All About Sleep

Sleep is not a wasteland of inactivity. While we sleep, our bodies are busy working in five important areas: Growth – especially critical for baby and children. Restoration – repairs tissues, recovers. Immunity boosting – fights infection, increases energy level. Memorizing – sorts information, aids memory storage. Learning – stores, reorganizes and prioritizes information.

A typical night you are lying awake in bed with eyes open, awake but relaxed. Your beta brain waves indicate wakefulness. Growing sleepier, you shut your eyes. Your brain activity slows down to alpha waves. You’re more relaxed, yet still wakeful. Your nightly cycle After one’s first REM period, one will fall again into Stages Two, Three and Four, then move back again through Stages Three and Two and into more REM sleep. This cycle repeats itself every 90 to 110 minutes until you wake up. Depending on the length of time you sleep, you will travel through four or five of these cycles before morning. Remember, dreaming is not the only function of REM sleep. REM sleep is absolutely essential for preparing the mind for peak daytime performance. Whenever you have a short night of sleep you are eliminating the long REM periods that come towards morning. This can impair your daytime learning, thinking, memory and performance. REM sleep prepares your mind and body for success.

For sleep to be rejuvenating, you must get your required amount of sleep in one continuous block. Six hours of uninterrupted sleep is more restorative than eight hours of poor, fragmented sleep. The two most common causes of sleep interruption are: Movement on the bed: The average person tosses and turns 40-60 times a night. When you sleep with a partner, the number of movements increases, and so does the potential to wake up and disturb your sleep cycle. Physical stress: When we sleep, our weight exerts pressure on our body. If your mattress cannot provide optimal support to different parts of your body, you will respond by tossing and turning unnaturally to relieve the pain and stress.

There are three things a bedroom should be in order to promote good sleep - quiet, dark and cool. (Source: Power Sleep by Dr. James B. Maas) Quiet: Fans or other white noise generators near the bed can help mute sleep distractions. A cheaper alternative is to set the tuner of your FM radio between any two stations. The pseudo white noise you will hear will do wonders to mask unwanted sounds Light Level: Use room darkening shades or dark fabrics to reduce the amount light leaking into the room. Eyeshades may also do the trick. Temperature: 65° F (18.3° C) is the ideal temperature for sleeping. A warm room or too many blankets can interrupt your sleep.

Simple modifications to your daily routine are an effective way to help your body’s sleep cycle regulate itself. (Source: Power Sleep by Dr. James B. Maas) Reduce stress. Exercise, but not within two hours of bedtime. Keep mentally stimulated during the day. Eat a proper diet. Stop smoking. Reduce caffeine intake. Avoid alcohol near bedtime. Take a warm bath before bed. Maintain a relaxing atmosphere in the bedroom. Establish a bedtime ritual.