Sleep accounts for a third of our life, and is the human body's third most vital need after breathing and drinking. So, needless to say, our wellbeing relies heavily on a good nights sleep - without it our body would be unable to perform its routine maintenance, regenerate itself and repair damage from the day.
How much sleep does the body need?
The number of hours of sleep required by the human body varies from one individual to another and from one age group to another. Some adults require as little as a 7 hour sleep to wake up refreshed and energised to face the day ahead whilst others need to sleep for up to 9 hours for their brain and body to function properly.
Sleep cycle
Sleep consists of 5 phases which last from 90 to 110 minutes each:
Phase 1 - Your eye and body movements slow down and your body enters into a light sleep phase. During that time you can be woken up easily.
Phase 2 - The eye movement stops and your brain waves (a measure of the activity level of the brain) become slower.
Phase 3 - Your body enters its first phase of deep sleep and it might be very difficult to wake you up.
Phase 4 - The body enters its second stage of deep sleep and it might also be difficult to wake you up during that time.
Phase 5 - Also called Rapid Eye Movement, that's when dreams take over!
The key to waking up refreshed and energised in the morning, is to ensure that both deep sleep stages are uninterrupted. It is when your body is frequently deprived of those essential deep sleep phases, that you enter into sleep debt and consequently may start experiencing health problems associated with fatigue.
Consequences of poor sleep
Disturbed sleep can have dramatic consequences on our health, social relationships, our mood and concentration. Poor sleep quality may result in:
* Feeling tired all day, lack of energy
* Finding it hard to concentrate and cope with pressure at work
* Inattentiveness
* Stress and worries
* Irritability and tension
* Difficulty in making decisions and reacting to signals - cause of many accidents on the roads every year!
* Loss of memory
"The main reason for sleep problems is that we can only rest if we have fulfilled all our needs for the day. When this is not so, the body is unable to let go, so we do not even get to the deepest period of sleep, we only sleep in a forced, stressed and anxious way." Freud's views on sleep.