Posts from the ‘About Sleep’ Category

What are dreams?

Everyone has awoken from a frightening dream or rolled out of bed feeling fulfilled because of a dream. Dreams allow individuals to feel as if they are using the time they spend sleeping for entertainment and learning. Dreams have always been an area of interest for many people, but the true origin and substance of dreaming remain a mystery to most.

Dreams, as defined by Dictionary.com, are “a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.” ¹

Dreams occur in all stages of sleep but occur most frequently and vividly in the first stage of REM sleep.² This stage is the most important in the sleep cycle as it provides a period of restoration and healing for the body and mind.

If an individual gets the recommended eight hours of sleep in a night, they can go through at least 4 stages of REM sleep resulting in hours of dream time, although most dreams are never recalled.² Many individuals report never remembering dreams when, in actuality, they are simply not placing importance on dreaming.  People tend to recall their dreams about once every few days on average; however, if one is awakened during REM sleep, they can recall their dream 80% of the time.³

It is thought that dreams occur because of the process during REM sleep when the brain synapses are activated and intensive firing of neuronal pathways that hold memories and experiences occurs.² This stimulation may be what causes dreaming and recall of prior experiences, future goals and a mix of the two.

Some of the most common dreams are those of individuals being chased, pursued, embarrassed, failing at something, or falling. While these types of dreams can all derive from different situations and causes, they all present a frightened sensation to the individual having the dream. Additionally, all dreamers place emphasis on different areas of their lives causing similar dreams to have various meanings to different individuals.³ For instance, more than 80% of college students noted having had dreams of the falling nature. These dreams are thought to originate from feelings of insecurity or fearing loss of emotional balance.³

While the significance of dreams is still unknown, it remains that REM sleep is truly essential to the body and mind’s health and wellness through storage of information and healing that is vital to performance during the daytime.

Bibliography:

1. Dream (n.d) On Dictionary.com—Retrieved May 24, 2012, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dreams?s=t

2. Maas, Dr. James B., Megan L. Wherry, David J Axelrod, Barbara R. Hogan, and Jennifer A. Blumin. Power Sleep: The Revolutionary Program That Prepares Your Mind for Peak Performance. New York : Villard, 1998.

3. Carskadon, Mary A. Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming. New York: Macmillan Pub., 1993.

The Need to Know About Naps

There is something about the afternoon that puts a lull in individuals’ moods and alertness.

In today’s hectic and fast paced society, finding time to nap is a rarity in itself; however, many individuals claim that a quick “power nap” allows them to catch up on sleep and get a burst of energy. As individuals across the world become more sleep deprived, naps are not only becoming more acceptable, but also necessary.

Personally, every time I nap I must set aside an entire afternoon because I wake up feeling more drowsy and drained than prior to the nap. This groggy feeling that comes after a nap is the result of napping for too long of a time period. Naps should be around 15-30 minutes long to avoid slipping into delta sleep (deep sleep). Once one is in deep sleep, being woken up from or completing phase of sleep causes one to feel extremely tired. If choosing to take a longer nap, it is suggested that one naps for an hour to an hour and a half to complete a full sleep cycle. This, however, will reduce your alertness for around an hour after napping.

There are three types of napping according to the National Sleep Foundation. Planned Napping is characterized by intentionally setting aside time to nap during a day, which is often done to prepare for a night when one is aware that they will not have ample opportunity for sleep in the near future. Emergency Napping is characterized by immediate need to rest and inability to continue with whatever activity you were engaged in. Habitual Napping is characterized by consistent nap schedule each day. ¹

There are plenty of beneficial reasons to slide back into bed midday and nap. Regular napping has been known to reduce stress, reduce the risk of heart disease and strengthen the ability to pay close attention to details. Some cultures value a daily siesta and are known for having a more relaxed outlook and productive work ethic. Faster paced, more industrialized nations such as the United States, Japan, Germany and Russia are known for not endorsing daytime napping.³

If individuals have a difficult time falling asleep at night, napping is not encouraged because it pushes back the time you would be falling asleep leading to a restless night and lack of sleep necessary for the next day’s success. Specialists actually recommend napping as long as it is done in a consistent pattern each day. Irregular napping can make consistent nocturnal sleep impossible.²

Late afternoon napping is discouraged for everyone and especially senior citizens who have difficulty sleeping. Because that period of time is so close to the average bedtime for most individuals, napping too late will make it more difficult to fall asleep at night and wake up the following morning.

While napping may seem an unattainable action for most of us, half of the world’s population finds time to nap in the stretch from 1 to 4 p.m. and the average American naps one or two times each week. ² Many sleep specialists believe that napping can actually be very beneficial to individuals who are not able to get consistent nocturnal rest.

