What is sleep anyway? It seems like an obvious answer since we all sleep but the truth is that many people don’t understand sleep, how it works or why it is important. Sleep is a regular state of natural unconsciousness that is observed in humans as well as all mammals, birds and fish. Sleep is a restorative function that helps us heal, rejuvenate and cleanse the body of impurities. It is necessary to life.
Sleep helps restore both the brain and the body. Many studies have been done to reveal the connection and to show how sleep affects the hormonal balance as well as help prevent disease and more. Sleep is the opportunity for the body to slow down and heal from the day. Your body will restore itself on an individual cell level. It will work harder to boost metabolism, boost your immune system and heal.
When a person is deprived of sleep, they will show symptoms that often start minor but progress the longer the person is deprived of sleep. This doesn’t just mean a total hours of lack of sleep but also refers to regularly not getting enough sleep each night. This will eventually catch up to you and take its toll on your body and you will begin to see the signs of sleep deprivation.
For as long as man and science has been around people have been studying sleep and how it works. Today, thanks to advances in neurology, neuroscience, electronics and genetics we know more than ever before about sleep and how it helps us. One of the ways that sleep is studied today is through the use of sleep tests. Often the impulses generated by the brain during sleep are studied with an electroencephalograph (EEG) and this can tell doctors and scientists quite a bit about sleep.
Sleep contains different stages. During these stages the brain will produce different electrical impulses. The dream stage of sleep is referred to as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and it is so named because the eyes typically move under the eyelids during this stage of sleep. REM sleep is also very important to the development of the human. Activity which occurs during the REM stage helps the central nervous system develop properly.
The different stages of sleep are all needed to help the body grow, develop and repair from damage taken during the day. The proper amount of sleep each day is also essential to good health. Without sleep, we would die. Without enough sleep, serious medical consequences can occur.
