Did you know that routinely sleeping less than 6-7 hours a night more than doubles your risk of cancer? Or that problematic sleep cycles are the leading cause of disease and death in developed nations?
Problems with sleep are common, especially in our high-speed lives. For instance, people who sleep off and on in a series of naps may not realise they have irregular sleep-wake rhythm, and that it could eventually lead to dementia and brain damage.
Today’s newsletter covers a few sleep basics. Listed below are Sleep 101 terms we think you should know:
- Circadian Rhythm: The biological rhythms that include the internal clock which influences when, how much, and how well people sleep.
- NERM Sleep: Non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep is a dreamless sleep during which time monitored brain waves are typically slow, breathing and heart rate are slow and regular, and blood pressure is low. The sleeper is relatively still. NREM sleep is divided into 4 stages of increasing depth leading to REM sleep
- REM Sleep: Rapid Eye Movement sleep is the stage of sleep with the highest brain activity, characterized by enhanced brain metabolism and vivid hallucinatory imagery or dreaming. There are spontaneous rapid eye movements, resting muscle activity is suppressed, and awakening threshold to nonsignificant stimuli is high.
- Melatonin: A hormone in your body that plays a role in sleep. The production and release of melatonin in the brain is connected to the time of day, increasing when it’s dark and decreasing when it’s light. Melatonin production declines with age. People commonly use melatonin supplements for sleep disorders, such as insomnia and jet lag. Unlike with many sleep medications, you are unlikely to become dependent on melatonin, have a diminished response after repeated use (habituation), or experience a hangover effect.