Sleep accounts for 27-35% of our entire lives. A person who sleeps from 7 to 9 hours every day spends 178,000-230,000 hours in sleep in 70 years.

It may seem that sleep time is the period due to which you can increase the efficiency of life. You just need to go to bed later and wake up earlier. Of course, when you want to sleep, it is not very pleasant to do business. But everyone knows that drowsiness is quite easy to overcome. So maybe it really is good idea- carve out a few years for active life by reducing sleep time?

It is not uncommon for people to encounter situations that are incomprehensible at first glance. When everything seems to be in order with health, with good nutrition - too. In the family and at work - no problems, and well-being and physical form leave much to be desired. For example, despite active and hard training, athletic performance refuses to grow. Or at work you feel constantly tired and overwhelmed, although there seems to be no reason for this.

If this is happening to you, it's time to think about how you sleep. Often the lack of progress in training and chronic fatigue associated precisely with the lack of deep, healthy sleep. After any hard work, the body requires rest, during which the energy spent is restored and intense anabolism, that is, the growth of muscle mass. A person recovers most quickly during healthy, deep sleep.

Prolonged lack of sleep is deadly

Can we go without sleep at all, and for how long? Studies have shown that the life expectancy of the average person completely deprived of sleep is about 10 days. Physiological causes, which lead to death as a result of sleep deprivation, is still not entirely clear. There is an assumption that the hypothalamus is responsible for this, the function of which is to regulate metabolic processes in the body. If a person does not sleep for a long time, the hypothalamus loses control over body temperature, which eventually leads to death.

The fact that a person cannot go long without sleep without serious damage to their health shows how important it is to us. During the day, we spend energy on fulfilling our obligations, satisfying mental and physical needs. At night, the body and brain take a time out, allowing the metabolism to restore spent resources of mental and physical energy.

Sleep and the biological clock

The recovery that occurs during sleep is closely linked to the biological clock. human body. Measurements of the electrical activity of the brain in a state of sleep show interesting picture. Turns out to be beneficial physiological changes of the resting brain appear cyclically with an interval of 90 minutes. This allows us to conclude that in the work of our biological clock take part circadian rhythms which are 90 minutes long and general cycle repeats every 25-28 hours.

The biological clock is adjusted depending on the duration daylight hours. This explains why we want to go to bed earlier in the winter than we do in the summer. If there is no sleep for 24-28 hours, the normal functioning of the body is disrupted. Physiological processes, which should occur in a dream, are violated. This negatively affects health. If a person is deprived of sleep for 24 hours, his body recovers only 72% of what it would be if the normal sleep cycle had not been disturbed. And those who stay awake for 48 hours in a row recover only 42%.

The physiological processes that occur in our body between 3 and 6 o'clock at night and 15 and 18 o'clock in the afternoon cause a decrease in body temperature. This leads to drowsiness. Probably, many people notice that in the afternoon there is a breakdown and a desire to relax. Toward evening, somewhere between 6 pm and 9 pm, the body temperature rises again and the person feels a surge of energy. Some may even feel anxious at this time. After nine o'clock in the evening, the temperature begins to drop again and drowsiness rolls over us, which forces us to go to bed. At this time, low-voltage beta waves in the brain are replaced by high-voltage alpha waves.

Sleep phases

When falling asleep, alpha waves are gradually replaced by theta waves. They are slower, correspond to the first and second phases of sleep, and cause skeletal muscle relaxation. During the third and fourth phases of sleep, even slower delta waves dominate. This stage is called REM sleep and is characterized by the movement of the eyeballs. It is at this time that we see our dreams. Physical activity while close to zero, the muscles are completely relaxed.

Sometimes in rare cases relaxation does not occur, as a result of which even the state of sleepwalking may occur, i.e. somnambulism (sleepwalking). But even if a person is in a supine position, the muscles still lose the opportunity to fully relax and recover.

Animal studies have shown that the inability of the brain to relax muscles during REM sleep can lead to an unusual situation when sleeping animals are physically active, jumping and growling. And, of course, they cannot fully rest at this time.

