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Discover Why Sleep Leads To A Healthier Body And Happiness

By: Janela Frudin

Don't ever cheat on your sleep. Sleep experts say adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night for peak performance, general health and staying safe. If we don't get ample sleep, a sleep debt gets accumulated that can be difficult to "pay back".

The result of sleep deprivation has been linked to a number of health problems such as obesity and high blood pressure, negative mood and behavior, decreased productivity, and safety issues in the home, on the job, and on the road.

According to sleep experts, teens need at least 8.5 - 9.25 hours of sleep each night,compared to an average of seven to nine hours each night for most adults. Their internal biological clocks also keep them awake later in the evening and keep them sleeping later in the morning.

The leads to a problem faced by the school going children, who have to wake up at a time when their body wants to be asleep naturally, as most of the schools worldwide begin classes early in the morning. So, children reach school feeling too sleepy to learn, though it is not their fault at all they may be seen as lazy or lacking attention.

Studies reveal the relationship between the quantity and quality of one's sleep and a number of health problems. For example, insufficient sleep can affect growth hormone secretion that is linked with obesity. If the amount of hormone secretion decreases, weight gain increases as a result.

Blood pressure usually falls during the sleep cycle; however, interrupted sleep can adversely affect this normal decline, leading to hypertension and cardiovascular problems in the future.Research has also shown that insufficient sleep impairs the body's ability to use insulin, which can lead to the onset of diabetes. More and more scientific studies are showing correlations between poor and insufficient sleep and a number of different diseases.

Generally as you get older the fewer hours of sleep you need. Sleep experts recommend a range of seven to nine hours of sleep for the average adult. While normal sleep patterns change as we age, the amount of sleep we need generally does not. Older people may wake more frequently through the night and may actually get less night time sleep, but their sleep need is in fact no less than younger adults.

Studies show that older people tend to sleep more during the day. Naps on a regular basis can be useful for boosting older peoples alertness as the day goes on.

Contrary to popular belief, your brain never actually sleeps. The body rests during sleep, however, the brain remains active, gets "recharged," and still controls many body functions including breathing which is good thing of course. When we sleep, we typically drift between two sleep states, REM (rapid eye movement) and non-REM, in 90-minute cycles.

There are four stages of non-REM stage of sleep, these include stage one drowsiness, when one can be easily awakened, to stages three and four of very deep sleep when wake some one up is much more difficult and the most positive and restorative effects of sleep occur during that deeper sleep time. Howeever even in the deepest of non-REM sleep, the mind still processes information. The active sleep is REM where dreams may occur; during REM sleep breathing and heart rate increase and may also become rather irregular, your muscles relax and your eyes move back and forth under the eyelids.

When it comes to sleep another essential factor is to be able to relax before going to bed I find that either listening to relaxing music or hypnosis helps if you don't find it easy to wind down after a busy day. Give it a try it helps.

Article Source: Main Articles

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