SLEEP COMPASSWhat is sleep?
After a century of scientific study on sleep, the function of sleep still remains a biological
enigma. However, the process of sleep has been widely studied and involves a natural rhythm that
begins in the evening, when the pineal gland in the brain releases melatonin a hormone signaling
time for sleep.
At that point the real sleep starts, with phase 1 : a very light sleep from which the person can easily be awakened.
This sequence of phases continues for 5 to 6 times per night, however, the last cycles
don't reach the deep sleep anymore.
Although the purpose of sleep hasn't been fully discovered, scientists agree that sleep is crucial and sufficient sleep is necessary for a good health and a sense of well-being. What are the immediate physical consequences of bad or insufficient sleep?The observation of everything that starts to fail when people break their normal sleep-alert
pattern, helps us to find out what the real purpose of sleep really is. It appears that,
depending on the severity and type of disturbance during the sleep, different physical and mental
consequences take place.
Hormones which are secreted by the body during a normal sleep play a major role in this case. An
interrupted hormone management due to an insufficient sleep seems to cause an increased risk of
type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. A few hours of sleep deprivation per week could prevent us
from keeping our hormone levels stabilized. Furthermore, it affects the body's ability to manage
stress, and to process carbohydrates. The lack of the growth hormone (GH), which is produced almost
only during the deep sleep phases, causes obesity, especially when this insufficiency is present
during adolescence. An interrupted sleep also causes a shortage of the leptin hormone. Low leptin
levels cause a hunger for carbs. "Sleep yourself slim" would be a good catchphrase for a healthy
sleep campaign for adolescents.
In what way does sleep influence our performances?
It is clear that this growth hormone will influence our physical performances. The trainingseffect which strengthens our muscles after a heavy physical exertion, actually happens during the recuperation that takes place the following night, not while actually exercising. Sleep deprivation and more in particular waking up repeatedly during the sleep will seriously undermine our physical performances. Furthermore, it appears that interruption of the other sleep phases seem to have an effect on the motor skills of a person. An uninterrupted, undisturbed sleep is therefore of the highest importance. This also explains why top athletes spend more and more attention to their sleep. That is when they build their strength and recuperate from their physical exertions. But also our mental abilities are affected by sleep deprivation. Several psychological tests
have shown that the response time as well as anticipation of problems as well as the memory are
affected by lack of healthy sleep. It influences our capacity to learn new things so much, that
even studies have been able to make a connection between youth and professional succes later in
life. More and more signs seem to prove that information collected during the day, is stored
permanently during the night and that an interrupted sleep prevents this process.
The most important consequences of sleep deprivation are:
How does sleep influence our behaviour?We don't need scientists to tell us that we won't be very cheerful after a bad nights' sleep. But more and more scientific research seems to point out that an interrupted sleep has other effects on our behaviour and feelings. People that had to miss out on a few hours of sleep during a whole week complained of :
Comparative studies even showed that the influence on our behaviour and emotions are even bigger
than that on our physical and mental performances.
What is insomnia (sleeplessness)?Insomnia is merely a symptom, not a disorder. There usually is a deeper cause. Insomnia:
People speak of sleeplessness (or insomnia) when someone can't get to sleep properly for days on
end (more than 3 weeks), wakes up regularly, AND when this has consequences at daytime - the person
feels tired and agitated, has problems concentrating, possibly head aches, etc. In some cases it is
recommended to consult a physician, and even have a test done in a specialized sleep laboratory.
