Do you think your life could be improved by changing when or how long you sleep
ID: 144980 • Letter: D
Question
Do you think your life could be improved by changing when or how long you sleep each day? In what ways? What negative effects do you think such changes might have on you? How has reading about sleep research changed your views about sleep? Give a few examples. Do you think your life could be improved by changing when or how long you sleep each day? In what ways? What negative effects do you think such changes might have on you? How has reading about sleep research changed your views about sleep? Give a few examples.Explanation / Answer
The human body is a synchronized living system, coordinated by organ systems maintaining a physical and mental balance of the body. Circadian rhythms or the 'body clock' helps in regulating many physiological processes like the sleep-wake cycle. It controls activities like when to eat, sleep or take rest. Sleep is a ubiquitous phenomenon in mammals, reptiles, and birds. It has been conserved through evolution in all these years, hence proves to be an important feature for our body.
There are five different stages of sleep, which can be distinguished by analyzing the changes in the electrical activities of brain measured by an instrument known as an electroencephalogram (EEG). Broadly, the two stages of sleep are- Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and the Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The wide majority of our sleep of about eighty percentage is non-rapid eye movement (NREM). It is characterized by distinct high and slow delta waves forming electrical patterns or sleep spindles developed in the brain. This is the deepest sound sleep of our sleep cycle.
In sleep-deprived conditions, especially without the sound sleep or the NREM sleep, our body gets severely affected. The ability to form memories, majorly the declarative memories, like word formation and learning get seriously impaired. Sound sleep is vital for transferring short-term memories into prolonged long-term storage. The deep sleep is also proven to be the peak time for the release of growth hormones important for cell cycle and repair. Just like NREM, the REM sleep stands vital for leading a healthy life. Many scientific studies have proven that REM sleep helps our brain to practice facing and dealing with situations and emotions that we fail to encounter during our normal daily lives. During this stage, the body muscles are temporarily paralyzed, which prevents us from acting out the emotions experienced by us during dreams. This process is also important to clear off and unlearn the unwanted memories from our brain.
Apart, from maintaining a balanced mental health, a sound sleep also plays an important role in controlling the physiological processes of our body. A good quality sleep helps in improving digestion, anxiety and boosts immune levels.
So far, by studying about the importance of sound sleep for the human body. It becomes evident that one can improve his/her health condition by sleeping well in time for sufficient hours. The sleep duration varies for different age groups of people. An average adult human being should sleep for about 7-8 hours a day. The newborns and infants need more quality sleep time of about 12-18 hours a day.
Hence, early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise.
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