Everyone knows how great they feel with a good night's rest. We wake up feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, alert and ready to start the day.
Those of us that suffer from sleep problems probably can't relate to this feeling. It becomes a struggle to pull ourselves out of bed, we may feel overwhelm thinking about our daily demands and become forgetful throughout the day.
Sleep affects how we look, how we feel, how we perform throughout the day and our quality of life.
Why is sleep so detrimental to our quality of life? What exactly happens during sleep that has far reaching impacts to when we are awake? Here is an overview of the ABCs of Sleep.
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The States of Sleep
1. Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) Sleep
We typically spend 75% of the night in NREM sleep.
NREM sleep contains 3 main stages:
Stage 1(N1)
- This stage is the time between being awake and falling asleep
- This is light sleep
Stage 2 (N2)
- This stage is the onset of sleep
- You become disengaged from your surroundings
- Breathing and Heart Rate are regular
- Your body temperature drops
Stage 3 (N3)
- This stage is deep restorative sleep
- Your Blood Pressure drops
- Breathing Slows Down
- Your Muscles Relax
- Blood Supply to Your Muscles Increases
- Tissue Growth and Tissue Repair Occurs
- Energy is Restored
- Hormones needed for growth and development are released
2. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep
We typically spend 25% of the night in REM sleep.
REM sleep first occurs approximately 90 minutes after we fall asleep and then recurs every 90 minutes - getting longer later in the night.
In REM sleep:
- Energy is provided to the brain and body
- Supports daytime performance
- Brain is active and you dream
- Your body is still and relaxed as your muscles are turned off
Cortisol
Cortisol, also known as the 'stress hormone' plays a key role in our lives as it regulates our fight or flight response to the stresses we have throughout the day. It simply provides bursts of energy we need to deal with our stress.
Levels of Cortisol should be low at bed time as we are in a relaxed state. Cortisol levels increase over the night to help energize us to wake up and start our day.
What Happens When We Can't Sleep or Keep Waking Up?
As you can see from the various stages of sleep, the body needs sleep in order to regulate body functions (such as blood pressure and breathing, to grow and develop and to restore energy needed when you wake up. Sleep also helps wounds heal faster and restores sore or damaged muscles. When you sleep, your body produces more white blood cells which attack viruses and bacteria that come in the way of the healing process.
If you keep waking up throughout the night or you can't fall asleep, these essential functions are interrupted or cannot be completed. The body does not have time to complete all phases needed for muscle repair, memory consolidation and release of hormones.
The result of not getting the quality and quantity of sleep you need may be:
- Blood Pressure regulation issues
- Aches and Pains (your body has not restored or repaired muscle tissue)
- Lack of Energy and Fatigue (N3: Stage 3 is when energy is restored)
- Problems with concentration and memory
- Unable to make decisions or fully engage at work or socially
- Weight gain/Obesity (lack of impacts the production of hormones that make us feel hungry or full). Obesity is also associated with other health problems such as heart disease and diabetes).
Conclusion
When we go to sleep at night, our bodies are busy taking care of replenishing and repairing what is needed. Good quality and quantity of sleep is essential for these processes to complete successfully. The risk of chronic sleep issues (quality and/or quantity) has a major impact on our quality of life - in how we look, feel and perform.
