Menu
“Sleep may be more essential to us than food; animals will die of sleep deprivation before starvation.”
Minimum of 7 hours of night sleep is recommended for adults. Many of us are not getting enough of it.
Melatonin hormone secreted from the pineal gland helps to regulate our sleep and wake cycles in sync with the sun. Darkness prompts the secretion of Melatonin making us drowsy and ready to sleep. Proliferation of electric lights, followed by televisions, computers, and smartphones at night signals the Melatonin release to slow down and break the circadian rhythm.
1. When this circadian rhythm breaks down, recent research has shown, we are at increased risk for illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and dementia.
2. Anyone who regularly sleeps less than six hours a night has an elevated risk of depression, psychosis, and stroke. Lack of sleep is also directly tied to obesity
3. Anyone who regularly sleeps less than six hours a night has an elevated risk of depression, psychosis, and stroke. Lack of sleep is also directly tied to obesity.
4. Our cognitive functions also get affected by loss of sleep. It also interferes with decision-making and problem-solving. Under-slept people are more irritable, moody, and irrational.
Sleep is needed to:
1. Preserve recently acquired information and link it to established knowledge in long-term memory. The waking brain is optimized for collecting external stimuli, the sleeping brain for consolidating the information that’s been collected.
2. Physiological repair and housekeeping.
Few practices can help develop a healthy sleep pattern:
1. Switching off gadgets that emit light – TVs, Phones, laptops, bright lights inside the room at least an hour before bedtime.
2. Making sure dinner is completed at least 1 and a half hour before bedtime. It gives enough time for the food to be digested. Undigested food can cause discomfort and can diminish sleep quality.
3. Meditation and reading a relaxing book has shown benefits in calming down and falling asleep. Few people find that showering before bedtime helps them relax.
4. EXERCISE. However, exercising too close to bedtime can interfere with sleep. Give yourself 2-3 hours to cool down before getting into bed for a good quality of sleep. This is a proven time tested remedy for my sound sleep.
Read this National Geographic magazine article to know more about the sleep phases and what happens in each of the phase : https://goo.gl/bF8F2g
What has helped you get a sound sleep in the night? Please share your tips in the comments below. Thank you!