Sleep is the best rest for our body. But many people are having problems with sleep, whether it is not enough sleep, poor quality sleep, or others. So today we will understand more deeply how important sleep is? And how should we adjust our sleep?
Many people say that their main dream job is to just lie at home and have money flowing into their account. But what they want and reality are so different. If they want to have enough money to meet their needs in life, many people almost sell their whole soul to work. They have to lose sleep in exchange for money. Therefore, sleeping becomes a desire that they only do when their body can’t take it anymore, even though sleeping has an effect on our health as much as the food we eat in every meal.
Think of the high school or college kids who say they have to study for exams and are sleep deprived. Doesn’t that seem like hard work? Or the employees who work day and night, don’t they seem so admirable for their dedication to the company, but at the same time they are neglecting their own health?
Why we sleep is a book that will tell everyone to go to sleep, how to sleep, and get quality sleep. Matthew Walker, professor of neuroscience and psychology and founder of the sleep laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote this book to make all readers aware of how important sleep is? And why diving into the world of dreams is so important for our brains.
“Sleep is one of the most important factors in determining your physical health.”
When you read this article, you may be frowning and saying that you already know how important it is to your health. But when was the last time you had a good night’s sleep and woke up refreshed? Getting 8 hours of sleep seems impossible, as many adults don’t fall asleep until 3 or 4 a.m., even though they have to get up at 7 a.m. for work. Insomnia is a widespread problem in people all over the world, causing them to feel tired, weak, and susceptible to illness.
“Modern society tends to push sleep aside for more important things.”
If you are in your middle age, there are probably many things around you that are important to you that you can choose instead of sleep. But in a few years, when your body starts to decline, you will realize that the nectar you need the most is sleep. You may not understand how important sleep is now until your body tells you everything on the day it is too late, and you will only regret the missed opportunity to sleep today.
“Many accidents are the result of tired drivers at the wheel. Even cases of Alzheimer’s disease are caused by individual sleep problems.”
Although the world operates on a 24-hour clock without breaks, our brains all have clocks that set a time for sleep, which creates a proper circadian rhythm for us. These clusters of neurons are located in the eyes and transmit the light from the sun at sunrise and the dimming at sunset. Research has shown that when there is no sunlight to stimulate the brain, humans operate on a circadian rhythm that is slightly off 24 hours, and each person has a different rhythm. We can divide them into 3 groups as follows:
- Morning Larks: People who wake up early in the morning to go to bed early and wake up early the next day. They make up 40% of the population.
- Night Owls: People who have trouble sleeping at night and wake up late the next morning.
- The In-Between: Those who can swing their own sleep, depending on the situation.
There are different levels of sleep, with the brain performing important functions such as recording your memories and dreams. Sleep can be divided into two levels:
- NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep) is a sleep condition that has long, slow, and steady brain waves and is characterized by an unconscious state with non-rapid eye movement.
- REM (Rapid Eye Movement Sleep) is a state of consciousness but not yet awake, characterized by sharp and irregular brain waves and rapid eye movement.
“If you don’t get enough sleep, it becomes difficult to manage your thoughts and emotions during the day.”
To put you to sleep, your brain starts by sending slow, deep NREM waves through your body that put you in a hypnotic state where you can’t do anything but sleep. After that, it sends much faster, sharper REM waves that put you in a waking state called dreaming. Dreams encompass a wide range of experiences that may not be possible in real life, and not everyone dreams, but they can be interesting experiences if they happen to you.
“As we grow older, our sleep patterns change.”
Our sleep patterns change as we age, from the womb through adulthood and old age. When a person is a fetus, they spend 24 hours in deep REM sleep, doing a very important job called neural regeneration, which means building and developing the neural networks that are essential for a baby once they are born. However, as a young child grows, sleep patterns change and become a constant battle between deep REM and wakefulness. This means that a child will wake up multiple times during the night, as their brain connections are not yet solidified.
“Many external factors prevent you from getting enough sleep. You need to learn how to control them.”
As you enter puberty, REM decreases and NREM increases. In other words, you will sleep for much longer until the end of your teenage years when REM increases again. As you enter adulthood, it becomes much harder to sleep. One of the reasons for this is your weakened bladder, which causes you to wake up more frequently at night to urinate. As you grow older, many things about you will start to change, but it is up to you to choose the direction in which you will change for the better or for the worse over time.
“Sleep is the time when the body rests and heals itself.”
Sleep is very good for your brain. In fact, your brain is the main beneficiary of sleep. First of all, it helps your brain clear itself of unnecessary information during the day. We clear a lot of excess information from our brain without realizing it. Another benefit is that sleep helps strengthen and connect neural pathways, which is very good for learning. It helps develop mastery of skills and also enhances creativity.
“Dreams are the result of your brain playing with your thoughts, imagination, and memories to create new and amazing stories.”
Dreams are the wonderful manifestation of our thoughts and sensory information. They are the result of deep sleep of a clear-minded person. Sigmund Freud theorized that dreams are attempts to fulfill wishes. Dreams are a mixture of rational and irrational thought processes combined with the experiences of the last days, weeks, or decades of our lives.
“All-around decline in quality of life is a result of sleep deprivation.”
The REM sleep group was more creative than the NREM sleep group. They were more eager to solve problems, and they worked with little stress. The NREM group, on the other hand, had a flat, lacking dimension in their work and lacked the motivation to create new ideas.
“High blood pressure, anxiety, heart failure and extreme stress are all consequences of losing good sleep.”
If the above diseases may seem scary, sleep can do more than that when you have insufficient and poor quality sleep. You may be at risk of having narcolepsy (narcolepsy is another disease that makes patients feel sleepy all the time, both day and night, and cannot force themselves to wake up, even if they have had enough sleep). It is a rare disease, about 0.05 percent of the total population, a condition of complete social isolation and no longer interested in anything except sleeping, which can be so serious that it can cause you to become paralyzed. Or Fatal Familial Insomnia, a genetic sleep disorder. It makes our nerves always awake and patients with this disease will not be able to sleep no matter how much they want to sleep.
Conclusion
Sleep is as important to all living things as oxygen. Its benefits are too vast and profound to just be dismissed as more important. As we go about our days, we find more and more reasons why sleep is not important or accessible. You need to cultivate proper sleep habits. It can literally save your life.
Technology, LED light bulbs, drug-induced sleep, caffeine, alcohol, alarm clocks and work schedules – there are so many external factors that can contribute to your sleeplessness and disrupt your sleep. You need to start thinking about the impact of your life on external factors. Try to stay away from electronics while you sleep, even if you see notifications. Stick to a strict bedtime routine. Eat a healthy diet. If you feel unwell, see a doctor right away. If you continue to live without getting enough sleep, your brain will slowly deteriorate and so will your body.
“If you don’t get enough sleep, you can’t be a good parent, spouse, or employee.”
