Sleep is a fundamental necessity that allows us to maintain a healthy metabolic-organic correlation, if sufficient sleep hours are not respected, nor the quality of rest, this can be very harmful to health, but after all, we know what is going on in our bodies while we sleep?
Rest is an important and important factor for the well-being of the whole body, while we sleep we not only recover and the whole body recovers, but also basic energy levels are recovered.
- Although the number of hours a person needs to sleep may vary.
- Depending on their activity level and stage of life.
- It is ideal for adults to sleep between seven and eight hours a day.
“Studies show that not getting enough sleep or having poor sleep quality constantly increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and other medical problems. ?National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)?”
Sleep phases can be categorized into NREM and RAPID Eye Movement (REM). In turn, sleep is divided into 90-minute cycles, alternating between NREM and REM. There are usually five cycles per night. The phase consists of four subphases.
“Thanks to sleep studies over the past few decades, it is now known that sleep has different stages, which progress cyclically at night. The brain remains active during sleep. However, do different things happen at each stage?National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)?
Introducing sleep
This is the initial phase of sleep that can last between five and ten minutes, when it’s still easy to wake up. All muscles in the body relax completely and brain activity decreases.
The beginning of the dream
This is the second step, during which body temperature and heart rate decrease significantly. This is the stage at which the body prepares to move to deep sleep, and there is a slowdown in brain and muscle activity.
Slow sleep
It includes the third and fourth stages, which are characterized by deep sleep, of which it is more difficult to wake up, in addition brain and muscle activity decreases significantly.
During these steps, the body is responsible for repairing tissues, strengthening muscles and bones, and helping to strengthen the immune system.
During this phase, characterized by the presence of rapid eye movements, dreams occur, brain activity is rapid, there is paralysis of muscles, heart rate and breathing accelerate and you can have very intense dreams.
Approximately 90 minutes after falling asleep, the REM phase occurs, which lasts about ten minutes. As hours pass, REM steps continue to last approximately one hour.
The number of hours of sleep is not the only important aspect, as the quality of rest is also essential. Sleeping fewer hours means facing the day with less ability to keep your attention, keep memories in memory, or access them.
In addition, it also reduces the amount of physical work we can do
“Studies indicate that the less a person sleeps, the more likely they are to gain weight or obesity, develop diabetes, and prefer to eat foods high in calories and carbohydrates. “National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)?
The quality of sleep is linked to clarity of thought, the ability to respond to external stimuli and encode information so that it is preserved as memory, in fact, while we sleep, a kind of restoration of the cognitive system occurs.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute reports that reducing sleep quality by one hour can make it difficult to concentrate the next day and slow down response times.
So, stealing? Hours of sleep, the individual will be more likely not to function properly at school, at work or even behind the wheel. In addition, your mood will be significantly affected, with greater susceptibility to irritation.
Finally, those suffering from chronic sleep deprivation are more likely to suffer from depression.
Clearly, it is essential to get enough sleep to maintain a high quality of life and enjoy healthy health at any stage of life.