All about Sleep

Human beings spend one third of their life span sleeping. Infants and toddlers sleep much more. For many, sleep is the best part of the routine, relieving tiredness and bestowing psychologically soothing effects. Inspite of decades of tremendous research, there is no sigle precise answer to why we sleep. Although sleep is considered to be a universal biological need in the animal kingdom and a mechanism to conserve energy and restore the body and mind. But if we look in our old texts we find refrences that in older days some people used to wake for months together e.g. in Mahabharatha, Arjuna had done some siddhi after which he had attained victory over sleep and it was he who used to guard the others while they were asleep in the night. In ants also we find such behaviour. They never sleep after their birth and continue to work till the end of their life. But in general sleep is an essential component of our life.

During night's sleep, two types of sleep alternate in cyclical fashion. These two types of sleep have been referred to as REM (Rapid Eye Movements) and NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movements) sleep. REM is interspersed with the NREM sleep, recurring every 90 minutes. NREM is a dreamless sleep whereas in REM we can recall the dreams after waking up.

Dreams are mind's natural stress-busters. Psycoanalytically, dreams allow unconscious unflled wishes and fantisies to be acted out in a safe context, which leads to release of anxiety and provides psychological balance. Dreams have also been widely interpreted to understand the unconscious mechanisms of the mind, thus revealing more about one's mental health.

While the average adult requires one third of the day, i.e. eight hours, children usually need 9 -10 hours of a night's sleep to feel fresh. However modern life style is forcing people to have just 5-6 hours sleep only. It is worth to note in this respect that it is not the level of fatigue that determines the hours of sleeping, instead it determines the length of REM sleep. Hence, the more fatigued you are, the less of REM sleep and more of deep sleep you tend to get.

Research shows that metabolic activity of the brain decreases significantly after 24 hours of sustained wakefullness. Sleep deprivation if prolonged due to any reason leads to an eventual decrease in immune system functioning, release of various hormones and influences mood; person tends to become more depressed and agitated.

Biological clock: An inernal biological clock regulates the timing of sleep in humans. The activity of this clock makes sleep at night and awake during the day. Our clock cycles with an approx. 24 hour period and is called as circadian clock. The most important function of a biological clock is to regulate overt biological rhythms like the sleep/wake cycle. The cue that synchronises internal biological clock to the environmental cycle is light.

Consequences of disturbed circardian rhythm/ night sleep:

• The primary effect is excessive day time sleepiness.
• Mood changes like irritability, depression and lack of motivation.
• Performance is also hampered due to lack of energy, coordination and concentration.
• Sleep deprivation has also been associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, obesity and diabetes.

The Solution:

The remedy lies in use of sleep hygiene techniques and consulting professional if the problem becomes severe. Sleep hygiene begins with arranging basic necessities for a good night's sleep:

• A comfortable bed reserved only for sleeping at night.
• Absence of lights and loud noice.
• Fixed time to sleep and wake up everyday.
• Day time sleeping is discouraged to ensure accumulation of fatigue at the end of the day.
• Intake of caffeine, alcohol or watching TV and computers should be avooided at least two hours before bedtime.
• Dinner should be light and balanced in carbohydrates and proteins.
• A glass of warm milk with 'Health Care Choorna' (More details regarding the choorna is availble at www.holisticayurveda.110mb.com ) also helps in inducing sleep, since warm milk contains tryptophan which stimulates secretion of sleep inducing hormone, melatonin while the Health care choorna contains a mixture of herbs like Amla, Ashwagandha etc. which helps in calming the mind and relieving fatigue.

Thus it can be inferred that sleep is essential for a person's overall wellbeing. It is therefore advisable to work one's routine in a manner that one gets the desired amount of sleep. This helps fight stress with the body's natural restoring mechanisms, thus maintaining an integrated physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.