Sleep,what happen during sleep,NREM sleep,REM sleep,sleep walking

SLEEP

THINK IN THE MORNING
ACT IN THE NOON
EAT IN YHE EVENING
SLEEP IN THE NIGHT.(William Blake)


We sleep daily. Animals also sleep. Do plant sleep? I think no, because plants do not have a central nervous system as in people and animals.Let's talk about  sleep in humans. We people, sleep and sleep and sleep from night to morning and even at day time without thinking what it is,what health benefits it gives and how to manage it for the sake of our wellbeing.Is just sleeping only, enough for an intelligent human,than understanding something important about it ?  It is not bad to know how much sleep does an individual need ,what biological process are taking place in our bodies during sleep,when best to go to bed and when best to awake, what REM (rapid eye movement sleep)and NREM (non rapid eye movement sleeps) are ? Why some sleep well and some don't.  Are there sleep disorders? Do you know you are free of sleeping disorders?
Suppose your lifespan is 60 years.That is ,you live 518400 hours. (60*12*30*24=518400). Further suppose you sleep at least 6 hours a day.That means you sleep 129600 hours during your sixty year life time.(6*30*12*60= 129600).129600 hours is 15 years.(129600/24/30/12=15).See,it's wonderful,out of your 60 year life time you sleep 15 years.That means you sleep one fourth of your life.What do you think ,is that 15 years of sleep worth or in vain ? In my opinion that 15 years of sleep is the main contributer which makes the other 45 years of your life healthy wealthy and wise and a great success.You have not consumed it in vain.If you read on this article you will understand what happen in side your body during sleep.

what happen during sleep

You work and work and work,sometimes not only at day time but also at night.During work ,whether day or night, our body and mind get tired and exhausted.Systems like immune system gets weakened.Then you can't continue work. As a result your body demands rest and sleep.Rest is not enough. you want a deep sound sleep. During this deep sound sleep very important anabolic activities take place in the body.That is building up of the worn out immune ,nervous,skeletal and muscular systems. Your mind which gets messed up during days work will be cleared up and restored in the sleep. If you do not get enough rest and sleep, you will not be able to wake up afresh next morning. Therefore you should consider sleeping as a vital process without which you can't lead a healthy life. So is sleeping worth or in vain ? 

A BIT OF SCIENCE ABOUT SLEEP

There are two types of sleep called Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM) and Non Rapid Eye Movement sleep ( NREM ).When you sleep you go through both of these two types.You start with NREM
and then step up to the second phase,REM. Sometimes you wake up before going to the second phase or somebody  may wake you up before stepping up to  the second.However both have interesting things to know.

NREM SLEEP

You start with this.Scientists divide it into three phases. In the first phase your eyes are closed.you seem to be in between waking and sleep.One can wake you up easily you are not worried much about waking up in this phase.This phase lasts about five to ten minutes.
Then comes the second phase where you go to a light sleep.  It is said that in this phase your heart rate slows down and your body temperature decreases a bit.And at the end of this stage you are  ready to go to a deep sleep.The third phase is the deep sleep stage where one can't wake you up easily.And when somebody however wakes you up ,you will get a few minutes to become normal and you may meanwhile utter some blurred words and behave oddly.In this third stage or deep sleep stage very important anabolic activities take place within the body.Worn out body repairs,tissues regrow,bones build,immune system strengthens.

REM SLEEP

The second type of sleep is REM sleep. It means Rapid Eye Movement sleep. It is said that, in the rapid eye movement sleep,as the name implies, your eyes move quickly in different directions. In
the NREM sleep such movement of eyes doesn't occur.You get into REM sleep after passing the three stages of NREM sleep. that is about  ninety minutes  after you start your sleep. When you are in REM  sleep you dream vividly. You get more bodily movements.It is learned that faster breathing and faster pulse occur during REM.

SLEEP WALKING

Have you seen people walking in sleep? I remember  my grand father relating a story about a  sleep walker who was a relative of him.  According to him the sleep walker gets up from his sleep in the midnight, unlocks the door and walks in the garden until he treads on water or crosses a waterway.As soon as the sleep walker touches water he wakes up from his sleep and screams in fear till someone hears his cry and comes to help. He said that  he placed a gunny bag soaked in water near the door where he slept, for the walker to touch and wake up and thereby prevent him from sleep walking.

However the story, sleep walking is a sleep disorder. It is also called somnambulism.In this disorder the walker not only walks in sleep but also tries to do some works like combing hair ,waring clothes and arranging bed as he is in full consciousness.
The danger for the sleep walker lies in the performance of hazardous activities like plugging in irons, switching on gas cookers and trying to cut vegetables. Some even tend to do hallucinate activities.

According to scientists sleep walking occurs in the third stage of NREM sleep when the sleeper is in low consciousness,when walk in sleep, his eyes are open but facial expression is not normal. According to doctors immaturity in the central nervous system in childhood, alcohol, excessive tiredness, fever, are some causes for sleep walking. Sleep walking usually lasts from thirty seconds to a half an hour or so. This little time is enough for some thing dangerous to happen. So we should be vigilant , if there is someone who walks in sleep around us or in our households. There are medical treatments for sleep walking ,so we should not hesitate to consult doctors in such cases.