Doesn’t everyone like the Irish? Contained in this light-hearted statement is a simple truth that a good night’s sleep is essential in keeping your body healthy, your mind rested and your heart peaceful. Something perhaps that many of us forget in our busy and burdensome lives. Within ourselves, it is important to know the limitations of our body, the dangers of overexertion and the curative value of finding the time to sleep well.
If every night were restless...
Every year, tens of thousands of traffic accidents are attributed to sleepy drivers, but now the UK averages about 90 minutes less than it did in the 1920’s, when it was nine hours a night. Sleep researcher Dr William Dement would go as far as to consider ‘sleep deprivation a national emergency’. He estimates that 95 per cent of Americans suffer from lack of sleep at some stage in their lives leading to stress and unhappiness, as well as physical frailties and mental exhaustion.
Sleeping poorly isn’t just bad for us but impacts the people around us; sleepy people find themselves getting irritated at their lack of concentration and inability to function. To understand how we can avoid this endless tossing and turning, it’s important to consider why we need to sleep in the first place.
What is sleep?
Sleep is made up of stages; a gradual progression from being awake to deeper sleep evolves slowly over the passage of night. For the first thirty minutes or so, we are drifting off from wakefulness and these Stages are known as the ‘pre-sleep’ (Stage One) and ‘light sleep’ (Stage Two). Beyond this, Stages Three and Four are known as Deep Sleep; the brain is quiet, the body may move, and it is during this time that the process of repairing oneself from the day’s wear and tear begins.
We don't dream during this time - the ‘dreamy’ stage of sleep comes after about 90 minutes of Deep Sleep. Known as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep; the eyes move quickly from side to side, our muscles become very relaxed and our brain is active. Cycling between Deep Sleep and REM sleep during the night, our body refreshes and renews itself to begin a new day. The problems occur when this pattern breaks.
Do you sleep enough?
