By Elena Voropay
Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives
Charles Fisher, M.D.
Don’t you wish that there would be more than 24 hours in a day? As your never-ending list of “things to do” grows longer, the most likely part of your day-to-day life to suffer a cut is a good healthy night sleep. After all, you may have all the reasons to think that sinking one third of the day into the oblivion is a terrible waste of time. For William Shakespeare, sleep was “the death of each day’s life,” and many of us follow his approach. However, modern science shows that we need to reevaluate our perspectives on the sleep cycle. Sleep is a very powerful tool in restoring and maintaining our health, both emotional and physical.
Scary Facts
At least 70 % don’t get the recommended eight hours of shut-eye every night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. The length of an average night’s sleep for an adult has decreased by 20 percent since the last century, and totals at six hours and 57 minutes. Sixty-seven percent of adults report sleeping problems. Younger college students tend to voluntarily stay up longer and more often as compared to mature generation. Obviously, younger bodies have a greater ability to recuperate and adapt to changing environment. But here lies a problem – we might not sense the shortcomings of insomnia as well as older adults, but it doesn’t mean that we are not affected. In fact, sleep loss results in performance deficits, including slowed physical and mental reaction time, increased errors, decreased vigilance, impaired memory, and reduced motivation and laxity. So, what is the anatomy of a sleep cycle and why is it so important?
Want to know more about the Sleep Hormones?
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