What is Normal Sleep? Factors that Have an Impact.
Theresa Shumard on Oct 15, 2015 6:27:28 PM
“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”
Thomas Dekker, Elizabethan-era writer and dramatist
Oh how we humans do love good sleep! Humans need it to survive, thrive, and enjoy our quality of life dividends. We feel refreshed on waking and throughout the day. We feel so energetic and alert that we could just about tackle any task.
Sleep has long been represented in art, music, and literature, and celebrated as one of the sheer delights of life itself. Scientists have even found primitive drawings of sleepers on prehistoric cave walls.
Have you ever noticed how many songs contain the word sleep, or related words such as night or dream? Art museums walls are full of canvases portraying the subject. Sleep also has a celestial implication due to it happening at night for most of the population. In this, we can conjur thoughts of the moon, stars, and the night sky.
I have thought for a long time that sleep isn’t just popular because of health benefits or the ‘deliciousness’ that slumber truly is; It is because we ALL do it.
Several factors can threaten perfect, delightful sleep. Medications, age, diet, and environmental factors can all play a hefty role in turning a perfect sleeper into an imperfect one in the blink of an eye.
Normal sleep is an intricate and critical physiological activity. It was once thought that when we sleep, that the brain and body just turns off, when in fact there is a plethora of activity going on. Sleep is characterized by brain patterns that signify different stages of sleep. In order for good sleep to happen (medical professionals refer to as sleep quality), each stage of sleep must be completed. If the stages are interrupted, the result is sleep fragmentation or disruption. Disruption of sleep architecture will result in excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and can lead to health issues. Sleep Apnea — and a host of other sleep disorders–disturb sleep quality by tearing down its perfect form.
How is Your Sleep Built? Stages of Sleep
Your brain is particularly active during sleep. Sleep architecture is the structure of sleep and is divided into cyclical stages, and two areas that make up the stages. Several non-REM sleep stages and Rapid eye movement (REM) make up those cyclical patterns throughout the sleep process. Electrodes and sleep testing equipment monitor these brain patterns and other physiological parameters during sleep. This testing can be done at home or in a sleep facility.
Normal Adult Sleep
As said above, Sleep stages fall under the categories NREM and REM.
There are four stages of sleep: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, and REM. Neurotransmitters in the brain regulate whether we have sleep or wakefulness.
In describing what it might take to awaken or be taken to a lighter stage of sleep (arousal from sleep), during Stage 1, you could awaken just by someone calling your name. Stage 2 might take a tap on the shoulder. Stage 3, is the very deepest stage, sometimes called Delta Sleep, it is very difficult sometimes to cause an awakening or arousal from sleep. An interesting thing to point out here is that children have the majority of their slumber spent in Delta Stage 3. This explains a lot considering their amazing energy levels the next day! And for the flip side, the older we get, the less Delta we get. Are you relating to this? I am.
REM sleep is where we dream, and some believe it would be the deepest stage, but it is not. This is a very active time for the brain, and you can wake someone from a dream without much effort. Sometimes we feel slightly disoriented when awakened from our dreams.
The following image shows what normal adult sleep looks like in percentages.
Optimize Your Sleep with Proper Diet
If you go to bed hungry, you may awaken during the night. A light snack like cereal, yogurt, or whole-grain crackers or toast are good choices.
Regarding beverages, water or a glass of milk is fine, but anything caffeinated should be avoided. Studies have found that some decaffeinated coffee brands contained as much as 20 milligrams of caffeine. Caffeine can remain in your system and disturb your sleep architecture for hours after you are finished consuming it.
Some herbal teas are caffeinated, so checking the package is a good idea. Teas that contain black, green or white tea leaves are definitely full of caffeine, so avoid these in the evening.
Medications and Sleep Stages
Certain medications have the ability to alter sleep quality and sleep architecture. This is such a comprehensive subject, it will be covered in a future article. Be certain that your doctor is advised of all medications you are taking so that your sleep is not compromised.
Enviromnental Factors, Exercise, and Good Sleep Hygiene
The practices surrounding what we do before sleep are referred to as Sleep Hygiene. You can have good sleep hygiene or bad sleep hygiene. These practices will be discusses in an upcoming article. There are two things that would help sleep hygiene.
Number 1: Eliminate noise and distractions from your sleeping area. The television being on is a very popular factor in our society. If you must have the TV on when it is time for slumber, try use your cable’s soundscapes channel. There are plenty of soft horns, pan flutes, and violins to play your lullaby without the decibel fluctuation of voice inflections.
Number 2: Keep your bedroom or sleep area at a cool and comfortable temperature to avoid awakenings from thermal discomfort or annoyances.
May good sleep be with you!
