My absolutely most favorite moment in 24 hours is cuddling up under a layer of quilts for a long night’s sleep. You might have presumed because I am an active life-lover that my most favorite time of the day is getting up with the rising sun. That’s my second favorite and only after a good night of sleep.
Why do we sleep? Maybe sleep gives our brains a chance to recharge? Or maybe sleep gives our brain an opportunity to process newly learned information or to archive memories? Sleep lowers our metabolic rate and our energy consumption so maybe it’s an opportunity to replace chemicals and repair muscles. Whatever the reason, we need our sleep to help protect us from illness. Sleep deprivation is linked to colds and flu, diabetes, heart disease, mental health, and even obesity.
Our sleep comes to us in stages. A complete sleep cycle takes an average of 90 to 110 minutes. We begin with light sleep where our eyes move slowly and our muscle activity slows and we are easily awakened. Then we drop into deep sleep where eye movement stops and progressively more extremely slow delta brain waves are produced. Finally, we reach rapid eye movement or REM sleep where our breathing becomes more rapid, irregular and shallow. Brain waves increase, heart rate increases, and blood pressure rises. This is the time when most dreams occur. Most of us experience three to five intervals of REM sleep each night.
One of best part of sleep is dreaming. Everybody dreams and if you want to figure out how to remember yours, there are techniques to help. I enjoy keeping a dream journal of my more vivid ones.
If you are experiencing sleep difficulties, take a critical look at your sleep schedule, bedtime habits, and day–to–day lifestyle choices with these sleep tips or this CD. Your success in everything depends on sleep!
I wish you many good nights and mornings too!
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