Life is short, why sleep so much?
So that it is not so short. Little sleep is related to a shorter life expectancy. While we sleep, an infinite number of physiological processes necessary to live occur.
What other disasters does it cause?
Getting little sleep puts the body in a state of alert, and then the body wants to accumulate reserves, so it awakens our appetite for junk food, which contains a high caloric content.
Curious.
It also causes a greater propensity for strokes and cardiovascular accidents of all kinds, because it makes the sympathetic nervous system, the one that puts us on alert, more active and the pulse rate faster; and alters the intestinal microbiota.
I see that things are getting dangerous.
Little sleep reduces fertility because it affects the secretion of certain hormones such as testosterone and female hormones related to reproduction.
The dream fixes what has been learned.
That saying of a sleeping lesson, a lesson learned, has a real physiological basis. Sleep is involved in synaptogenesis.
Synapse formation?
Yes, and one of the functions of REM sleep is to fix memories, so it is never worth sacrificing hours of sleep before an exam to try to memorize something else.
They say dreaming is therapeutic.
Studies have been done that show that people who have gone through a traumatic or grieving situation, if they dream about that fact, recover better from the situation.
Because?
When we dream there is hardly any noradrenaline in the brain and that makes the brain in a stress-free context, so it allows us to relive certain things with less intensity, and that has a therapeutic effect.
What happens at night influences the day?
Yes, and what happens in the day influences the night.
Does sleeping clean the brain?
In 2013, the glymphatic system, a series of channels, was described as waste pathways to eliminate waste generated by neuronal metabolism when we are awake and activated while we sleep.
Do circadian rhythms vary with age?
Yes, that set of mechanisms that set us on time, that makes each physiological process occur at the right time, changes with age. Babies do not have a circadian pattern, they sleep in pieces, and around a year of life the day and night pattern already appears.
In adolescence it changes again.
Yes, it is the first major change in the circadian system: it is delayed, and the adolescent tends to go to bed and get up later and has a greater tolerance for staying awake for longer hours.
In adulthood we become morning.
Indeed, and as we get older, sleep fragments into pieces again and the person sleeps less.
No need to worry?
Circadian synchronizers such as the cycle of light and darkness should be strengthened. Exposing ourselves to natural light daily is very important and you have to sleep in the dark.
Spain is one of the countries with the highest consumption of sleeping pills.
The curious thing is that the data does not indicate that there is a higher percentage of insomnia symptoms here than in France or Portugal.
So?
Sleeping pills are prescribed without spending time in consultation to investigate the person's habits. Often it is a circadian disruption, the person is not keeping regular hours or not getting enough sun exposure or not exercising...
Is there a difference between the brain of a sleepyhead and that of a person prone to insomnia?
A brain prone to insomnia when asleep is more alert than one that is not. But there are many factors. People who, for example, have experienced bullying are more prone to insomnia.
Give me essential tips to sleep like a little angel.
Good contrast between day and night, silence: do not fall asleep with the TV on, physical exercise away from bedtime, avoid eating late, coffee, tobacco and alcohol.
Alcohol knocks you down.
Produces poorer quality sleep. And it is important to sleep in the dark, in silence and at a temperature between 19 and 21 degrees, and to attend to mental health: rumination is a risk factor for sleep.
War and night are related.
Yes, at night the attacks worsen because the opponent is more vulnerable and because that way you prevent him from resting. We are a diurnal species and our cognitive ability is at its best during the day.