If a person sleeps calmly, then in the third and fourth stages of sleep, the content of growth hormone in the blood is at its highest. high level. If at this time sleep is interrupted, its sharp decrease occurs and the restoration of body tissues becomes impossible. Probably, everyone has come across such a state when, after a restless, anxious sleep, you feel overwhelmed and sleepy.

What gets in the way of good sleep

The sounds heard during sleep have a very negative effect on its quality. Wherein normal condition all phases of sleep, in which there is a full recovery, it becomes impossible. This is partly due to the fact that noise causes an increase in the level of adrenaline and norepinephrine, which prevent restful sleep. With an increase in noise up to 80 dB, a person's heart rate and respiratory rate increase.

Sleep interruption is also bad for recovery. Research has shown that fragmented sleep, in which a sleep cycle lasts less than 90 minutes, interferes with normal rest.

In general, the time parameters of sleep greatly affect its quality. It is harmful not only to interrupt or reduce sleep, but also to lengthen it beyond the prescribed time. After an excessively long sleep, a person wakes up with poor health. Researchers Taub and Berger changed the timing of sleep by extending, shortening, or postponing sleep stages by up to 3 hours. And although the total sleep time remained normal, the subjects showed a decrease in productivity and a deterioration in well-being.

Affects sleep and how the day was spent, whether the person experienced severe stress. It is advisable to approach him in a calm, stress-free state.

Proper nutrition and sleep

For good sleep, the balance of micro and macro elements entering the body is important. Renowned physician James Balch claims that a violation of the correct ratio of calcium and magnesium in the diet or their deficiency causes insomnia. With a deficiency of these elements, a sudden awakening a few hours after the start of sleep and the inability to fall asleep is characteristic.

Vitamin deficiency can also manifest itself as a sleep disorder. It has been established that the lack of B5 and B6 violates its structure.

Those who like to skip a glass of alcohol before going to bed will probably be upset to learn that even a small amount of alcohol (0.8 g per 1 kg of weight) reduces the level of growth hormone in the blood by 75%.

Some medications and caffeine have a negative effect on sleep. A monotonous diet, overweight, and problems with the thyroid gland can deprive you of sound healthy sleep.

Some nutritional components not only disrupt recovery, but even lead to a decrease in muscle mass. For example, food from large quantity tyrosine (or tyramine formed from it), releases norepinephrine in the adrenal glands, which causes a feeling of excitement and anxiety. Foods rich in this amino acid - tomatoes, sauerkraut, ham, potatoes, sausages, chicken liver, wine and beer, chocolate, cheeses, beans, eggplant, spinach - are not recommended for dinner.

However, you should not go to bed on an empty stomach either. This will interfere with the recovery process. Promotes good sound sleep tryptophan, from which serotonin is formed. The latter serves as a precursor to melatonin, the very neurotransmitter that is the strongest natural sleeping pill that makes a person sleep soundly and calmly. Foods rich in tryptophan - figs, dates, bananas, grapefruit, oatmeal, etc. Promote good sleep complex carbohydrates if taken in small portions throughout the day.

Is daytime sleep good?

There are differences of opinion among experts regarding daytime sleep. So Dr. Michael Colgan believes that daytime sleep between two strenuous workouts is useful. And doctor Paul Moses does not recommend disrupting the normal sleep pattern at night. But both of them agree that the more physical and mental energy spent during the day, the more necessary is a strong, multi-phase, long sleep for recovery.

What is the best position to sleep in

Research conducted at the American University of Stony Brook found that sleeping on your side contributes to a better cleansing of the brain from products. mental activity. The glymphatic system of the brain, which is responsible for cleaning the brain tissue, consists of a network of tubules and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulating through them. Scanning the brains of rodents using MRI showed that it works more efficiently precisely at the time when the test subjects were sleeping on their side. It is possible that this is why side sleeping is the most common in animals and humans.

