A man stays awake for sixteen hours and sleeps only eight. During this process, he sees vivid dreams. But why do people need dreams and what is it? Sleep is a process that occurs in living organisms. For human physiology, it is a natural process, a vital need of the human body. It is as important as food. Sleep is a complex functional state of the brain.
What is sleep?
Sleep is a state of the human body and other living beings (animals, insects, birds), in which the reaction to external stimuli decreases. Slow-wave sleep is a state after falling asleep, which lasts 1-1.5 hours. In this state, the information received during the day is assimilated and strength is restored.
Why do we need sleep and what stages does it go through?
- In the first stage, the respiratory rate, pulse rate and heart rate decrease, the temperature drops and spontaneous twitches can be observed.
- In the second stage, the heart rate and temperature continue to decrease, the eyes are still, the susceptibility increases, the person can easily wake up.
- Third and fourthstages refer to deep sleep, it is difficult to wake a person, it is at this time that about 80% of dreams are formed. It is also at this time that cases of enuresis, bouts of sleepwalking, nightmares and involuntary conversations occur, but the person is unable to do anything about it, and after waking up he may not remember what is happening.
Rapid sleep
REM sleep - comes after slow sleep and lasts from 10 to 15 minutes. Pulse and heart rate are gradually restored. The person is motionless, and his eyes can make quick movements. It is easy to wake a person during REM sleep.
What is a dream?
At the time of sleep, there are changes in the brain and spinal cord. It is a collection of several different phases. A person falling asleep goes into a state of slow sleep. It is popularly called drowsiness. After some time, a transition to the second state is made. It is called the "embrace of Morpheus". The third state is called deep sleep. From the state of deep sleep, a person passes into the fourth state. The fourth state is called sound sleep, it is considered the final one. It is almost impossible to wake up in it.
In a state of slow sleep, growth hormone begins to be produced in the human body, regeneration of tissues of internal organs and skin begins, and the pulse decreases.
Sleep structure
The structure of sleep consists of phases. They repeat and alternate with each other every night. AtA person goes through REM and REM sleep during the night. There are five sleep cycles. Each cycle lasts from eighty to one hundred minutes. Slow-wave sleep consists of four states:
- In the first state of sleep, a person's heart rate decreases. This state is called drowsiness. At such a moment, a person sees his dreams and hallucinations. In this state, a person may come up with unexpected ideas.
- The second sleep state is characterized by an increased heart rate. In this state, a person's consciousness turns off.
- During the third stage, it will not be difficult to get a person to wake up. A person at this moment becomes very sensitive to any stimuli. At this stage, a person's hearing becomes more acute. During sleep, a person may wake up from a slight noise. The pulse stays the same.
- In the fourth state, a person is in a state of deep sleep. Sometimes the third and fourth are combined into one. This general state is called delta sleep. At this moment, it is very difficult to make a person wake up. Often at this stage, you can dream. May also have nightmares.
The four sleep states take up 70% of the whole process. Therefore, another factor in why sleep is needed and why lies in the restoration of expended resources.
Sleep functions
The functions of sleep are to restore vital resources used up while awake by a person. Also during sleep, vital resources accumulate in the human body. When a person wakes up, vital resourcesare activated.
The sleep function performs an informational task. When a person sleeps, he ceases to perceive new information. At this moment, the human brain processes the information accumulated during the day and systematizes it. Sleep performs psychological functions. At the moment of sleep, emotions become active in a person. Coordination in a person becomes passive, immunity begins to recover. When a person sleeps, his mental and emotional state returns to normal. Sleep helps to adapt to different lighting conditions. During sleep, the protection and restoration of human organs and the entire body system occurs.
Does a person need sleep? Yes, it allows you to solve important and complex tasks, includes the protective functions of the body.
Sleep disturbance
Every person has a sleep disturbance. Some people cannot sleep well, while others, on the contrary, want to sleep during the daytime. If it does not happen often, there is nothing to be afraid of, but if it happens often, it is already a disease. If this happens rarely, the person does not have big problems.
