Sleep

 Are you sleeping right now? If not, then you're alright. Yes, this time I'm talking about my favourite part of the day, and I simply love talking about things I love (which is probably evident from my previous blogs I guess). Anyways, coming back to sleep (the blog, not the actual sleep, although I'd love some of that just about now).

What exactly is sleep? Going by a quick internet search, sleep is a condition of the body and the mind that typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and the consciousness practically suspended (that's the Bing definition for you). According to me, it is a state of pure bliss and it should be an actual crime to disturb someone in their sleep. Very particular about that, I am. 

Sleep, like most bodily functions, is not simple. Like you don't just lay down on your bed, close your eyes, and imagine some scenarios that you know you won't experience anytime soon :-( and fall asleep. Of course, it has to be complicated!! Life wouldn't be fun otherwise now, would it? 

There are 4 stages to sleeping after you've fallen asleep. The first three are the Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) stages and the last is the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage. The former are the ones where the muscles are at rest, breathing is slow and heart rate is low. This changes in REM though: breathing is faster and heart rate increases and limbs are basically paralysed (believed to happen to prevent us from acting our dreams out). This is also the stage where recent experiences are converted into long-term memories. It takes anywhere between 90 to 120 minutes and will repeat till your body clock signals the sleep systems that it's time to wake up, which is when you enter light sleep (NREM 1) to prepare your body to wake.

According to most medical sites, newborns (age 0 to 3 months) require roughly 14 to18 hours of sleep, while adults above 30 require 6 to 8 hours of sleep. As for teens, we important humans require 8 to 10 hours of sleep, which we are normally deprived of by the older generation (and electronics partially I guess). However, the quality of sleep is of more value than the quantity of sleep as is the case of most quality vs quantity disputes. A good night's rest has tons of benefits such as a stronger immune system, faster repairs of physical damages, higher social and emotional intelligence and some other good things. Like cookies (here, have one🍪). Lack of good and timely sleep leads to bad stuff like attention lapses, strokes, high blood pressure, etc., which none of us would really want (unless you're a maniac).

So class, what did you learn from this? Don't compromise on sleep. It's just as important, if not more than a proper diet and adequate exercise. On that note, I wish you all a happy sleep! And I'll catch you all next month.

βye