If you are forced to work through your well deserved nap-time, you will most likely experience increased alertness that resembles the sensation you would have after napping. Although, this is helpful and briefly rejuvenating, your body still wants and needs sleep.

Kick the coffee habit and try napping as an alternative to your midday need to rest.

Bibliography:

1. http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/napping “Napping”

2. Maas, Dr. James B., Megan L. Wherry, David J Axelrod, Barbara R. Hogan, and Jennifer A. Blumin. Power Sleep: The Revolutionary Program That Prepares Your Mind for Peak Performance. New York : Villard, 1998.

3. Carskadon, Mary A. Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming. New York: Macmillan Pub., 1993.

What is sleep?

We spend fully‭ one-third ‬of our lives asleep and it’s a vital part of every person’s life,‭ ‬but it’s an activity that most people know very little about— and we oftentimes even take this important need for granted. If you’ve ever been out of your usual sleeping schedule or have suffered from a lack of sleep,‭ ‬you know how critical a good night’s sleep is.‭ ‬In order to improve the quality of your sleep it’s important to understand what happens while we rest.

So, what exactly is sleep? Sleep as defined by dictionary.com is “to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness; cease being awake.”¹ We do know sleep is so vital to our survival that it’s a matter of life and death. Laboratory rats that were deprived of sleep only lived two to three weeks.¹ A basic sleep tip, therefore, would simply be: don’t underestimate the importance of a good night’s sleep.

The National Institute of Health acknowledges that even though we don’t know the exact reason we sleep, it is something our bodies and mind must have. You might think that while we sleep so does our body and mind, yet even though we aren’t aware of what’s going on while we sleep, our bodies and minds remain busy.²

Sleep is regulated by a pair of systems in our body: the sleep-wake process and our circadian/internal rhythmic biological clock. These systems work in tandem both to make us feel tired, [preparing our bodies to sleep], and to help us feel awake during the day— acting as a mechanism to drive our activity and rest. Changes in our daily routines, as well as any kind of stress [in addition to myriad other factors], can alter these sensitive systems and cause people to feel tired in the morning as well as unable to sleep at night. An important sleep tip to remember is that even something so small as missing an hour of sleep for a couple days can throw our internal systems entirely off-balance.

There are two types of sleep: non-rapid eye movement [NREM] and rapid eye movement‭ [‬REM].‭ ‬As we rest,‭ ‬we cycle between NREM and REM around every hour and a half.‭ ‬It’s during REM sleep that dreaming, a vital part of sleep, occurs most often. Though we have barely begun‭  ‬to‭ ‬understand their importance and the reasons for them, they are surrounded by folklore— such as the idea that eating spicy foods just before bed will give you strange dreams. ‭ In fact, a‬ great tip to help you sleep better is to avoid eating or drinking anything at all for at least‭ ‬2-3‭ ‬hours before going to bed‭ so that you‬ fall asleep faster.³

If you feel tired throughout the day, if you can’t fall asleep at night, or if you have some other problem affecting your sleep, “rest assured” that you’re not alone: one out of nearly every four people in the United States suffers from some form of  sleep disorder.³ Sleep problems can be caused by just one or a cavalcade of events and can occur at any age. The most common sleep disorders are:

• Insomnia‭ ‬– inability or difficulty getting to sleep and staying in a resting state.
• Sleep Apnea‭ ‬– sufferers will snore loudly while sleeping,‭ ‬stop breathing for a short time,‭ ‬then gasp for breath.
• Narcolepsy‭ ‬– prevents people from entering a regular sleep/wake cycle,‭ ‬causing them to fall asleep uncontrollably.
• Restless Leg Syndrome‭ ‬– causes a person’s legs to have a sensation of tingling,‭ ‬only alleviated by moving,‭ ‬which interferes with sleep.⁴

Sleep is both an important and vital part of a healthy, happy life. We have put a great deal of research and development into our  memory foam mattress line, but getting quality rest is affected by many things in your life. The more you understand about sleep and what factors can effect it, the better your overall well-being may become.

Bibliography

1. Sleep. (n.d.) On Dictionary.com— Retrieved May 11, 2009, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sleep
2. United States Department of Health & Human Services. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Your Guide To Healthy Sleep. Nov. 2005. Jan. 2012. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/healthy_sleep.pdf>.
3. Sleep and Aging (Published March 16, 2005)— Retrieved May 11, 2009, from http://nihseniorhealth.gov/sleepandaging/aboutsleep/01.html
4. Can’t Sleep? Science Is Seeking New Answers; CAM at the NIH Focus on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume XVII, Number 3: Summer 2005—Retrieved Jan 10, 2012, from http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/090106.htm