In a fast-paced world where go-getters rush to achieve their targets, the biological clock is often ignored. Sleep — an essential factor for human beings and one falling in the same category as food or water — is often one of the casualties of this mad rush.
Sleep is not a dormant state, but is a heightened state of brain activity where rejuvenation, recuperation and the development of immunity take place. Balancing the sleep/wake state is up to each individual, but ignoring one for the other is similar to entering a blind alley.
Ramachandra Babu and Biju Mathew take a look into this mysterious realm.
How important is sleep?
Sleep is vital for our nervous systems to work properly. Sleep deprivation leaves a normal person drowsy and unable to concentrate. It also leads to impaired memory and physical performance and the reduced ability to carry out mathematical calculations. If sleep deprivation continues, hallucinations and mood swings may develop.
Without sleep, neurons may become so depleted in energy or so polluted with by-products of normal cellular activities that they begin to malfunction. Sleep gives neurons normally used while we are awake the opportunity to shut down and repair themselves. Sleep also may give the brain a chance to exercise important neuronal connections that might otherwise deteriorate from lack of activity. Deep sleep also coincides with the release of growth hormones in children and young adults.
Different Stages
Sleep is not a completely inactive state. During sleep, brain activity changes in characteristic ways and the patterns are: rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep. NREM sleep is broken down into three distinct stages: N1, N2, and N3. These stages are characterised by increasingly larger and slower brain waves. N1 sleep is very light sleep; N2 is slightly deeper sleep; and N3, also called slow-wave sleep, is the deepest NREM sleep stage.
REM sleep, which is often associated with dreaming, is thought to assist in brain development, especially early in life. Not surprisingly, newborns and infants typically spend about twice as much time as adults in REM sleep.
Sleep cycles, composed of REM and NREM sleep, last for about 50 minutes in children and 90 minutes in adults. Infants' and children's cycles contain a relatively large amount of slow-wave (N3) sleep — the non-dreaming, restorative kind that is also known as deep sleep. In early adulthood the amount of slow-wave sleep begins to decline. Elderly people have relatively short periods of slow-wave sleep.
The right dose
The amount of sleep each person needs depends on many factors and these include age. Infants generally require about 16 hours of sleep each day, while teenagers need about nine hours on average. For most adults, seven to eight each night appears to be the best amount of sleep, although some people may need as few as five hours or as many as 10 hours of sleep each day.
Women in the first three months of pregnancy often need several more hours of sleep than usual. The amount of sleep a person needs also increases if he or she has been deprived of sleep for certain periods of time.
Identifying disorders
You may have a sleep disorder if you spend a great deal of time lying awake in bed at night or find yourself frequently nodding off during the day. Similar symptoms can be seen in a variety of sleep disorders such as excessive daytime sleepiness. If you suspect you have a sleep disorder, it is important to seek professional help.
Ignoring lack of sleep or disorders can lead to many mental and physical problems and may negatively impact motivation, relationships, and job performance.
Insomnia
Insomniacs wake up early and will not be able to get back to sleep. Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep are symptoms of insomnia. People with insomnia are likely to become clinically depressed, suffer from poor concentration, and have accidents.
Treatment
Resolving underlying health issues or changing external factors may be the best approach and also behavioural techniques, like improved sleep habits. Hypnotics are the most common and effective drugs for treating sleep problems.
Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS) is a symptom that can be seen in several sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and periodic limb movement disorder.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is an extreme form of snoring in which an individual's airway becomes partially or completely blocked many times during a night of sleep, leading to several instances where they are forced to wake up. One of the biggest risk factors for OSA is obesity. This may be because excessive weight increases the amount of tissue in the throat and thus makes airway obstruction more likely.
Treatment
Weight loss is one of the most strongly recommended preventive therapies for weight-related OSA. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the first line of treatment for moderate to severe cases of OSA.
Narcolepsy is best known as an uncontrollable need to fall asleep at various times throughout the daytime. Narcolepsy is a central nervous system disorder in which the brain cannot properly regulate cycles of sleep and being awake.
Treatment
The diagnosis of narcolepsy requires daytime sleep testing and overnight sleep study. Narcolepsy can be treated with stimulants to reduce daytime sleepiness, antidepressants and other medications.
Periodic Limb Movements of Sleep (PLMS) is a condition that causes involuntary kicking and jerking movements of the legs and arms, often repeated hundreds of times during the night. In extreme cases, the brief periods in which one is awake following such movements disturb sleep so much that they cause excessive daytime sleepiness. This is called periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD).
Treatment
PLMD is treated using medications and in some cases sleeping pills may be used to prevent limb movements waking up a person.