What are the causes of sleeplessness?The causes of sleeplessness can be put into 4 types of factors that appear both seperately as well as in combination with each other :
Only a minority of the cases of insomnia are caused by medical factors. The most important illnesses are sleep apnoea, narcolepsia and ‘Restless Leg Syndrome’. Sleep apnoea is a dangerous, life threatening disorder where the patient stops breathing for short periods of time during the night, then breathing in with a load snore and continue breathing. This disorder is often accompanied by a loud snore and is partially caused by blocking the windpipe with the tongue and the soft part of the pharynx. Each interruption of the breathing causes a lack of oxygen for the patient, waking him or her up shortly to consciously gasp for air. Obviously the sleep phases have to restart after each interruption. An added inconvenience is that the partner is often woken up by the other partner who produces loud noises. Narcolepsia is a disorder that makes a patient fall asleep spontaneously at daytime or momentary lapses of a weak muscular system. This has several grades of severity. In the worst cases, heavy emotions could make a patient collapse completely on the spot. ‘Restless Leg Syndrome’ (RLS) is characterised by an awkward tingling feeling in the legs when resting or lying down. It is especially serious, when the person is trying to get to sleep. Of course other illnesses and inconveniences not specifically related to sleep, could be the cause of a bad sleep, because the pain that is related to it, prevents an uninterrupted sleep. For older people, who are more often plagued by chronic illnesses, this is a n important cause of insomnia. In some cases a change of sleep surface could offer a solution. Time related factors Everyone gets tired according to the instructions of their own biological clock. These days, your daily rhythm of your biological clock doesn't always coincide with practical reality, making you go to bed sooner or in many cases later than you should. Your body is not in good condition, problems such as getting to sleep and sleeping for a too short time are inevitable. Changes in your sleep pattern has the same consequences. That is the reason why people, who work in shifts often have sleep problems. But changing your sleeping habits during the weekends is likely to cause problems too. Changing the clocks for daylight or saving time is the cause of sleep problems, because we are suddenly forced to change our rhythm by one hour. The last of these problems is the phenomenon called "jetlag", which occurs when you change timezones, because you are flying to a different one. In many relationships both partners each go to bed at different times. This could have serious consequences, especially if one of the partners follows the other within 2 hours of the other. If the first partner wakes up at that point in his or her sleep, chances are very big that the person will be woken from the deep sleep phase at the start of their night's rest, which could have negative consequences for the hormone management. Behavioral factors Behavioral factors undoubtedly are the most important, because unlike the other factors we can easily adjust our behaviour. That is why a sleep specialist, who is confronted with a case of sleeplessness will always ask the patient to keep a detailed sleep diary for a certain period, with a description of everything he or she does during the day and the night. Here is a list of behavioral mistakes which could be the cause of sleeplessness:
Often the main cause of a bad night's rest is not to be found within the person himself, but with his or her environment. A sleep specialist considers this too, when trying to determine the cause of sleeplessness. In many cases the sleeplessness is caused by the condition or circumstances of the bedroom. An ideal sleep space is poorly lit and as quiet as possible. Especially changes in light and noises, can cause people to wake up repeatedly. A person should be able to isolate him or herself from the world around him or her, because every external impulse could activate the brain and interrupt the sleep. In this case of sleeplessness the partner is often the main cause of the problem. Snoring very loud and sleep apnoea are very often linked to sleep problems with their sleeping partner. Many partners of loud snorers are woken up several times per night or are brought back from their deep sleep to the first phases of their sleep. The same goes for people who talk in their sleep, or roll around a lot. As mentioned before, sleep problems of one partner are often the cause of the other partners problems. The place where you sleep should have a comfortable temperature. Rooms that are too warm will cause you to sweat, and rooms that are too cold could cause joint problems in bodyparts that accidentally get exposed at night. A bedroom should also be aired properly. A lack of sufficient oxygen will inevitably cause an interrupted sleep. How much sleep do we need?There is no universal answer to this question. The need for sleep is different for everyone, but
on average an adult needs between 7 and 8 hours for a healthy sleep. Research has shown that the
quality of the sleep is at least as important as the total duration. It seems that people who need
more than 8 hours of sleep, do not sleep optimally. In many cases sleep specialists have been able
to reduce the necessary amount of sleep significantly by increasing the quality of their
sleep. Especially those people who, for social reasons, can only enjoy a limited amount of
time sleeping should therefore make sure that at least the quality of their sleep is good. They
can't compensate a loss of quality of sleep by just sleeping one hour more.
