Sleep Stats
Did you know that you sleep for almost 1/3rd of your life? Considering sleep takes up a large chunk of our time, it should be taken into great account when it comes to our overall health. Sleep is a foundational topic when approaching health from a lifestyle medicine perspective. Without optimal sleep, our bodies will not be able to function to the best it can.
There are 5 stages of sleep: stages 1-4 NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) and stage 5 REM (Rapid Eye Movement). Stage 1 is a very light stage of sleep, right when you are beginning to fall asleep. Stage 2 is when your heat rate begins to slow down and your body temperature drops. Stage 3 and 4 are very similar deep stages of sleep, when our muscles and tissues become immobile and can repair. Stage 5 or REM sleep is when our bodies are completely paralyzed. Dreams only occur in stage 5 and we dream several times per night, every night, even if we do not remember our dreams. Our bodies cycle through these stages in a pattern, depending on the night and sensitivity to external factors (ie. sounds, lights) and internal factors (ie. comfort, nightmares).
Healthy Sleep
Sleep patterns change throughout our lives as we age. When we are really young our body requires more sleep to grow physically and mentally. Through our teenage years, we require additional sleep to healthily mature. Once we are fully grown, we do not need as much sleep for growing purposes. But, we do need sleep for other reasons, including rest, mental processing and a way to refresh ourselves to stay alert and energized.
Our sleep patterns can be affected by things such as changes to our daily routines, stimulant intake, poor sleep hygiene and the moon cycle. Dramatic changes to our sleep versus wake cycles can cause harm on our body's ability to fall asleep or stay asleep at certain times. Stimulants, such as coffee, black tea, certain supplements and drugs, can force our bodies to stay awake, even when we are in need of a good nights' rest. Sleep hygiene refers to our bed time routine and comfort of our bedroom. And the moon cycle, believe it or not, can affect our sleep. Full moons can be very energetic, causing our bodies to be stimulated a bit more, making us sleep less. But, they can also come with a feeling of being drained, so it may have the opposite effect on some and they will feel the need to sleep more to get additional rest (these are topics that I would love to dive deeper into in future blog posts).
Both the quality and quantity of our sleep determines how beneficial it is to us. The more beneficial, the better ability our bodies have to remain in a healthy state and fight off infection. Also, the better ability our brains have to function properly, stay sharp and attentive. Quality of sleep refers to how good our sleep is and quantity refers to how long our sleep is. Our bodies require on average 8 hours of sleep per night. Anything less or more can impact the quality of our sleep. Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, tossing and turning, not being able to get comfortable and/or temperature imbalances are all factors when it comes to good sleep quality and quantity.
If you do not feel refreshed upon waking, then you could be struggling with poor sleep quality and/or quantity. I encourage you to speak to your health care professional on ways to improve your sleep or connect with me for natural wellness coaching on ways to have refreshing sleeps again!
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