Parasomnias are sleep disorders that range from the mundane to the horrifying. The three most common types of parasomnia are:
Sleepwalking: Sleepwalking actually takes place during deep sleep. Sleepwalkers often perform routine activities such as dressing and cleaning.
Night Terrors: These severe attacks cause people, usually children, to appear to wake up and scream in fear or panic. They tend to have no recollection of the event the following day.
Sleep-Eating Disorders: These episodes, like sleepwalking, occur when one partially awakens from deep sleep and cause individuals to eat without any knowledge of what they are doing, or any memory of what they have done.
Treatment
Sleepwalking and sleep-eating disorders can be treated using relaxation techniques. Night terrors can be treated with sleep medication, antidepressants, or relaxation techniques.
Sleep Bruxism is a stereotyped movement disorder characterised by the grinding or clenching of the teeth during sleep.
Fibromyalgia is a disorder involving chronic pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons. Fibromyalgia is also known as fibromyositsis, rheumatic pain modulation disorder or the fibrositis syndrome, which in turn disturbs sleep.
Treatment
Exercise and relaxation techniques are suggested.
Sleep laboratory
A sleep laboratory is designed to study sleep disorders. Since such studies require getting people to go to sleep, a sleep clinic is designed to be a comfortable place to sleep. Depending on what is being studied, a patient may wear various monitors as he or she sleeps. These analyse things like brain activity, heart activity and changes in blood pressure. Technicians can collect data on the patient's sleep patterns to look into problems as varied as sleep apnea and snoring.
What's in a nap?
In many parts of the world, napping continues to be a normal part of daily life for both the young and old. This siesta, as Spanish-speaking countries call it, tends to be more common in the tropics than in more temperate latitudes. Naps in these cultures typically take place in mid-afternoon and coincide with the hottest time of day, as well as a lull in the brain's alert signal that works to counteract the drive to sleep.
As a consequence of these regular daytime naps, night-time sleep is often shifted to a later hour than it is for societies or individuals that don't nap during the day.
The synchronisation of the sleep-wake schedule and the internal clock is essential to an individual's ability to keep awake and sleep when so desired.
Biological clock
Sleep and awake are regulated by the synchronised interaction of two internal systems: the sleep/wake homeostat, which monitors our need for sleep based on how long we have been awake; and the circadian system, which regulates the cycling of numerous functions, including when we sleep and wake up, every 24 hours.
Human beings' state of alertness is due to the circadian alert system, a function of our internal biological clock. The clock, which is responsible for regulating a vast number of daily cycles, is found in a relatively small collection of neurons deep within the brain.
Under normal conditions, the clock is highly synchronised to our sleep/wake cycle. The clock's alert signal increases with every hour one is awake, opposing the sleep drive that is building at the same time. Only when the internal clock's alert signal drops off does sleep load overcome this opposing force and allow for the onset of sleep.
A peep into animal world
The sleep patterns of animals — whether furry, feathery or scaly — are similar to that of human beings. But do animals dream? Scientists believe they do. Dogs, it is believed, dream about hunting. However, when it comes to sleeping, they all have strange habits.
Dolphins
Dolphins keep one eye open and one half of the brain awake at all times to maintain some amount of consciousness to breathe and to keep a watch out for possible threats. Dolphins sleep about eight hours a day in this fashion.
Dolphins are particularly unusual in their lack of need for sleep; a calf and its mother will have zero sleep for the first few months of the baby's life.
Bats
Bats sleep upside down so that they can launch into a flight easily; their wings are not strong enough to launch them into the air from the ground. The brown bat, which can live up to 33 years, usually sleeps for at least 19 hours a day.
Elephants
Elephants don't sleep well. They sleep for about 30 minutes at a stretch and then get up for something to eat and then lie back down. They repeat this until they get about four hours of sleep in a 24-hour cycle.
Since elephants are quite heavy they put all their weight on their bones when they lie down, making it very uncomfortable for them to lie down for long.
Alarm clock
It is widely believed that Levi Hutchins of New Hampshire, the United States, invented the modern alarm clock in 1787. According to legend, the 26-year-old clock-maker believed in getting to work on time. It was his firm rule to wake up at 4am everyday, whatever the season or day.
In an attempt to get up well before sunrise, he built a pine cabinet and transferred the inner mechanism of one of his large brass clocks into it and inserted a pinion or gear. When the minute hand of the clock reached the desired time, it tripped the pinion and sett the bell in motion. This made enough noise to wake up Hutchins.
He never bothered to patent or mass-produce his alarm clock; all that he was interested in was not oversleeping.
