Rest and Sleep

Life today is fast and driven by exciting moments, deadline pressures, and fatigue.
Average sleep time has declined in the twentieth century. 

What's sleep? 

Sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind and body, characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activities, reduced muscle activity and inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and reduced interactions with surroundings.

Sleep is associated with a state of muscle relaxation and reduced perception of environmental stimuli.

                                       
The longer an organism is awake, the more it feels a need to sleep (sleep debt)


Did you know...

1. It's not only how much you sleep, but when and how regularly.

2. Fatigue is one of the most common complaints that propel people to doctors.

3. Teenagers need an average of nine hours of sleep, but most don't get it.

4. Millions of people have too little or very disturbed sleep every night.

5. In a recent survey,51% of men and 42% of women said they would go to sleep earlier if they didn't have a television or the Internet. Being wired might make you tired.

Camilo Ruiz, a sleep specialist at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine says;

 " You can be in bed for 12 hours, but if the 12 hours are of  bad quality, you didn't sleep."

Lack of enough Sleep may cause tiredness and chronic fatigue.

• Tiredness.

Tiredness may be caused by illness, such as a cold or flu, or maybe depression which affects sleep.

Also maybe work in confining sedentary jobs with deadline pressures and emotionally draining problems.

Additionally, Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and a common cause of insomnia.

• Chronic Fatigue.

Having prolonged tiredness and lacking energy is characterized by an increase in irritability.

Effects of fatigue and tiredness.

• Fatigue and tiredness sabotage creativity.

• Judgement suffers and efficiency goes.

• Unrelieved fatigue can culminate in exhaustion and full-scale depression.

Why do we need to have enough rest?

"Rest is an important part of life's rhythm. And like a dancer, if we go with our rhythms, we will be in tune with ourselves." A. Ludington et. al (2005). Health Power.

• Rest helps the body to renew itself.

Waste products are removed,  repairs are affected, enzymes are replenished, and energy is restored.

• Rest aids in the healing of injuries, infections, and other assaults on your body, including emotional traumas and stress.

• Rest strengthens your body's immune system, and helps you protect from diseases.

• Proper rest can add length to your life.

Research on health habits done a few years ago shows people who regularly sleep seven to eight hours each night had lower death rates than those who average either less than seven hours or who slept longer.

Resting and Sleeping are as important as diet.

1. Take frequent breaks during the long workday.  Walk around, get a drink of water, and take some deep breaths.

2. Daily engage in 30 to 60 minutes of active exercise.
Exercise relaxes, restores energy reduces depression, and reduces nervous tension.

3. Go to bed at the same time every night.
Sleep in a neat, well-ventilated completely dark room.

4. Count blessings.
Fill your mind with gratitude and thanksgiving.


"A clear conscience and a grateful mind are the pillows to sleep on."

Therefore, when the light of the day rests find a quiet place, and have some rest too.




References

Jackson, M. L., & Bruck, D. (2012). Sleep abnormalities in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a review. Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 8(6), 719–728. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.2276

Hans Diehl. Health Power: Healthy by Choice Not Chance. Edition illustrated

Publisher Stanborough Press, 2011.

Chattu, V. K., Manzar, M. D., Kumar, S., Burman, D., Spence, D. W., & Pandi-Perumal, S. R. (2018). The Global Problem of Insufficient Sleep and Its Serious Public Health Implications. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 7(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare7010001