Hi this is Kate and today I’m going to be talking to you about sleep.
How much we need, what goes on when we sleep and what happens when we don’t get enough shut eye.
First of all, how much do we need? It seems that between seven and nine hours each night is the best but most people get a lot less than that. Some people survive on only four hours each night but they are in the minority, only about one percent of the population.
What happens when we sleep? We have five sleep phases from our waking state to gradually going deeper and deeper deeper into sleep. This fifth stage, our deepest sleep is when we go into an REM or rapid eye movement state. If we dream and it is during this time. Our heart rate, blood pressure, brain activity, and breathing increase, our arms become temporarily unable to move to stop us acting out our dreams. Levels of human growth hormone (HGH) also rise. HGH is responsible, amongst other things, for healthy tissues and a strong metabolism.
When we don’t get enough sleep what happens? We often have a lack of energy, poor concentration, mood swings, irritabilty. Levels of two hormones, leptin and ghrelin levels fall. These hormones are responsible for appetite and satiety, knowing when we’ve eaten enough food.
So no wonder that when we’re tired we go for the cup of coffee or the chocolate rather than having a glass of water to hydrate or a snack that sustains us.
To rest well we need a cool, darkened room with no distractions. I know that I sleep better in this environment. Alcohol and eating late at night can affect us too, likewise taking medications or any discomfort or pain in the body.
Unfortunately in our modern world we don’t get enough sleep. It’s more important for many to do things rather than to rest. Long term that can have a big effect on our health.T
Thank you for listening and I will see you again in my next video.