The Built-In Sleep-Wake Cycle and the Sleep Awakenings

We spend one third of our life in sleep, but surprising we know a little about it.

Only recently has science started to investigate why sleep is good for us and why we feel miserable if we don’t sleep well.

All living creatures function in alternating rhythms of activity and sleep; in humans, one sleep-wake cycle lasts about twenty-five hours.

There seems to be an internal clock that’s set to make us sleepy at particular points during this cycle. The major “down- time” for most adults occurs naturally between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., with a minor energy dip between 2:00 and 4:00 P.M.

New research shows that the need for sleep is a biological drive, just like the need for food and water. While we snooze, the brain busily produces chemical changes to repair injured and worn-out body cells.

Some scientists think dreaming also plays a therapeutic role by bolstering memory and learning. Dreams help us process new information and connect it to what we already know. Resting while we are awake may feel good, but it’s not the same.

Repeatedly disrupted sleeping patterns will result in sleep debt and this essentially means that we’ve borrowed extra waking time, and we owe our bodies a debt of healthy sleep that eventually has to be paid back.

Or else our bodies will claim their due, and we’ll find ourselves dozing off uncontrollably.

Night Shift or Rotating Employees

Nearly 20% workforce in US are working in night shifts or rotating shifts. They must disrupt their sleep-wake cycles on a daily basis. Researchers have found that shift workers are two to five times more likely to fall asleep on the job than people who work consistent day shifts.

Ironically, these workers also report more problems with insomnia than do day shift workers, plus higher rates of stress, digestive problems, and heart disease.

Undoubtedly, when we can maintain a consistent sleep-wake schedule from day to day, we function best. Unhealthy sleep can have national repercussions.

On-the-job drowsiness is cause of the collision between two Consolidated Rail Corporation freight trains, which killed crew members and caused more than six million dollars in damage.

The tragic explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl were attributed to worker fatigue.

Sleep Awakenings

Sporadic nighttime awakenings are a normal occurrence. You can expect to wake up at least once every ninety minutes during the night. However, you won’t be able to recall the wakeful period in the next morning, unless it lasts for at least seven minutes because the memory is affected by sleep.

We can never be sure of the exact time we fall asleep. We also tend to be very hazy about events that occurred during the night. As we get older, nighttime awakenings increase in duration.

This is considered normal. However, patterns are believed to have deviated from the norm if nighttime awakenings occur so often that only 85% of the time in bed is in fact spent asleep. The lower the figure drops after that, the nearer a person gets to being classified as having a sleeping disorder.

Tips for Having a Fantastic Nights Sleep

Here are some tips for having a fantastic night sleep.

• Curtail your time in bed. The longer you stay in bed, the more fragmented your sleep becomes. The less time you stay in bed, the more consolidated your sleep. Therefore 8 hours of sleep out of 8.5 hours in bed is more efficient than 8 hours of sleep out of 10 hours in bed.
• Get up at the same time each day. Our bodies are controlled by circadian rhythms. The circadian rhythm requires one stable point around which it can stabilize. Since you cannot control what time you fall asleep, the only time you can control is what time you woke up. Thus it is very important for insomniacs to get up at the same time each day and to avoid “sleeping in.”
• Avoid caffeine. Caffeine has been shown to disrupt sleep, even in individuals who don’t think it affects them. The effect of caffeine remains in the body on average from 3 to 5 hours. Remember that caffeine is not just in coffee but in tea, chocolate, and many sodas. For individuals with insomnia, it is best to avoid all caffeine after lunchtime. And if you need one more reason to stop smoking, tobacco also has been shown to disturb sleep. [Sleep and Caffeine]
• Avoid nicotine. Nicotine can have an arousing effect and therefore make it more difficult to sleep.
• Don’t drink alcohol. Alcohol often is used by insomniacs to help them fall asleep. One old wives’ tale suggests having a glass of sherry before bed to promote sleep. In fact this is just an old wives’ tale. Alcohol makes you sleepy initially but several hours later when the alcohol wears off, it can cause you to wake up. Therefore if you drink alcohol with dinner, you may be sleepy right after dinner, but several hours later, when it is time for bed, you may be wide awake.
• Avoid the bedroom clock. The first thing you do when you wake up in the middle of the night is look at your clock. The time pressure contributes to poor sleep. In addition, the acts of opening your eyes to see the clock and lifting your head to read the time wake you up even more. What difference does it make if it is 1:00 am or 3:00 am? Turn your clock around or move it to the other side of the room where you won’t be tempted to look. If you wake up in the middle of the night, keep your eyes closed, and you will be more likely to go right back to sleep.