• - 2-3 hours before bedtime, go gradually from vigorous activity to less stressful. Read, listen to music, take a bath.
• At the same time, give preference to foods rich in tryptophan, carbohydrates, vitamins B5 and B6. It is desirable that calcium and magnesium are in a ratio of 1:2.
• - 5-6 hours before bedtime, exclude the use of coffee, alcohol, food rich in tyrosine or tyramine. Do not take drugs that stimulate nervous system
• - Try to combine sleep time with a period of low light. Go to bed at sunset, get up at dawn. If this is not possible, adjust the illumination artificially. Go to bed in a room with curtained windows.
• - If you are an athlete and train 2 times a day, try to get some sleep between workouts. Sleep time should be around 90 minutes to complete the deep sleep cycle. This will ensure the growth of muscle mass.

Scientific articles and materials:

1. Moses, P.L., FAQs: self analysis, ( This adress Email protected from spambots. You must have JavaScript enabled to view.), 1997; an interpretation of Lavie, P., The Enchanted World of Sleep, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1994.

2.Prinz, P.N. et al., Plasma growth during sleep in young and aged men, J. Gerontl., 38(5), 519-524, 1983.

3. Honma, K. et al., Sensational variation in the human circadian rhythm: dissociation between sleep and temperature rhythm, Am J. Physiol., 265(5), 885-891, 1992.

4. Rosenthal, L. et al., Enforced 24-hour recovery following sleep deprivation, Sleep, 14(5), 448-453, 1991.

5. Levine, B., et al., Fragmenting sleep diminishes its recuperative value, Sleep, 10(6), 590-599, 1987.

6. Taub, J.M., and Berger, R.J., The effects of changing the phase and duration of sleep, J. Exp. Psychol., 2(1), 30-41, 1976.

7. Maschke, C. et al., The influence of nocturnal aircraft on sleep and catecholamine secretion, Schriftenr. Ver Wasser Boden Lufthyg., 88, 397-407, 1993.

8. Fruhstorfer, L. et al., Daytime noise and subsequent sleep in man, Eur J. Appl. Physiol., 53(2), 159-163, 1984.

9. Colgan, M., Optimum Sports Nutrition, Advanced Research Press, New York, 1993, 73-76.

10. Balch, J.F. and Balch, P.A., Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Avery Publishing, Garden City, NY, 1990, 221-222.

11. Prinz, P.N. et al., The effect of alcohol on sleep and nighttime plasma growth hormone and cortisol concentrations, J. Clin. Endocrinal. Metabol., 50(4), 759-764, 1980.

Why is sleep so important?

Do and get advice from our doctor!

Don't underestimate the importance of sleep. Sleep is the most an important factor contributing to your health and beauty. Getting enough sleep is one of the best defense mechanisms that helps us stay healthy and manage stress. Sleep is a physiological function necessary for our body and mind, like food and drinking water. It's not luxury, it's necessary condition to secure our mental, emotional and physical health. If we sleep poorly or little, it can affect many aspects of our lives, such as our relationships with other people, school or work, appetite and our energy level. Lost hours of sleep do have harmful effects. As a rule, most healthy people it takes 8 hours good sleep in order to be in good shape the next day.

Some people consider it a waste of time, when it is necessary for the proper functioning of the body and proper cell regeneration. The body, during the night, works in slow motion. Breathing, heart rate slow down, muscles relax, blood pressure decreases. The body produces new cells to replace the dead cells. As for the brain, it uses different phases of sleep to "sort" the information it receives during the day. Indeed, we assimilate during sleep what we have learned during the day. In fact, poor sleep is synonymous with poor information assimilation. In addition, poor sleep has implications for concentration and learning, distraction, and an inability to concentrate on a particular task.

Here are a few things that sleep affects:

Learning and memory:
Sleep helps the brain integrate new information into memory through a process called memory consolidation. Studies show that people who slept after learning a task subsequently had top scores test.
Metabolism and weight:
Lack of sleep creates the risk of weight gain by affecting how our body processes and utilizes carbohydrates, changing hormone levels, which in turn affect our appetite.
Security:
Lack of sleep increases the tendency to fall asleep during the day. This can lead to mistakes, accidents, sometimes even medical errors.
Mood:
Irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, fatigue and Bad mood may be caused by lack of sleep.
The cardiovascular system:
We know that serious violations sleep can cause hypertension, elevated level stress hormones and irregular heartbeats.
Diseases:
Lack of sleep alters immune function. Good dream helps maintain good health.

