Equipping People To Make Sense Of What They Are Told
People usually don’t think very much about sleep. It's part of their daily routine
that they take for granted. However sometimes people are unable to sleep properly.
It is known as insomnia and usually it is experienced for just for a short time,
perhaps when they are worried, stressed or excited. Everybody needs to sleep properly
to remain healthy and if they don’t it can cause many problems. During the sleep
period a person become unconscious and is unaware of what's going on around them.
As a person sleeps, they pass through different stages of sleep.
There are two main types of sleep:
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep:
This comes and goes throughout the night, and makes up about one fifth of the sleep
period during which the brain is active, the eyes move quickly from side to side
and dreams occur. Although the brain is active muscles are relaxed.
Non-REM sleep:
The brain is quiet, but the body moves around during this sleep period. Hormones
are released into the bloodstream and the body works at repairing itself from the
wear and tear of daily activity.
There are 3 stages of non-REM sleep:
Pre-sleep - Muscles relax, the heart beats slower and body temperature falls.
Light sleep - A person can wake up easily without feeling confused.
Slow wave sleep - Blood pressure falls, a person may talk or sleep walk and it's
difficult to wake up.
A person will move between REM and non-REM sleep about 5 times during the night,
dreaming more towards the morning.
People may wake up for one or two minutes every two hours or so when sleeping normally.
You aren't usually aware of these 'mini wakes', but may remember them if you feel
anxious or there is something else going on - noises outside, a partner snoring etc.
How much sleep is usually required?
Babies sleep for about 17 hours each day.
Older children for about 9 or 10 hours each night.
Adults for about 8 hours sleep each night.
Older people need the same amount of sleep, but will often only have one period of
deep sleep during the night, usually in the first 3 or 4 hours. After that, they
wake more easily.
There are differences between people of the same age. Most will need 8 hours a night,
but a few people get by with about three to four hours a night. Short periods of
being awake can feel much longer than they really are and the person may feel that
they are not sleeping as much as they really are. However, an occasional night without
sleep may make a person feel tired the next day, but it won't affect their health.
However, after several sleepless nights, a person will start to find that they may:
Feel tired all the time.
Fall asleep briefly during the day.
Find it difficult to concentrate.
Find it hard to make decisions.
May begin to feel depressed.
Begin to worry about not being able to sleep.
Continuous lack of sleep can make a person more likely to:
Develop high blood pressure
Develop diabetes
Become overweight.
Develop sleep problems in adult life.
A person may feel that they aren't getting enough sleep or that, even if they do
get enough hours of sleep they aren't getting a good night's rest.
Some everyday things can prevent a person from sleeping well:
Their bedroom may be too noisy.
Their bedroom may be too hot or too cold.
Their bed may be uncomfortable.
Their bed may be too small.
They may not have a regular sleep routine.
They aren't getting enough exercise.
They eat too late.
They go to bed hungry then wake up too early feeling hungry.
They have stimulants such as cigarettes, alcohol and drinks containing caffeine,
such as tea and coffee.
More serious reasons may include:
They are affected by illness, pain or a high temperature.
They have emotional problems.
They may be experiencing difficulties at work.
They are experiencing depression and wake early and are unable to get back to sleep.
They are thinking over and over again about problems - usually without getting anywhere
with them.
They may be experiencing joint or muscle problems, such as fibromyalgia or arthritis.
They may be experiencing gastrointestinal disease, such as gastro-oesophageal reflux
disease or irritable bowel syndrome
genital or urinary problems, such as incontinence or an enlarged prostate.
There is an relationship between how much and how well you sleep and how you feel
the next day. Obviously if you don’t get enough sleep and feel tired the following
day this can have an adverse effect on mood and ability to function normally. More
than a quarter of people who are frequently sleep deficient report low mood symptoms.
How do you get sufficient quantity and a good quality of sleep? Stress and worries
can be a contributor to poor sleep, but understanding the biochemistry of sleep,
and what you can do to tilt the odds in your favour can help reduce your stress levels
and get you out of the vicious cycle whereby a lack of sleep may cause you to become
more stressed and depressed.
Women suffer more from sleep deprivation than men.
Hormonal imbalances and mood swings may affect a women during her menstrual cycle
and for some cause disturbed sleep.
Stress affects women differently to men and they are more likely to worry which can
cause disturbed sleep.
Approaching the menopause is another time in a women’s life when they may experience
mood swings and night sweats which may cause chronic insomnia.
Melatonin the sleep hormone.
Biochemically speaking, mood and sleep have a lot in common. The amino acid 5-HTP,
is not only the raw material for serotonin, but also for melatonin, which helps you
sleep by controlling the sleep–wake cycle. It’s the brain’s neurotransmitter that
keeps you in sync with the earth’s day and night cycle. As you start to wind down
in the evening, serotonin levels rise and adrenalin levels fall. As it gets darker,
melatonin kicks in. Melatonin is an almost identical molecule to serotonin and both
are made from 5-HTP, itself derived from the amino acid tryptophan, which is rich
in protein foods such as; chicken, cheese, tuna, tofu, eggs, nuts, seeds and milk.
Tryptophan also requires folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin C and zinc to convert it
to 5-HTP.
Switching off the adrenalin will also help you sleep
Although you need adequate serotonin and melatonin to give you a good night’s sleep,
any action that helps switch off adrenalin in the evening will help you get to sleep
more easily. There’s a link between feeling emotionally reactive, not sleeping well
and consequently being prone to feeling low. So, how do you switch off adrenalin,
relax and get a good night’s sleep?
There are a number of actions you can take:
Avoid caffeine, at least after midday. Caffeine suppresses melatonin for up to ten
hours.
Avoid going to sleep under the influence of alcohol. This disturbs the normal sleep
cycle which can promote low moods and deplete GABA a neurotransmitter that switches
off adrenalin.
Try other sleep promoting formulas containing calming herbs.
Getting enough daylight, to much time spent indoors may alter your body’s clock which
sets waking and sleeping patterns.
Go to bed and rise at a regular time. This helps to set a regular natural pattern
of sleeping and waking.
Control the environment. Too hot or too cold will cause sleep to be disrupted. Keep
the room dark, light stimulates you to wake up or stay awake..
To support your brain’s ability to turn tryptophan into serotonin and melatonin supplementing
a high-potency multivitamin that contains at least 200mcg of folic acid, 20mg of
vitamin B6, 10mg of zinc and 100mg of vitamin C as well as eating protein rich foods
may support the conversion of tryptophan into serotonin and melatonin if the person
is lacking these essential nutrients .
Music to switch off your brain.
Music can induce a shift in brainwave patterns from beta waves, associated with adrenalin
and excitation, to alpha waves, associated with the deep relaxation you experience
before you go to sleep. Listen to gentle, peaceful music you like.
May assist - Magnesium oil spray - may decrease stress and aid sleep.
