Sleep 101

Ah sleep. Sleep is the time to relax our bodies, refresh, re-energize and recoup from the day. For most of us, we see sleep as a time when nothing of consequence happens. Today, though, sleep researchers would claim otherwise. That we do use our brains while we sleep. And the quality of sleep matters.

So what happens to our bodies as we sleep? Is the process consistent? It is, which makes the first question easier to answer. We all know intrinsically if we had a great night's sleep, or not. It is the 'not' that can negatively affect our entire day. Everything from lethargy, to concentration difficulties. Scientists have found that lack of sleep can shorten our lives. Yet many doctors have limited education in sleep science. Until recently, some medical schools have not even required course work for graduation. WE NEED TO SLEEP, IT IS NOT AN OPTION.

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Neurotransmitters in the brain control our sleep. While we sleep we experience five sleep stages. It will take up to 2 hours to cycle through these stages, after which the cycle repeats itself. Stage 1 is that time when your eyes want to close, but if a noise happens, you will wake easy, this stage is preparing our bodies to sleep, systems are shutting down. Our eyes may still move during stage 1, however in stage 2 that movement stops. Our brain's activity slows down considerably from stage 1. During stage 3 delta waves appear. Our brains are asleep. The lowest brain activity occurs during stage 4, sometimes called deep sleep. It is very difficult to wake someone in stage 4 sleep. During stage 4 there is no evidence of muscle or eye movement. The final stage is REM sleep. REM sleep is characterized by rapid eye movement, and rapid breathing. Heart rate and blood pressure increases. Muscles are temporarily paralyzed which means we cannot move, tossing and turning disrupts REM sleep. And we dream. Age will determine how long we stay in the various stages, as well as the total hours of sleep needed to produce quality.

That is why your sleep surface is important to your over all health. When we sleep bad, it affects more than mood, or concentration. It can affect other things as well, such as weight control, and the ability to learn and function at peek levels. So that being said, the first thing to consider is your mattress. Innerspring manufacturers build their mattresses to last approximately 10 years. After that, the support is not where it needs to be and our sleep can be disrupted. They know that our bodies change over time, so 10 years is the optimum time to provide value in their product. Foam is a little better, it reacts to your body, and can last much longer, but it still is unable to change dramatically over time. Air sleep, like the mattresses by Comfortaire, allow for changes to occur as needed, thus making the bed the longest lasting value in the market today.

Sleep Well!