DIFFERENT PHASES OF SLEEP

Night sleep is divided into several cycles. Each cycle lasts approximately 90 to 120 minutes. The cycles alternate throughout the night, and their meaning changes. At night, the phase of deep slow wave sleep often dominates, and the end of the night is replaced by a fast phase of sleep.

NREM SLEEP
Slow-wave, light sleep takes up about half of our total sleep time. This is the moment when the sleeper passes from wakefulness to deep sleep. Brain activity slows down, muscles begin to relax… At this point, it is easy to wake up.

DEEP SLOW SLEEP

This is about a quarter of our sleep. During this stage, the heart rate and breathing slow down considerably, the body temperature drops, the muscles relax completely… Then the body can start producing hormones and renew its cells. During deep slow sleep, the body really begins to rest and recover deeply.

It is no secret to anyone that sleep is very important for the body.

It is during sleep that our body begins to actively recover.

Sleep helps us not only feel better, but also look good.

Experts say that women should sleep an odd number of hours, and men an even number.

So, for example, a woman needs seven or nine hours of sleep, while a man needs six to eight. At the same time, it is interesting that women who need to take an hour more time to sleep than the strong half of humanity, where it is easier for men to endure lack of sleep. Apparently, wise nature has arranged everything so that snatches of sleep are quite acceptable for a woman who is forced to jump up at night to crying children. Women should go to bed earlier than men and get up later.

It is difficult for the beautiful half of humanity to adapt to getting up and going to bed at inconvenient times. However, it is important to note that it is easy to endure lack of sleep with your abilities, you should not abuse it. During sleep, the body conducts self-diagnosis and eliminates problems that have arisen in its work. And if you do not give the body enough time to sleep, then you may well pay for this with unimportant well-being.

You should also not forget that, according to the discovery of American scientists, 24% of women who allocate two hours less sleep for sleep are overweight. This is explained very simply - the less you sleep, the more time you have to eat.

If, for example, you had dinner at 19-20 hours, then around midnight you will want to eat again and head to the refrigerator, which, of course, will not affect your figure in the best way.

Scientists are sounding the alarm: over the past fifty years, the number of women aged 20 to 45 who sleep less than seven hours a night has increased by 37%.

It is lack of sleep that experts explain the constantly growing number of women suffering from gynecological diseases.

The number of women suffering from such diseases is increasing several times every year.

The fact is that the female sex glands regulate their work in accordance with the modes of sleep and wakefulness. If your daily schedule is violated, then menstruation begins to come later than the due date, which in turn entails various gynecological problems.

It should also be noted that insomnia can be caused by a deficiency in the body of the most important female hormone - estrogen, which plays the role of a natural sleeping pill. Deficiency of these hormones can be caused by ovarian dysfunction or overwork.

The need to get enough sleep is also evidenced by the fact that the reaction of drivers suffering from constant lack of sleep worsens ten to twelve times.

You should be especially careful on the road in the afternoon, as our The biological clock arranged in such a way that we want to sleep during this period.

Experts also argue that lack of sleep can cause a disease such as dyslexia.

With dyslexia, the work of one hemisphere of the brain is ahead of the work of the other, which leads to the fact that we begin to slur our thoughts, confuse letters in words, and make sentences incorrectly.

Some people are born with this trait, others begin to show signs of dyslexia after a stroke or brain injury, but it turns out that lack of sleep can also lead to such a disorder.

Therefore, if you notice that others are looking at you with bewilderment when you start talking, it's time to send to bed. In order to put your thoughts in order, 20-30 minutes of sleep will be enough for you.

And finally, it must be said that lack of sleep negatively affects our memory. During sleep, our brain processes the information received during the night, “arranging” it into “cells”. If you allocate little time for sleep, then the brain simply does not have time to cope with its task, which leads to the fact that we not only cannot assimilate new information, but also forget the old one, since the brain “blocks access to it”.