Tips for a good night's sleep
Don't lie in bed awake:
If you can't get to sleep, don't just lie in bed. Do something else. The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep can actually contribute to insomnia.
Exercise:
Exercise at least 20 to 30 minutes a day. Try to exercise well before bedtime as a workout just before bedtime may interfere with sleep patterns.
Sleep until sunlight:
If possible, wake up with the sun, or use very bright lights in the morning. Sunlight helps the body's internal biological clock reset itself each day. Sleep experts recommend exposure to an hour of morning sunlight for people having problems falling asleep.
Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol:
Avoid drinks that contain caffeine, which acts as a stimulant and keeps people awake. Smokers tend to sleep very lightly and often wake up in the early morning due to nicotine withdrawal. Alcohol robs people of deep sleep and REM sleep and keeps them in the lighter
Relax before bed:
A warm bath, reading, or another relaxing routine can make it easier to fall sleep. Train yourself to associate certain restful activities with sleep and make them part of your bedtime ritual.
Room temperature:
Maintain a comfortable temperature in the bedroom. Extreme temperatures may disrupt sleep or prevent you from falling asleep.
Set a schedule:
Go to bed at a set time each night and get up at the same time each morning.
(Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke, the United States, Harvard University studies, other scientific journals, UAE-based doctors and psychiatrists)
How many hours do you sleep everyday? Have you faced any sleep disorders? Have you tried finding a solution to the problem? What happened?
Your comments
I m always punctual in my sleep and get deep sleep in nights. But for my husband, he gets up at 6'o clock even in the fridays also. He cant get back to sleep once he wakes up.
Nazia
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 18, 2009, 16:24
I have been suffering from sleep disorder for many years now. There was an incident where I could not sleep for three consecutive days and I feel very groggy, leading me not to come for my work.
I am a very sensetive person where I cannot sleep due to annoying voice of my flatmates. I lost my concentration in sleeping due to this reason and thereby I cannot sleep for the whole night.
Is there any great solution/treatment for getting fast in falling asleep? Is there any medicine that could help me fall asleep and how safe it is?
Richie Mercado
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 18, 2009, 16:01
I have always been a late sleeper to bed. But these days i really sleep so late that, so late in the sense around 2am-4am. And i just sleep for a maximum of 4-5 hours a day!
It really makes my day stressful, i could feel the tiredness and cant concentrate in my work and get irritated very fast. I feel heavy-headed all the time. But the problem i face is, I lie down on bed even for 2 hours and i dont get sleep! And now i think i have Insomnia...Good Lord!
Anyone to help?
Shabs
Newcastle Upon tyne,England
Posted: September 18, 2009, 14:20
I feel that it is only due to long hours at work and a lot of deadlines and targets to meet that some of us get very less sleep at night. I get only 4 hours of sleep as i get home late after my office and the next day i need to get up early so its very difficult for me to coupe up with my work. Due to this i have started feeling tired and drowsy at work. I feel that one needs to get atleast 8 hours of sleep in order to be fresh and smart the next day .
Mathew litty
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 18, 2009, 13:52
i normally sleep for 7 -7.5 hours every night.
I don't think any disorder in me.
My age is 29 years. is this schedule ok for me? becauae sometimes i feel tired also.
Chander Shekher Vashist
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 18, 2009, 12:51
I have this problem of sleeping and I don?t know in which category it comes in. What I feel and think is that I am mentally disturbed for the past 8 months. I couldn?t and can?t get better sleep the past few months.
I sleep for only 1 to 2 hours a day.
I work out on a regular basis, as exercise is part of my life. I even had six packs but I lost it because of mental stress or tension.
Physically I feel old. I am losing my hair and my beard is becoming white. This doesn?t mean anything to me but it matter I think.
I couldn?t find a solution for it.
I don?t have any kind of medication. I don?t even smoke.
I think I just need a lot of prayers to get out of this stress.
Thank you.
Adil
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 18, 2009, 05:23
Sleep is a very relative neccessity. Some sleep at a stretch and others in two stints. Normally a wink after the afternoon meal is a pepup. Rejuvinates and helps the circulation to pay attention to the digestion and induces sleep hence. Be it so. Try a leafy salad generous portion for lunch minus dressing and non meat. voila!!you are absolutely alert in the head and the next day do just the opposite. stuff your self up like a goose being fed for its liver plate and mark my word you will feel groggy and insist on sleeping!
Arun Ajinkya
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 18, 2009, 02:02
Try Yoga or some breathing technic
Tejas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 18, 2009, 01:30