Up to a certain extent sleep deprivation can be caught up. A bad night's sleep creates a sleep
debt which can be put right the following night. If a person is kept awake a whole night he or she
won't be able to sleep twice the amount the next day, but rather add 2 to 3 hours to his or her
night's rest.
Is snoring dangerous?Excessive snoring often points towards a narrowed respiratory tract and is not harmless. Snoring
could also be an indication of tendency (see before). Because of the swelling of tissue in
the nasal and throat cavities, sleep apnoea is more common with heavier people. Relaxation of the
tissue, due to excessive use of alcohol, also leads to snoring. People who wake up regularly due to
an irregular breathing pattern (consciously or not) should therefore not drink any alcohol.
As previously mentioned, snoring interrupts in many cases the sleep of the partner, which can possibly cause problems in a relationship. In many cases a doctor can help get rid of the snoring or sleep apnoea. What are the immediate consequences of being woken up regularly?
Our biological clock regulates our sleep-alert rhythm according to a cycle that takes about 24
hours. It determines whether we need to feel sleepy or whether we need to be awake. The core of
this clock is located in some tiny structures (nucleus suprachiasmaticus) in the brain closely
linked to the nerves of the eyes. With these eye nerves our biological clock reacts to the amount
of light around us, so we automatically get sleepy when it is dark. This neural structure regulates
several physical reactions that control our alertness. It regulates our hormone production, body
temperature and blood pressure.
Under the influence of our biological clock, a typical alertness curve can be created.
Not everyone has the same daily rhythm. Depending on our biological clock we are either morning
or evening people. Research has shown that growing teenagers are progammed biologically to go to
sleep later and get up later, because their daily rhythm has shifted, due to the effect of their
hormones.
What are the requirements for a good sleep environment?We have already mentioned the importance of silence and abscence of light, the right temperature
and a sufficient amount of oxygen in the bedroom quiet. All these factors can prevent us from not
being able to go to sleep or being woken up. Especially for people who suffer from allergies,
it is very important to keep the bedroom dustfree. The house dust mite, a parasite that is present
everywhere and will feed on dust and dead skin, will not only worsen the allergies at daytime. At
nighttime these allergies will be influenced and will affect the quality of your sleep. Keeping
your bedroom dustfree means keeping the floors clean as well as your sleep system and the way it
can be cleaned.
Your sleep system is very important when trying to fight allergic reactions. The influence of
your sleep system is bigger because you are in close contact with it, but also the supportive
qualities of your sleep system determine the quality of your sleep to a certain extent. It is
important to choose a system that minimalises rolling around in bed, because that could cause you
to wake you up from your deep sleep.
What are the social consequences of bad sleep?Bad sleep has many consequences. Whether you can't get to sleep, wake up regularly or too early
: it will always have physical, mental as well as social consequences. Sleep disorders are not even
without danger.
Marriages - and other relationships - can suffer from the consequences of sleep disorders. A lack of quality sleep causes agitation, anger attacks and depressions. As mentioned before, an interrupted sleep can influence the sleep of the partner, making the effects even worse. Relationship problems that derive from the bad results of interrupted sleep, are often named as the underlying cause of divorces. |
Our sleep is a space of time characterised by
little or no movement and a limited consciousness of the world around us. For many people this also
means that sleep is a period of inactivity, but nothing is further from the truth. During our
sleep, all kinds of processes are active in our body.
From that point on sleepers go back and forth through various stages
of sleep, all of which produce noticeable changes in brain activity and physiological functions.
From stage 1 to 3 the brainwaves slow down and finally in phase 4 we end up in a deep sleep with
slow delta waves. After the deep sleep a phase called the REM (Rapid Eye Movements) sleep follows,
making our eyes move rapidly and there is almost as much brain activity as when we are awake.
During this phase our muscles are the most relaxed.
Like previously
mentioned, our sleep consists of a series of cycles, each with their own task or purpose. The most
important of these sleep phases are the deep sleep phases (3 and 4) and the REM sleep.