How well do you feel? Does fatigue bother you? Do you feel "low energy"? What is happening with your rest, and in particular with sleep?

Find your inner answers to questions like:

How long does your night sleep last?
Do you feel fresh when you wake up in the morning?
What time do you go to bed?
What do you do when you wake up in the middle of the night and find yourself unable to sleep?
How much time do you need to fall asleep?
Are you taking sleeping pills?
What is in your bedroom: computer, exercise equipment....?

Sleep is one of the wonderful gifts of life. And it must be treated very responsibly and consciously. Normal sleep is the key to health and beauty.

What happens in our body during sleep? This is a precious watch for self-healing. All systems and organs are being restored and prepared for a new working day. There is a cleansing of debris (old obsolete cells0) and their replacement with new healthy cells. Relaxes the brain, which leads to the preservation of mental and mental health.

What would happen if we didn't have this powerful and enjoyable recovery mechanism? It's hard to even imagine that. We are used to treating sleep as something for granted, because a good sleep costs us absolutely nothing. But poor sleep can cost us quite a lot physically and materially.

The value of sleep for a person

1. During sleep, important hormones are released. You have probably heard the expression that children grow in their sleep. This is not fiction and not the motivation of children to sleep. The fact is that during sleep, growth hormone, somatotropin, is released. Thanks to him, children really grow, and in adults, muscle mass is regulated and body fat is controlled.

If sleep is disturbed, then the function of this hormone is impaired. Take note of this if you want to lose weight.
So sleep and weight loss are interconnected. In addition to somatotropin, the hormone leptin is released during sleep, which directly affects appetite and regulates the same body fat. It is thanks to this hormone that we feel when we need to stop eating. With its lack of appetite increases.

2. Normal sleep is the key to youth and beauty and health. During sleep, the aging process slows down. This is an excellent way to prevent wrinkles. Life expectancy in general often depends on its quality.

3. Why sick people often sleep. The answer is simple - sleep strengthens immune system. People who sleep nine hours a night have increased activity immune cells - killer cells. They destroy viruses, bacteria and cancer cells.

4. Do you remember yourself after a sleepless night? How did you feel? The fact is that even a short-term lack of sleep can reduce brain activity, the ability to concentrate, the ability to perceive information. Also, sleep is needed to assimilate the information accumulated during the day. Good sleep helps to assimilate even some physical skills. Numerous studies have shown that sleep improves process memory. What you do during the day, your brain continues to learn during sleep.

5. During sleep, there is a decrease in the blood hormone corisol. It's a stress hormone. With excessive accumulation of this hormone in the blood. there is irritability, anxiety, a tendency to depression.
Therefore, sleep is one of the main points important for health. By depriving the body of sleep, people unknowingly destroy their own health.
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• How long should I sleep?
• Pay back and keep up

The modern world is moving very fast. New difficulties appear in our lives faster and faster. How we cope with these or those difficulties depends not only on our experience, but also on our well-being and healthy lifestyle life. There are many components of our health, and one of the most important of them is rest.

Most of us don't attach of great importance sleep. We are too busy to find time to sleep. We need to work late, we need to catch a flight, or we find other reasons not to sleep. And this is completely wrong. Once you start sleeping required amount hours, everything in your life will stabilize. After all, if you are tired, you are unlikely to start exercising or go for a walk. In addition, you are more likely to go for fast food, buy drinks with a lot of caffeine and sugar to get the necessary energy, but that won't help.

Before we answer the most common questions about sleep, let's define sleep as it's not just a time when your brain shuts down. During sleep, the brain performs several actions. If you don't have time for your brain to do all these tasks, the result will be the same as if you deleted temporary files from your computer: your body will slow down for a while!

Sleep is not your choice. Sleep is essential to maintain physical condition and emotional balance organism.

How long should I sleep?

The data of scientists are disappointing - more than half of people suffer from sleep disorders, but they are completely unaware of it.

