Sleep is a mysterious, but at the same time, such a necessary phenomenon for a person. We spend a third of our lives in this state of unconsciousness. Every day, for an average of 8 hours, our body “turns off”, we lose control over the body, we don’t know what is happening to us, and most importantly, after waking up, strength, energy and the ability to conquer new heights in a new day come from somewhere. Let’s try to dispel this amazing mystery and figure out what happens to the body during sleep and how sleep guides our lives.
Each person’s sleep is regulated by their unique biological clock – in science, the circadian rhythm. The brain switches between the “day” and “night” modes, reacting to a number of factors, but primarily to the absence of light signals – darkness. Thus, it increases the production of melatonin. Melatonin, called the “horn of sleep”, is responsible for the regulation of circadian rhythms. The more it is formed in the body, the more a person wants to sleep.
During the night, the body cycles through four stages of sleep. In order to sleep well, these stages should change each other 4-5 times.
– light sleep. This is the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Heart rate and breathing begin to slow down, body temperature drops, and muscles may twitch.
Delta sleep is the first stage of deep sleep. During it, cells produce more growth hormone for bones and muscles, thereby allowing the body to recover from a hard day.
– the most important in terms of processes in the body and it is in it that we begin to dream. Interestingly, during this period, the body begins to produce chemicals that temporarily paralyze it so that we do not realize our dreams.
The price of sleep deprivation
Lack of sleep is almost an epidemic these days. Modern man sleeps much less than a hundred years ago. Sleeping less than 6-8 hours (which is what scientists advise) is associated with a huge number of risks.
Even after one day of lack of sleep, there are noticeable consequences: deterioration in attention, appearance, you become more emotional, irritable, and also risk catching colds due to reduced immunity. But with a decrease in the standard sleep time to 4-5 hours, it is worth thinking about the reasons and urgently looking for a solution. The longer you maintain such an unhealthy regimen, the higher the price your body will pay. In the case of regular serious lack of sleep, the risk of getting a stroke increases, the likelihood of developing diabetes and heart disease increases. This is the data of serious and long-term studies of scientists.
Sleep and memory
Remember, as a child, we believed that if you read a paragraph of a textbook before going to bed, then the next day you would remember it well? Have you ever wondered: why in the morning some details of the past day seem to disappear from memory? Does sleep still affect our ability to remember and forget?
It turned out that our brain sleeps in parts. When some brain zones are asleep, others are actively working to ensure that by morning the human consciousness is clean and fresh, and the memory can absorb new knowledge. This is a memory consolidation feature. During this process, the brain processes the information received during the day, transfers it from short-term memory to long-term memory, clears unimportant details, and completely deletes some events, emotions and data. Thus, information is sorted and filtered so that by the time of awakening the brain can perceive the data, and the memory works at 100%. Without such forgetting of unnecessary information, there will be no remembering of the important.
Sleep and mood: the magic of hormones
Didn’t sleep at night and wasted all day! Familiar? When you do not get enough sleep, irritation, apathy and bad mood haunt the whole day. Or when winter comes, we practically “fall into hibernation” – activity drops, we increasingly succumb to depressive moods, we sleep more.
The dependence of sleep and mood is noticeable to us at an intuitive level. But what if we say that the reason for this phenomenon is one hundred percent scientific?
The sleep hormone melatonin, as we have already mentioned, regulates the circadian rhythms of the body and its synthesis directly depends on changes in illumination – the darker it is around, the more active the hormone is produced. It is important that its formation comes from another hormone – serotonin, which in turn is responsible for our mood (it is also called the “hormone of happiness”). It turns out that they simply cannot exist without each other! If there is not enough serotonin in the body, you do not sleep well, because melatonin has nothing to form from, and vice versa – a large amount of melatonin inhibits the production of serotonin and the level of attention drops, and your mood worsens. Here it is – the connection between sleep and mood at the chemical level!
Serotonin and melatonin are like “yin and yang” among hormones – their action is opposite, but one cannot exist without the other. And the main rule for the harmonious alternation of sound sleep and happy wakefulness is the balance of these hormones in the body.
sleep and weight
If you feel like you’re eating more because of lack of sleep, you are. This is proved by scientific research and, importantly, by the hormonal structure of the body.
The fact is that energy expenditure, sleep and appetite are regulated by one part of the brain – the hypothalamus. Short sleep or lack thereof increases the production of the “hunger hormone” ghrelin and reduces the amount of leptin, which is responsible for feeling full. Because of this, the feeling of hunger intensifies, the appetite increases, and the amount of food eaten becomes more difficult to control. Scientists analyzed the results of more than 10 studies and found that lack of sleep is followed by overeating by an average of 385 kilocalories. Of course, the number is not radical, but with constant sleep deprivation, the figure becomes impressive.
Phytotherapy sleep
What to do if you are faced with the problem of insomnia or restless sleep?
There is no “magic pill” to solve this issue, so everyone chooses the right “helper” for himself. Globally, sleep aids can be divided into chemical or herbal preparations. Of the latter, herbal teas are the most popular. Herbal preparations, unlike synthetic drugs, do not cause dependence and addiction in the patient. Herbal remedies with mild sedative properties will help in minimizing anxiety, irritability, and promoting healthy and deep sleep. Moreover, you can take plant-based products both inside – teas, decoctions, infusions, and use them externally – as aromatic baths.
Dried plants, fruits, rhizomes are endowed with a mass of useful substances, essential oils, alkaloids, vitamins, micro and macro elements. Almost everyone can brew tea, with the exception of people suffering from individual intolerance.
Many herbs have been clinically proven to work. People suffering from sleep disorders, who took preparations from plants to normalize sleep, noted a significant decrease in external stimuli, the elimination of daytime sleepiness, and the normalization of night sleep.
What herbs promote sound and healthy sleep?
Valerian. This plant has been actively used since ancient times to calm the nervous system. It contains isovaleric acid, as well as the alkaloids valerine and hatinine. Together they have a mild sedative effect. Therefore, valerian root is used to relieve headaches, migraines, insomnia, spasms and neuroses.
Hop. Inflorescences containing lupulin are used. It has a stabilizing and analgesic effect on the central nervous system, and also improves the quality of sleep.
Oregano. The plant contains flavonoids and essential oils, which have antispasmodic, antiarrhythmic and hypnotic effects. Oregano drink has a spicy taste and unusual aroma.
Melissa. Another useful plant, the leaves of which contain linalol. This substance has a calming, relaxing and sedative effect. Therefore, tea is prepared from lemon balm to refresh and soothe the body.
Motherwort. A mild hypnotic effect is achieved due to the presence of stachidrine. The use of motherwort facilitates the process of falling asleep. Motherwort is used for insomnia, neurosis, depression, VVD, neurasthenia.
It is important to understand that the effect of herbs is mild, cumulative, more familiar to the natural rhythms of the body. They can be taken without harm for a long period of time, and they are great for people who follow a healthy diet.
You can purchase phytocollections from the material on the website of the manufacturer “Altai cedar”
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