The value of sleep and the consequences of its lack

Sleep is a natural process in which a person is in a state of minimal brain activity and has a reduced response to the world around him. It can be said that sleep is a special state of consciousness, which includes several stages, which naturally repeat throughout the night. The appearance of these stages is associated with the activity of various structures of the brain.

Stages of sleep

There is a slow and fast sleep. Slow lasts 90 minutes and has several stages:

1. The first is a nap, which can be accompanied by sleep-like hallucinations and hallucinogenic thoughts. In this period, the activity of muscles is reduced, hypnagogic twitching can occur.

2. The second is a light sleep that lasts 20 minutes and is characterized by a slowing of the heart rate and a decrease in temperature. In this period, the person who sleeps is easy to wake up. The most sensitive is the auditory analyzer.

3. The third is a slow dream.

4. The fourth is the deepest delta-dream. At this stage, it is difficult to awaken a person. Practically 80% of dreams, sleepwalking and cases of enuresis are recorded during this period.

A quick dream was discovered by Kleitman and Aserinsky. They found rapid fluctuations in brain electrical activity in people who are asleep.

It should be noted that there is still a cortical theory of sleep, according to which the inhibition of conditioned reflexes and sleep are identical processes. Thus, IP Pavlov considered internal inhibition as a localized phenomenon, which extends only to individual cells of the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres. Sleep, he considered as an irradiation of such inhibition into the two hemispheres and to other parts of the central nervous system.

What is the value of sleep?

Everyone knows that for full-fledged training or work you need to rest. One of the main types of recreation is sleep. During it, the body restores its energy costs that took place during the waking period. In addition, sleep is responsible for the psychological protection and processing of information, as well as for its exchange between consciousness and the subconscious.

It can be argued that the value of sleep lies in the fact that it is necessary to maintain human health and ensure its efficiency. It should also be noted that it is during sleep that muscle fibers are most actively resting and restoring, especially after a load, and also they undergo restorative processes throughout the body.

It should be said that during wakefulness the nerve cells become tired. To prevent their depletion, you need to sleep a certain number of hours. It is interesting to know that at different times of the day the value of sleep can be very different. In addition, this parameter may depend on whether a person is a "lark" or an "owl", that is, from individual characteristics and the usual regime of the day.

How many hours do I need to sleep?

The normal duration of sleep, which would be sufficient for the optimal recovery of strength and energy, varies with age. It is clear that, for example, a newborn baby sleeps much more. For him, the normal duration of sleep is approximately 11-23 hours. With age, it decreases. At two years of age, children tend to sleep for 10-12 hours, at the age of 2 to 4 years - about 5-6 hours.

There is an assumption that the value of sleep at different times of the day may differ. Modern life is quite rich, so people often forget about the importance of night rest. For a healthy person, it's enough to sleep for 12 hours to fully restore your strength. If you specify the value of sleep by the hour, you can make a certain table.

Table of the value of a night's sleep

Considering the value of sleep (the table above), we can conclude that the body rests sufficiently if you sleep at appropriate hours. Other time of sleep does not bring proper benefit.

Consequences of a defective sleep

It should be noted that in cases of illness or intense stress, the need for sleep increases. If the night rest continues inadequate amount of time, then the following violations occur:

• hormonal failures;

• negative changes in metabolism;

• increased risk of oncopathology;

• increasing the chances of developing cardiovascular diseases;

• decreased immunity;

Low level of general tone of the body;

• insufficient development of attention and efficiency;

• psychomotor agitation;

• Lack of quick reaction and endurance.

In addition, every person can notice a deterioration in memory and mood, if there is not enough at least 3 hours of sleep, but you should remember that its excessive duration also adversely affects the body. After an excessive night rest, a person feels flabby all day and experiences a certain discomfort.

To sleep was full, it is necessary to establish its individual duration, since the optimal rest of the nervous system is the key to good tolerance of various loads during the day, as well as the prevention of the development of neuroses.

What to do to improve sleep

That night sleep brings the maximum benefit, you should adjust the mode of the day. It is advisable to fall asleep and wake up at the same time. When sleep disorders are not recommended immediately to take sleeping pills, it is better to use other methods, which do not develop pathological dependence.

What principles should be followed? Here are some of them:

• Before emotional sleep, emotional stress must be avoided;

• dinner is recommended no later than 3 hours before bedtime;

• a positive result gives the airing of the room;

• attention should be given to the quality of the pillow and mattress;

• It is useful to walk before going to bed, intense physical activity is contraindicated;

• A good effect gives the scalp massage for several minutes;

• It is possible to conduct a general relaxing body massage ;

• water procedures have calming effect;

• If necessary, you can use self-hypnosis, which includes various relaxation methods;

• Do not drink coffee before bedtime, strong tea or any other tonic drink; In addition, it is advisable not to drink a lot of liquid in the evening hours, since after awakening it can be hard to fall asleep again.

Observance of such rules will allow to remain healthy and always vigorous.