With frequent disturbances in sleep patterns, a person cannot lead a normal life, this indicates that he is sick. Only 10% of people who suffer because of this come to the hospital for help. The rest are trying to cope with the disease on their own. To do this, they self-medicate. Other people do not pay attention to the disease.
Insomnia as a pathology
Sleep disorders include insomnia. With such a disease, a personit is difficult to fall asleep, he cannot sink into a sleepy state. More often, the disease occurs due to a mental disorder, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, drugs and stress.
Absolute sleep disturbance can be directly related to domestic factors and changes in the work schedule.
What are dreams for?
Sleep is good for the human body:
- Eliminates tension in the muscular and nervous system.
- Restores focus.
- Improves attention and memory in this moment.
- Reduces the risk of heart disease by 49%.
- After sleep, a person becomes energetic, cheerful, there is a desire to engage in creative activities.
- Daytime sleep allows a person to sleep in cases where it is not possible to do this at night.
- In half an hour of sleep, a person finds answers to the most difficult questions.
- At this time, the brain is working hard and the body is in a relaxed state.
- Waking up, he doesn't feel the nervousness he had. A person stops developing stress.
- When he wakes up, he feels happy, because by this moment his level of the hormone of happiness in the blood rises.
- Being in a state of drowsiness, a person, as it were, enters a state of meditation. At this moment, his connection with the outside world begins to break down.
- A person has a close connection with the subconscious.
- At this moment, brilliant ideas and unexpected discoveries are born in a person.
Daytime sleep - good or bad?
Daytime rest is typical of a child. Whether sleep is necessary for adults is a different question, it all depends on individual characteristics. After a morning sleep, a person becomes alert, energetic and mental clarity appears. A little morning sleep gives you a boost of positive energy throughout the day. It helps when a person does monotonous work and during weather changes. It improves imagination, concentration and attention, which is why many people like to sleep during the day.
But is daytime sleep necessary and how important is it? Scientists have been able to prove that it helps in the fight against stress and diseases. Supports regenerative processes in the human body. During sleep, a person becomes younger. Such a dream relieves psychological and muscular tension in a person. This dream allows you to reboot the human body. As a result, the human body is debugged. During morning sleep, a person finds solutions to questions that concern him. Waking up, a person realizes what the answer to his question is.
It does not always allow the body to recover. It happens that after it a person feels overwhelmed and tired. What is the reason for this factor? A person should not sleep too long during the day, otherwise there will be disturbances in the perception of time.
How much sleep do you need?
People who get the same number of hours of sleep a night have twice the lifespan of a person who gets the shortest amount of sleep. To get the most out of sleep, scientistsfound out that adherence to the regime is an integral part of life. Otherwise, the biological clock gets off and he alth problems begin.
Sleep duration will be more productive if you sleep continuously for 7-8 hours. It has been proven that 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep has a beneficial effect on a person's condition than 7-8 hours of interrupted sleep. A person who wakes up after sleep should get used to the regimen. In order not to fall asleep again after waking up, you should not lie in bed for a long time, the body quickly adapts to changes.
Doctors recommend: get outdoors a lot, don't eat 2 hours before bedtime, take relaxing baths, try not to sleep during the day, get a comfortable mattress and pillow, and keep an uninterrupted sleep schedule for 7-8 hours. If a person has had enough sleep, then when he loses control over the task, the brain restores attention, but the brain of a person who has not had enough sleep is not completely attentive and focused, and perceives the world around him incorrectly.
Long sleep is 10-15 hours a day. During such a dream, a person quickly overworks. He develops diseases such as obesity, problems with internal organs and blood flow begin, and people are overcome by laziness, apathy, they confuse the time of day (day and night).
It is vital to get enough sleep to restore the emotional background and physical strength, as well as to allow the body to renew strength during and after illness. Each person needs to choose an individual schedule in order to get enough sleep and be alert, so there is no unequivocal answer to the question of how much a person needs to sleep.
