Sleep plays one of the most important roles in human life. But, unfortunately, many neglect it, preferring work or entertainment. It has long been scientifically proven that lack of sleep cannot be filled with anything else, as it has a big impact on productivity, he alth and more.
How much sleep does a person need?
Probably everyone asked this question. To answer it, an experiment was specially conducted: 48 people were collected who did not have any pronounced he alth deviations and who regularly slept for 7-8 hours a day. They were divided into 4 groups: the first 12 were forbidden to sleep for 3 days, the other 12 were allowed to sleep for 4 hours, the third group for 6 hours, and the last group slept for 8 hours a day. The last three groups had to hold out with this regimen for 2 weeks. During this experience, the participants and their physical condition were monitored.
As a result of the experiment, people who continued to sleep for 8 hours did not notice any deviations. While people who sleep 6-4 hours a dayday, he alth deteriorated markedly, namely the reaction, memory and cognitive functions. If we look at the results in more detail, it was noticeable that the performance of people who slept for 4 hours differed noticeably for the worse even from the group of people who spent 6 hours sleeping. People who slept 6 hours periodically fell asleep during the day, and after a two-week experiment, their he alth indicators became the same as those who did not sleep for 3 days.
During this experiment, 2 important conclusions were made:
- lack of sleep is cumulative, meaning the more often we sleep less than the allotted time, the more the need for sleep increases.
- we don't notice how our he alth deteriorates when we don't get enough sleep, so we think everything is fine, but it really isn't.
Summing up, we note that an average person needs to sleep from 7 to 7 and a half hours a day. To achieve high performance during the day, this time can be extended up to 9 hours. There is no such phase of sleep when it is better to fall asleep. It is best to choose a certain regime for yourself and try to stick to it. But there is such a thing as sleep cycles. You can calculate them, but it will not bring much benefit.
Calculation of sleep cycles
There are 2 phases of sleep in total: fast sleep, which lasts about 20 minutes, and slow sleep, which lasts about 2 hours. During the entire time you sleep, these phases constantly alternate. First, a person plunges into a phase of slow sleep, and then shechanges to REM sleep. And that's how the whole process goes. So if there is a need to calculate the phases of sleep, then it is not so difficult to do this, although the result will not be as accurate, since the intervals may differ slightly.
There are many different special calculators that will help you calculate your sleep cycles. But you can do all this on your own. This is usually needed when you want to calculate the easiest time to wake up. For example, if you went to bed at 11:00 pm, the easiest time to wake up is:
- 01:20 (2 hours 20 minutes sleep);
- 03:40 (4 hours 40 minutes sleep);
- 06:00 (7 hours sleep);
- 08:20 (9 hours 20 minutes sleep);
- 10:40 (11 hours 40 minutes sleep);
- 13:00 (14 hours sleep).
How to fall asleep faster?
But in order for such calculations to be accurate, it is desirable to fall asleep quickly, which is not always possible. In order to make the process of falling asleep easier, you must follow some rules that are relevant for both adults and children.
- Firstly, it is extremely important to keep the regime, as the body gets used to the time when you usually go to bed. But for its observance it is necessary to wake up earlier. To make this easier, you can calculate the sleep phases when it is better to wake up.
- The best sleeping pill is an active day. If you worked hard during the day, then by the evening you will definitely feel sleepy.
- Overeating oftenis an obstacle to falling asleep quickly, so it is better to avoid large portions before bedtime.
- A walk in the fresh air before bed is a very good option to relax, which will also help you fall asleep faster.
Unusual sleep patterns
- The cycle of the superman. This mode is a rather unusual distribution of time: sleep should take 20 minutes every 4 hours. In total, it turns out that you need to sleep 6 times a day. According to the impressions of people who have tried to do this, such a routine has a positive effect on the body, namely, well-being improves, more energy and strength appear, moreover, vivid dreams are dreamed. But with this mode, it is extremely important to strictly monitor the time and not miss a single break for sleep. This implies the main disadvantage: such a specific regimen can interfere, since it is not always possible to postpone all business and go to bed.
- Two-phase cycle. It is not much different from the usual, but still more effective. Its essence follows from the name: the division of sleep into two times a day, namely 4-4, 5 hours at night and a couple of hours during the day. Switching to this mode will be quite difficult for those who are not used to this. But many schoolchildren and students actively use such a schedule, as energy is added due to daytime sleep, and a little less time is spent.
NREM sleep phase
During this phase, the body completely relaxes, breathing becomes slower, the brain loses sensitivity to external stimuli, from whichawakening becomes more difficult. It is this phase that is of great importance for the whole organism, since it is during this period of time that cells are renewed and restored due to the production of a hormone that is responsible for tissue growth and muscle renewal. There is also such a fact that it is at this time that the immune system is restored. If we summarize all the knowledge, we can conclude that the slow phase of sleep is extremely important for the physical condition of the body.
REM phase
REM sleep has a different meaning. During it, the brain is activated and begins to sort information, due to which a person sees dreams. At this time, unnecessary information is forgotten, as a result of which memory performance improves. Also, the experience gained over the past 24 hours seems to be combined with the existing one, which means that learning is facilitated and even neural connections are strengthened. This sleep phase usually occurs 3 to 5 times a night for a short period of time. During it, there is an increase in temperature, blood pressure and increased heart rate. Thus, there is no specific phase of sleep when it is better to sleep. Both cycles are equally important and necessary for the body, and neither of them should be neglected. Similarly, there is no specific sleep phase when it is best to go to bed and wake up. The basis of he althy sleep in any case is compliance with the regime, from which the body itself will know when it's time to sleep. To do this, it is not at all necessary to calculate your sleep cycles. They can only be calculatedfor your own interest.
The effect of age on sleep
Based on both human experience and scientific statements, one can be convinced that the older a person is, the more difficult it is for him to fall asleep. This phenomenon even has a name - delayed sleep. In addition, there is also a reduction in the time calculated for sleep phases.
Calculating a child's sleep cycles is not that difficult, but it should also be taken into account that the proportion of REM sleep decreases with age. The deep sleep of a child is much stronger than that of adults. At this time, children may not react in any way to any external factors. Deep sleep lasts about 20 minutes. At this time, the body restores strength and replenishes the energy spent. Deep sleep takes the most time in the first half of the night. In the second half, there is predominantly REM or superficial sleep.
Awakening
Waking up is easiest at the end of the REM phase, but it is not always possible to calculate this time exactly. Therefore, to make your life easier, just find the motivation to wake up early in the morning. It is not necessary to get up immediately after you wake up. Probably, every person likes to lie in the morning, and you don’t need to deny yourself this. At this time, you can lie down and think about something good, for example, about the people you love. You can also do breathing exercises. Just take a few deep breaths. This will help oxygenate the brain. Anothera he althy morning ritual is a glass of clean water. This actually has a lot of benefits, since by doing this you activate the metabolism and make up for the lack of fluid in the body.
