorder. For instance, sleep apnea potentially dangerous condition in which you stop breathing temporarily and then snore loudly as you struggle to recover can prevent restful sleep. Such disorders need to be treated by a physician, who may refer you to a sleep specialist or one of the sleep clinics now operating in hospitals across the U:S.
Myth: Insomnia affects only small segment of the population.
FACT: About 15 to 25% of all adults suffer regularly from insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep), and most of us have experienced it at one time or another. Insomnia isn’t a disorder but a symptom with many causes. Temporary insomnia can be caused for instance, by jet lag or a stressful event, such as a change in job. Potential causes of persistent insomnia range from psychological and medical conditions (such as the chronic of arthritis) to: environmental conditions (such as noise) and certain medications. The original cause of insomnia, whatever it is, often becomes secondary. Insomnia may persist because of behavioral factors that reinforce sleeplessness, including overuse of alcohol or sleeping pills.
Myth: You need to make up the exact amount of sleep you’ve lost.
FACT: The body is remarkably efficient at making up for lost sleep. Studies have shown that even after being awake for days most people need only ‘one long night’s sleep to recover. People deprived of sleep make up for it in part by spending more time in the deep sleep stage of the non REM phase during subsequent nights.
- Re Conk
Article extracted from this publication >> March 31, 1989
