A short dry medical definition of sleep might be as follows: unconsciousness from which a person can be aroused easily, as contrasted to coma, from which a person cannot be awakened.
Sleep is a universal experience. Every living thing must have some relaxation time, whether it's the bear hibernating all winter, or the doe sleeping only 90 minutes at a time. Even unborn babies sleep, about fourteen hours a day in the womb. Many experts believe that sleep is a time for our body to repair and re-balance.
Sleep is in many ways a simple mystery. It's like a balanced diet: it occurs in different stages and proportions. It is not just simple "rest." During sleep, the body releases most of its growth hormone. And growth hormone doesn't just make you taller; it's a potent stimulator of the entire immune system. But what happens when we lie in bed unconscious? Are we just inactive, dead to the world, stretched out flat for six to eight hours?
From my own research and reading, this is not the case. Sleep is actually a highly active “resting” state. Until the late 1930s, most scientists believed sleep was passive, and that in sleep people simply shut down and stopped responding to their senses. Now it appears that sleep is a biochemical web of enormous complexity. The brain must send out chemicals to silence parts of itself and the body. It's as if the brain is in a constant tug of war between a chemical web that keeps it awake and one that keeps it asleep. Cutting a specific part of the brain stem, in fact, leads to a brain that never goes to sleep. Centers deep within the brain stem actively inhibit other parts of the brain and allow sleep to occur.
Older people are told that they simply need less sleep. Unfortunately, the truth is that the quality of sleep tends to ebb with age. Sleep changes with age, and the fact that older people have trouble sleeping could actually be part of the degenerative process of aging. The systems that are actively responsible for arousal and inhibition lose a little of their juice. A thirty-year-old gets only about half as much deep sleep as a twenty-year-old. By age eighty-five, the average person spends about 25 percent of the night awake -- though a contributing cause may be that the inactive elderly check in for more sleep than they actually need. And sleep may be more elusive for older people because of the "common" aches and pains associated with aging. One study found that 50 percent of healthy people over age fifty have some sleep irregularities.
A big question everybody asks about sleep usually takes the form of a complaint and it goes like this: "How come some people can get by on two hours of sleep a night and I need eight?" Albert Einstein confesses to needing ten, while Thomas Edison relied on short catnaps? My own requirements are about four to six hours a night, and if I can get those hours from 1 to 7 a.m., I really seem to do better thought the next day.
And though you may get more sleep one night and less the next, it’s your average sleeping time usually remains constant throughout life. Sleeping more or less is not a behavior that we can be taught easily, and those of us who have to sleep less than we should are probably impaired at certain tasks during the day.
So, you may wonder, how much should you sleep? Only your body knows this answer: sleep until you feel refreshed. There are a few lucky individuals who are born to be short sleepers. On only two or three hours a night they feel refreshed and energetic. When forced to sleep more hours a night, they can feel groggy and irritable.
Insomnia, on the other hand then, can be defined as the individuals perception of insufficient sleep -- sleep that does not leave them feeling restored. But only sleeping three hours a night does not define insomnia, if the person in question feels alert and refreshed during the day. Insomnia can take the forms of, but not limited to;
difficulty falling asleep (or what researchers call sleep onset difficulty)
difficulty remaining asleep (sleep maintenance difficulty)
sleep that doesn't restore (for instance, sleep apnea).
Insomnia can be transient (a few days), short-term (a few weeks), or chronic (a few months or longer). It can have many causes, and just as many solutions.We may have to come back to Insomnia later, after more research for this subject.
And then there are the stresses of normal daily life also. Life's little and big stresses have a funny way of crawling into bed with us. How many times have we tried to forget all the days battles and “just get some sleep?” When they refuse to leave at night, they can bring much destruction. The simple consequences of even one bad night's sleep should be very obvious to most: stress, irritability, loss of concentration and focus, general over all fatigue.
For some the loss of even one night’s sleep may be a world ending occurrence. But every now and then, fate may test your preparedness by adding an incident that will clearly fall within the regular rhythm of our normal sleep cycle.
This may be very simple and unplanned as a bug or malady we managed to catch. It could be nothing of our own doing; just a random possibility that for whatever reason, happened close enough to our place of rest to awaken us.
It could be something even planned for with great details for occupationally demands. My latest siesta carnage – aka “Black Friday”, has once more come and gone. I again made it, without being trampled to death, shot, or all the other news stories one hears about happening. But my sleep sure suffered.
The effects of sleeping badly night-after-night may even permanently harm us and has been medical associated with many serious conditions. If these are pre-existing within us already, sleep loss could take them to a critical level. As a partial list of the known life-threatening ones: high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, obesity, depression.
Not that I have found Other Kinds Of Answers for all of these, that may enter our lives during the day, especially in today’s crazy world. Whether your mind is racing, going over everything that can happen today or are other issues keeping you from resting. What can one do, besides reaching for the sleeping pills? There are things you can try and I hope my activities of sleep wellness list below helps.
Now Sweet Dreams to all and I'm off to much needed sleep…
These are known as "OKOA’s Snooze Hygiene" list.
Sleep only when sleepy
This reduces the time you are awake in bed.
If you can't fall asleep within 20 minutes, get up and do something boring until you feel sleepy. Sit quietly in the near dark reading the warranty and cleaning guide for your refrigerator. Don't expose yourself to bright light while you are up. The light gives cues to your brain that it is time to wake up.
Take naps with care
This will ensure you are tired at bedtime. If you just can't make it through the day without a nap, nap less than one hour, at least 3 hours before normal bedtime.
Get up and go to bed the same time every day
Even on weekends or days-off! When your sleep cycle has a regular rhythm, you will feel and sleep better.
Refrain from exercise at least 4 hours before bedtime
Regular exercise is recommended to help you sleep well, but the timing of the workout is important. Exercising in the morning or early afternoon should not interfere with night sleep as much.
Develop sleep rituals
It is important to give your body cues that it is time to slow down and sleep. Listen to relaxing music, watching light T.V., read something soothing for 15 to 30 minutes, have a cup of caffeine free tea, even try minor relaxation exercises.
Only use your bed for sleeping
Refrain from using your bed to pay bills, do work or preparing the next day’s battle plan. This is so when you go to bed your body knows it is time to sleep. Sex could be is the only exception.
Stay away from caffeine and alcohol at least 1-2 hours before sleep
Caffeine is a stimulant that interferes with your ability to fall asleep. Coffee, tea, soda, cocoa, chocolate and some prescription and non-prescription drugs all contain caffeine. An alcohol night-cap may seem to help you sleep in the beginning as it slows brain activity, but you will end up only having fragmented sleep.
Chill Out! - Make sure your bed and bedroom is quiet, dark and comfortable
A hot room and bed can be uncomfortable. A cooler room along with enough blankets to stay warm is my recommended method. If light in the early morning bothers you, get a blackout shade or wear a slumber mask. If noises bothers you, wear earplugs or get a "white noise" machine.
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