Understanding the basics of sleep will be more helpful than you think. I have no way of knowing how much you already know, but if you are not familiar with the basics, this will definitely be the first step towards conquering insomnia/getting more energy in your life.
Understanding the underlying processes and mechanisms that control your sleep will give you a sense of empowerment; you can look down on your problem, rather than your problem looking down on you. The first step is to put you back in the driver’s seat so you can take control of the direction of your life.
What is Sleep?
It is not until recent years that scientists have actually possessed the technology to measure and study exactly what happens in the human mind and body during sleep.
Up until the 1950s, most people thought of sleep as a passive, dormant, and inactive state where the body and mind are turned off and had nothing to do with our daily lives.
However, we now know that our brains are in a very active dynamic state during sleep, and this greatly influences our waking hours. New technology gives sleep researchers the ability to measure the brain’s electrical activity. These activity levels are called Electroencephalographs (EEG) recordings or brain waves.
Each stage represents a different physical and mental state of the body during sleep. During some stages, the body is in a lighter sleep (faster brain waves) and can be awakened more easily, while others indicate a very deep sleep (very slow brain waves).
Why Do We Sleep?
No one knows for sure why we sleep, but there are two basic theories:
1. Sleep has a restorative function.
2. Sleep has an adaptive function.
3
Sleep as a Restorative Process
This theory of sleep suggests that sleep helps the body recover from all the work it did while awake. Experiments have shown that the more physical exercise we do, the more SWS (slow wave sleep) we have. If you are deprived of SWS you’ll likely experience being physically tired along with being anxious and irritable.
Sleep as an Adaptive Process
Sleep may have developed from our distant ancestor’s survival instincts to protect themselves during the night. Because they didn’t function well at night due to their inability to see, search for food, and defend against predators, they slept.
Sleep gives your body a rest and allows it to prepare for the next day. It’s like giving your body a mini-vacation. Sleep also gives your brain a chance to sort through things. Scientists think that sleep may be the time when the brain sorts and stores information, replaces chemicals, and solves problems.
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