When we are busy or stressed, we may think sleep as that time when nothing gets
accomplished, however our bodies and brain see it in a different way. Sleep isn’t a luxury –
it is needed for our survival just like we need food and water. In the earlier days it was
believed that sleep is passive process for the body to maintain a replenish and restore, it has
now been established that the brain continues its activity during sleep to maintain physical,
emotional and mental health.
As we sleep, there is a release of growth hormones, our skin and hair regenerate and
muscles repair damage. The body produces anti-bodies to strengthen our immunity, the
brain reboots new information by making new connections, releasing toxic waste and nerve
cells rearrange to support healthy brain function. Sleep allows us to conserve our energy as
we are functioning at a lower metabolism. Sleep converts short-term memories into long
term ones, decluttering the nervous system of information that is not needed anymore.
Sleep also sharpens our attention, focus, learning and creativity.
An average sleep cycle is of 90 minutes and we need 4-6 cycles every day to feel refreshed.
There are four distinct stages of sleep in each sleep cycle. Light sleep – what we commonly
experience as ‘catching a wink’ during a lecture while our brain is still active and hearing our
name called out may jolt us awake. Intermediate light sleep is when your brain prepares you
to enter into deep sleep, your muscles begin to relax, your body temperature lowers, eye
movement stops and brain waves slow down.
Deep slow wave sleep is restorative, your muscles and eyes are fully at rest and the body
begins the repair processes like re-growing tissue, strengthening immunity and building
bones. It is difficult to wake up at this stage and if you are woken up you may feel
disoriented for a short while. You need this sleep to feel fresh the next day. The last stage is
REM (rapid eye movement), brain waves and heart rate and breathing increase as your eyes
move rapidly from side to side. Dreaming often happens during this stage which is also
important for learning and memory.
Considering the integral role that sleep plays, cutting down sleep even by a few hours each
night can overtime have drastic consequences on our health. It may be time to change our
attitude and give sleep a little more attention that we usually do. The next time you feel like
spending all night cramming for an exam or presentation, missing sleep in the process,
remember your brain may not retain the information in the same way as it would have if
you would have gotten a good night’s sleep.