Some people say that a couple of hours of sleep is enough for them, but the conventional wisdom that eight hours is needed turns out to be correct if you want to stay energetic throughout the day. In fact, it is not the number of hours that matters, but the quality of sleep. It happens that you sleep too much, which also adversely affects your day.

How do I know if I'm not getting enough sleep?

If you don't get enough sleep, it will be more difficult for you to concentrate, you will be less confident in yourself, and it will be difficult for you to make decisions. You probably yawn a lot while you work, especially if the room is warm.

In addition to all of the above, your brain will work slower, you will have less patience for things that are happening, and you may lose your sense of humor. You will want to take a nap during the day, and on the way home you will find yourself falling asleep on the train. You can also fall asleep in the TV chair.

If we continue this list of consequences of lack of sleep, we can add that Negative influence extends beyond daytime sleepiness. Lack of sleep affects your judgment, coordination, and reaction time, not to mention your libido. A sleepy person experiences a feeling akin to a hangover.

The consequences of lack of proper sleep will be mood swings, reduced immunity, problems with concentration, and maybe even obesity, and reduced sex drive.

Pay back and keep up

If you can't give your body and brain the rest it needs, you will be in your own debt just like when you take out a loan from a bank. The difference is that loans can be repaid in the future, while sleep needs to be received now and today! To check if you are in debt, go to bed half an hour earlier than usual. If you fall asleep easily, then you are in debt. Repeat this every day until you reach your sleep target.

Of course, if you sleep longer on the weekends, it will help you recuperate for working week, you can get out of the routine. But it's better to sleep a little longer each day than trying to pay off debt over the weekend.

Simple tips to keep in mind:

• Most importantly, stick to the routine. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time as often as possible.
• Avoid watching TV for at least an hour before bed. Turn it off. Spend this hour in bed!
• Do not drink alcohol or smoke before bed. As with television, alcohol and smoking keep the body from relaxing.
• It's good enough to take a nap during the day. business schedule Many world leaders include nap time. Take no more than twenty minutes to rest. If you do not get up, you will fall asleep for a long time, and after waking up you will not be alert.
• Do not forget to play sports so that your body feels tired and wants to rest.
• If you have trouble sleeping, be sure to read these articles: How to deal with insomnia at home», « How to fall asleep quickly».

What happens when we sleep?

The secret of a brisk morning is to analyze all the phases of activity that the brain goes through during sleep, after which you can choose the duration and interval of your sleep.

The brain works according to certain cycles. During waking hours, these cycles are called gamma or beta waves; gamma is responsible for stronger stimulation (stress), and beta is the usual brain stimulation. When you sleep, beta waves turn into alpha waves.

But the movement doesn't stop there. Keep sleeping and your brain will automatically go from alpha to beta to delta and back to alpha. Each cycle takes approximately 90 minutes and repeats throughout your sleep. After six hours, the brain remains in the alpha cycle for two hours.

Why is it so important? Because your whole day will depend on what cycle you were in when you woke up. It is easiest to wake up from less brain stimulation (less deep sleep). If you wake up during phases - deep sleep (delta) or deep rest (beta), then the day will not set.

If you do not interfere with the brain to do its work in a cycle, then the body itself will wake up being in the alpha stage, which immediately follows the beta stage. And thus, you will wake up refreshed.

Now you know: you should always set an alarm for the time when your brain will be in the alpha stage. In other words, if you can't sleep for eight hours, it's better to sleep four and a half or six hours than five and a half.

If you're on an airplane, it's better to get three hours of sleep than four. Always count 90 minutes as the basis of one cycle.

By the way, you don't need an alarm at all. Your subconscious will help you a lot - just tell yourself when you need to wake up and you will wake up.

The most important thing is to give sleep the same great attention, like others important aspects vital activity. Many of us forget about this. It seems that there are many more important needs, but just like nutrition and exercise are necessary for a healthy lifestyle, the quality of sleep directly affects the cheerfulness of your spirit, including the sharpness of the reaction, emotional balance, creative thinking, physical mobility, and even your weight. No other activity compares to sleep in terms of impact on your life.

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