The Importance of Sleep
Good afternoon! Today I would like to share with you all how sleep has a strong impact on the body. In today’s society, a lot of stress and pressure exist on a daily basis. In spite of this, quality sleep is essential to maintain good health and to perform at your best at work. Because, lacking sleep causes “lack of concentration, decision-making, and communication skills,” and without it, we cannot sustain our work and our lives. So, let me get right to it.
1. the basics of sleep
First, it is important to understand what sleep is. This is because doing so will enable us to take action to get quality sleep. Sleep occurs so that the body and brain can rest and recover. Generally speaking, adults should sleep 7 to 9 hours each night, with some variation in the recommended amount of time depending on how refreshed each individual feels upon waking up. Today, however, we are going to talk about the basic theory. There are also several different phases of sleep. They are broadly classified as non-REM (NREM) sleep and REM (REM) sleep.
Non-REM sleep (NREM sleep)
Non-REM sleep is further divided into four stages
Stage 1: In this stage, sleep is shallow and waking is easy. 2.
Stage 2: The body temperature drops and the heart rate stabilizes. This stage accounts for approximately 50% of sleep. 3.
Stages 3 and 4: These are the stages of deep sleep, during which the body repairs, grows, and strengthens its immune system.
(This is where we all want to get to ↑↑↑)
REM sleep (REM sleep)
REM sleep is often associated with dreaming, and brain activity is more active during this stage. REM sleep plays an important role in memory consolidation and emotional processing.
2. the effects of sleep deprivation
Lack of sleep can cause many problems, both physical and mental.
Physical Effects
– Decreased immunity: Lack of sleep weakens the immune system, making it easier to catch colds.
– Obesity: Hormonal imbalance increases the secretion of the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, and decreases the secretion of leptin, which suppresses appetite.
– Cardiovascular disease: Sleep deprivation increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
– Diabetes: The risk of diabetes increases because insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar levels, works less effectively due to lack of sleep. This is a very serious matter, isn’t it? We control our blood sugar levels by eating every day, and not being able to do so…too scary.
Mental effects
– Cognitive decline: Attention, judgment, and problem-solving skills are impaired.
– Emotional instability: Increased irritability, increased risk of depression and anxiety disorders.
– Memory loss: formation of short-term and long-term memory is disturbed.
These situations, such as the above, are caused by damage to the front part of the head (frontal lobe), which is responsible for the above roles. Looking back at what we have seen so far, even a single lack of sleep is not a good thing. This should be improved from today, or even from now!
Well, that’s all for today! See you in the next blog!