The Vital Significance of Sleep

and the negative effects of its deprivation on our health

Sleep constitutes a function of vital importance for growth, development of life and maintenance of good health.

Good sleep contributes drastically to the proper function of the human body, our emotional and mental health, as well as, our cognitive ability and memory.

Innumerable researches have been conducted by the scientific community, revealing strong correlations between the quality of sleep and several disorders, from the common flu and obesity to Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular diseases.

But, what exactly means “good sleep”?

The Biology of Sleep

Neurology scientists and researchers neuropsychologists consider that, initially, there are two kinds of sleep: REM sleep and non-REM sleep.

REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement, meaning the extremely fast and abrupt movement of the eyes the moment we dream in deep sleep.

Furthermore, they believe that the non-REM sleep state is divided in three or, for others, four stages.

The first stage is the light sleep, which basically is the procedure of relaxation and gradual immersion. The second stage corresponds to a middle state, while on the third stage occurs the phase of deep sleep. In that point, right after the third stage, sleep comes into the REM state, in the area of dreams.

The succession process of the four levels is being completed within 90 minutes, approximately, and the whole process is being repeated several times in the total duration of sleep. The difference appears only in the transition time from the one level to the next. In the beginning, more time is needed and being spent in the first and second level, while after about four hours of sleep, the first and second stage last less, but increases the duration of the deeper level and REM sleep.

QQRC || Quantity | Quality | Regularity | Chronotype

According to **Dr. Matthew Walker,** PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology, specialized researcher on the study of Sleep at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science, there have been ascertained four basic factors which determine a proper sleep: Quantity, Quality, Regularity and Chronotype.

Quantity

The quantity of Sleep, namely its entire duration in a sleep period, is a tremendously crucial factor for a therapeutic sleep, having been defined the amount of uninterrupted 7 to 9 hours, as the optimal quantity, which, of course, varies depending on the personal and individual needs.

Quality

The quality of sleep is directly depended on the environment, the bed mattress, the noise, the lights, but, simultaneously, it is highly affected by the degree of calm and relaxation that have been achieved on the mind and the body.

Regularity

Furthermore, Dr. Matthew Walker asserts that regularity of sleep, meaning the consistent schedule, is equally, if not more, of crucial importance.

He suggests going to sleep at the same time every night, considering that this consistency, or the lack of it, has great consequences on the function of sleep in accordance to our internal, biological clock.

Chronotype

However, as the Professor stresses with emphasis, Chronotype is the factor that should be defined first and foremost, due to the fact that, in the case it is not taken into consideration, it almost cancels the benefits that stem from the other factors, as mentioned above.

Chronotype is the particular circadian cycle that reveals the optimum timing for sleep on an individual level.

There have been distinguished five kinds of chronotypes:

• Early Morning type
• Morning type
• Intermediate or Neutral type
• Evening type
• Late Evening type

So, for example, if a “Late Evening type” tries to sleep earlier than the time that its biological clock predetermines, they are about to face extreme difficulty and even a complete failure in their endeavor.

Correspondingly, an “Early Morning type” tries hard and most likely unsuccessfully to stay awake after and way past their optimal bedtime.

Yet, there is an even deeper layer that cast a glow on the importance of the QQRC model, than a mere appropriate schedule.

The Growth Hormone

The Growth Hormone is a hormone that is secreted by the body and plays a decisive role to our development, cell rejuvenation and longevity.

Dr. Gina Poe, PhD, Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA, quoting the results of her studies and researches, illuminates the peculiarity of the secretion of this particular hormone in the human organism.

Specifically, the Professor has observed that

Growth Hormone is secreted in the body during the first four hours of sleep, though in relation to the individual chronotype and regularity and according to one’s own internal biological clock.

Therefore, if we delay our bedtime, our body misses the chance to produce this particular hormone and we run the risk of non production of it at all, which brings about serious, if not disastrous, consequences to our physical, mental and emotional health.

But, it doesn’t end there …

Lack of Sleep and Malnutrition

When we have been deprived of adequate sleep, as Dr. Matthew Walker notifies clearly, the signal that the brain receives is similar to that of hunger.

During the evolutionary process of the species, this kind of signal is transmitted to the brain when there is a lack of food and the animal is forced to deprive itself of sleep, in order to cover longer distance to find edibles.

Nevertheless, in the case of human beings, sleep deprivation does not arise by food shortage, at least nowadays, whereupon a false hunger signal is being broadcasted to the brain.

As a result, the hormone “Greline”, which propels us to eat more, increases, while the hormone “Leptine”, which sends the signal of satisfaction and we stop eating, decreases.

In reverse proportion, he adds, when we have attained a proper sleep, not only we are less hungry and within reason, but also we desire and choose higher quality food.

Memory and Cognitive Ability

Memory and Cognitive Ability constitute two other sectors, on which sleep deprivation brings about dramatic consequences.

Dr. Gina Poe, based on the observations of her researches, reveals that during the first stages of sleep, the new knowledge and information, we have acquired along the day, are led gradually in deeper and deeper levels of the brain.

In each stage, they enter and are divided so as to be recorded in memory in the corresponding “file”. Through the function of sleep, the new knowledge is established in memory and is logically connected internally.

Memory’s content is being updated.

Moreover, at the same period of sleep a brain “wash out” is carried out, during which, particular hormones are produced that clean up our brain from the “impurities” derived from the chemical processes of daily activity.

Thus, if we sleep later, these procedures are being bypassed, in a way, and are not being completed in anyway. Consequently, chronic deprivation of “first stages” sleep could lead to Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Sleep is your Super-Power

As Dr. Matthew Walker jokingly declares:

“Sleep is your Super-Power”!

Sleep truly is our “Super-Power”, a natural function of the human organism, absolutely necessary for the preservation of life. The better we sleep the better we live.

By defining our exclusively personal needs and by following with respect our carefully designed individual schedule, we are able to improve the quality of our life in general and delay or even reverse the aging process.

Tips for a “Good Sleep”

• Find your Chronotype
• Adjust your schedule to your personal needs
• Follow your sleep schedule
• Eat lightly
• Drink a cup of tea or chamomile
• Switch off all the lights and move away any devices
• Do breathing exercises for relaxation
• Make positive thoughts* while falling asleep

* think your dreams | not your nightmares

… and have a good, sound and restorative sleep!

References

National Library of Medicine

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526132/

Dr. Matthew Walker, PhD | Professor of Neuroscience & Psychology | Specialized Researcher on the Study of Sleep | University of California, Berkeley | Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science

https://www.humansleepscience.com/

Dr. Gina Poe, PhD | Professor | Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology | University of California, Los Angeles | UCLA

https://bri.ucla.edu/people/gina-poe-ph-d/