The physiological significance of sleep in human life

What exactly is sleep?

Sleep is a condition in which a properly functioning body falls once a day. There is something called circadian rhythm. Once it was regulated by sunlight - a man got up with the sunrise and went to sleep with his sunset. Now the state of wakefulness and rest is regulated mainly by our habits and the characteristics of the day.

Sleep is characterized by several features - the body rests, ceases motor activity, its responses to external stimuli are reduced, and there is no conscious contact with the environment. Another important aspect of sleep is its reversibility, that is, we can get out of this state by using some strong external stimulus, for example the sound of an alarm clock.

Basically, we distinguish two phases of sleep. The first of these is the NREM phase, i.e. the phase in which there are no rapid eye movements, silencing and gradual relaxation of the body. The second is REM, which is the one in which rapid eye movements occur, muscle relaxation, and dreaming. Both these phases occur several times during our sleep.

The physiological meaning of sleep, or how does sleep affect the body?

We rarely realize that sleep not only affects our subjective feeling of whether we are rested and full of energy. Its most important tasks include:

• Regulation of hormonal balance - During sleep, there are processes that are aimed at maintaining the balance of hormonal balance. Among other things, growth hormone is produced, which in children is responsible for normal growth, while in adults it mainly slows down the process of tissue breakdown and accelerates healing.

• Maintaining a healthy body weight - If we do not sleep long enough (on average 6-7 hours on average) or the quality of sleep is unsatisfactory, we tend to gain weight. This is because during sleep we did not accumulate enough energy, which we try to compensate by consuming carbohydrates.

• Memory and concentration - During sleep, the human brain organizes, segregates and assimilates all information obtained during the day. There is balance in the brain because neurons that are not activated during wakefulness can be activated at night./p>

• Accumulation of energy - While our body adopts a resting attitude, muscle tension decreases, while accumulating energy that we can use the next day.

• The right mood - People suffering from sleep disorders very often experience problems with lowering mood, irritability, and irritation.

• Resistance of the body - If the body is rested, that is, it has had sleep of adequate length and quality, it is more resistant to viral and bacterial infections (weakened-sleepless will be much more susceptible to colds and diseases)

How does the body react when we are not sleeping properly?

It is not difficult to guess if the role of sleep for our body is so multifaceted, lack of sleep, problems with it or sleep disorders will also affect it. How? First of all, we may experience problems with short-term memory. It may be more difficult for us to focus on any tasks, which will also reduce our reactivity, which means that we can be a threat (even in traffic, driving a vehicle). In addition, we get sick more often. As mentioned above, it is possible that we will feel a significant decrease in well-being, we will be more nervous and irritable

How to sleep well?

First, we should follow the basic principles of sleep hygiene. These include primarily:

• fixed time to get up, regardless of whether we have a business week or a weekend

• adequate amount of sleep, i.e. a minimum of 6-7 hours

• appropriate conditions in the room in which we sleep: ventilated, keeping the temperature not too high and not too low, darkened

• avoiding exposure to light before bedtime, especially to blue light

• outdoor activities during the day

• avoiding substances containing caffeine, theine, alcohol just before bedtime

• not eating too large, spicy or hot meals before going to bed

• not taking too hot bath (body temperature drops slightly in the evening, properly preparing the body for rest and regeneration)

• prepared bed: comfortable mattress, pleasant bedding, changed frequently

• calm and relax

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