Phases of sleep

Sleep happens to be a very essential part of our life, from maintaining health to maintaining emotions, sleep is very essential in our day to day lives. A good night’s sleep ensures a perfect health both physical health and mental health.

It is without a doubt I say that sleep is an essential part of our survival. Sleep aids in the development of bones, muscles and rebuilding body. It is also seen hat when people are sick, they generally sleep more for recovery.

Sleeping involves a lot of brain portions which help in revitalizing the body. The first part, the hypothalamus helps in maintaining the circadian rhythm of the body, it is the body clock which decides when the person needs to sleep and get up.

Along with this works the pineal gland which produces melatonin, it is this hormone which is responsible in inducing sleep that is why when lights go off, a person falls asleep. It is the brain stem that helps a person transiting while sleeping. It is the thalamus, which is active when we are in very deep or the REM sleep, it also relays information during this time.

Also during this time amygdala is very active, which helps in processing information during sleep.

An ideal amount of sleep ranges from 6 to 8 hours, lower than this creates inability to work, lethargy and tiredness, if the hours are more the feeling of sleep inertia intensifies, laziness prevails and the person is unable to function properly.

While I can be assured that everyone loves to sleep, I am sure the stages too need to be known. There are two major divisions of the stages, the first is NREM or non-rapid eye movement as the name suggests the eyeballs in the stage are quite stable and move slowly, the other stage is the rem stage or rapid eye movement stage, it is the stage in which eyeballs move continuously, the NREM stage is divided into four further stages and the last stage is the rem stage.

The first stage of NREM sleep includes light sleep that we get before actually falling asleep, it generally lasts for only a few minutes. In this stage alpha and theta waves are produced, alpha waves indicate or lead to a state of rested wakefulness. The stage is also characterized by slow breathing and heartbeat, and relaxation of muscles.

Theta waves are experienced during light sleep, following this is the second stage of NREM sleep. It is a stage of deep sleep and it is generally difficult to wake up the person when one is in this stage of sleep. Here the theta waves dominate the brain. The state is also helpful in processing sensory information and consolidating memory. Following this is the third and the fourth phase of NREM sleep, the two phases clubbed together are more deeper than the previous two stages, these stages are also known as slow wave sleep, the delta waves emerge from the thalamus during this stage also it is very difficult to wake the person during this stage. Also in case if a person wakes up in this this state, the person becomes goggy and is unable to function properly, the performance is impaired due to sleep inertia which is the need of the body to be sleepy rather than active.

After this the next stage that follows is the 5th stage, or the REM sleep stage. It is a stage of very deep sleep. The muscles and bones are very relaxed during this stage, the movement is restricted. The EEG however at this stage resembles the wakeful stage, the breathing is erratic and the heart rate is high too. It is also the stage where the amygdala is very active, as most of the major emotions are processes in this stage.

These include the 5 stages of sleep cycle, on a general note each of the stage occurs for ninety minutes, each followed one after the other, and the cycle continues in same manner throughout the time one sleeps.

Sleep phases ensure that the body becomes well rested and is able to revive from any form of illness that may have affected it earlier, with good amount of sleep good health is just a few steps away and good sleep is an antidote for happy mental and physical life.

Sleep like other phenomena has also continued from generations and even from our earlier species and hence has its roots in evolution. Sleep provides for a state of adaptive inactivity, that is we are less likely to be hunted down when asleep.

Also sleep was helpful during the period when humans use to hunt as during that time it was a means to conserve energy and during the time resources available for us were scarce too. Other than this sleep is an important measure for heat regulation in the body, it also aids in memory formation. Similarly for protection we always sleep in safe places where the risk from predator is lowest or negligible.

Sleep is very important for each of us, and a few steps can ensure that we sleep well and happily. Sunlight is important for our survival and for maintaining sleep cycles to, if a person gets adequate amount of sunlight, the body remains healthy and the sleep cycle works on itself without any issues. Reducing the use of mobile phones during night time, helps in getting good amount of sleep, along with this meditation and exercise is also helpful in order to maintain the sleep schedule.

Daytime naps and irregular nap timings are also to be avoided. Along with this maintaining a consistent timing of sleeping and waking up is also helpful. Many also prefer to take melatonin hormonal supplement to aid in the sleep cycle before bed.

Good and healthy food, a few hours before bed and relaxation also helps with the sleep cycle. Bathing with warm water before bed, a good diet and staying close with loved ones can also help to boost up sleep life, which is essential for good and healthy life.

Hence no doubt good sleep ensures a good life, and physical or even mental aliment it is sleep that gets affected at first and then there are other symptoms show up, so chum up your sleep life and enjoy good health.