Is hitting your snooze button becoming part of your morning routine? Sleep is just as vital as exercise and eating...
Read MoreSleep is just as vital as exercise and eating healthy when it comes to your health!
This simple activity has increasingly become one of the main complaints health professionals are met with alongside the occasional aches and pains. How can such a simple activity come with great difficulty if it is so important to our health? Deeming more complex than what we understand, scientists have unpacked this activity and described it as the body’s state of rest triggered by hormones, psychological and environmental influences. This generally occurs over a period of 8-9hours which is encouraged to function well and to perform optimally, however some may need more or less depending on their sleep cycle.
Sleep contains a number of cycles that either aid or negate a good nights’ rest. Within the numerous sleep cycles that occur there are four phases that take place which is related to the amount of brain activity done.
1. Non- REM consists of 3 phases making up the sleep cycle.
Stage 1: known as “the dozing off phase” where brain activity starts to slow down lasting for a few minutes.
Stage 2: as brain waves show new patterns the muscles begin to relax completely, breathing and heart rate slow down, and eye movement generally stops here lasting for 10-25min and becomes longer during the night.
Stage 3: as the muscles, heart rate, and breathing further relax this stage can also be considered the deep sleep phase. The brain activity here is believed to be Delta-wave activity which is imperative for restorative sleep, immune bolstering, and growth.
2. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) is the last sleep phase experienced which is explained to be a period of rapid brain activity resulting in the muscles relaxing and slowing down your breathing rate. Although REM sleep takes up a total of 25% of your sleep cycle, it is believed to aid cognitive functions such as memory, creativity, and learning.
It is important to remember that these sleep cycles differ for every individual and are influenced by things like age, recent sleep patterns, alcohol consumption, stress, and physiological health. When these sleep cycles affect/disturb the quality of one’s sleep more often than normal resulting in difficulty of normal functioning, this is often known as a Sleep Disorder.
Sleep disorders are unfortunately more common than we think and more so in females than in males. Highlighting only 3 of the 80 different types that exist, Insomnia, Sleep Apnoea and Restless leg Syndrome have probably been the topic of conversation once or many times before. Interestingly studies also suggest that this occurs in up to 50-60% of older adults which increases the risk of health-related issues such as diabetes and/or cardiac problems.
This scary thought therefore, begs the question as to how one can improve their sleep cycle to enhance a healthy lifestyle. Unless a sleep disorder has been diagnosed, the following is suggested to improve your nights’ rest:
Therefore when we miss out on a good night’s sleep in order to keep up with our 24/7 world, we pay a price with our ability to learn, our health and safety, and our quality of life. Make these few changes today and avoid hitting your snooze button again.
Is hitting your snooze button becoming part of your morning routine? Sleep is just as vital as exercise and eating...
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