Fosco1

FaithFosco
English1101
ProfessorSolether
9May2016
SleepingsBeauty
Itakeyoubynight,bydaytakeyoubacknonesuffertohaveme,butdofrommylack.
WhatamI?Theanswer(asyou'reprobablysawinthetitle)issleep.Ifyouthinkaboutit,itsa
weirdconcept:peoplegounconsciousforacertainnumberofhoursadayinordertowelllive
andfunctionduringtheday.Asinterestingofatopicitcanbe,itcanalsobeveryaggravating.
Peoplewhosufferfrominsomniaorothersleepdisordersmaynotenjoytheirsleeplikeothers
do.Eventhosewithoutasleepdisorder(includingmyself)canneverseemtogetenoughofit
whyisthat?Perhapsweredoingitwrong.Knowingthescienceofsleepandhowexactlytoget
agoodnightssleepisimportanttoefficienteverydayfunctioning.Ifwedontunderstandwhat
happenswhenwesleeporevenwhyweneedit,howdoweknowhowtogetthebestsleep?
Ifyouthinkaboutit,sleepissimilartoourphoneneedingtoberechargedbecausethe
batteryislow.Whileaphoneischargingitcanupdateappsandgivethephonemoreenergyto
functionlongerjustlikeourbodydoesduringsleep.Whilewesleep,ourbodyisabletostore
andreplenishcertainfoodsandnutrientsaswellashealusofbodilywoundsweacquiredduring
theday.Whenwewakeup,weshouldhavemoreenergyfortheday.Whilewesleep,complex
changestakeplaceinthebrain.Ourbraingoesthroughfourdifferentstagesofsleepinwhich
differentfrequenciesandsizesofbrainwaves(measuredbyanEEGor
electroencephalograph)
occur.Instageone,wearejustbeginningtofallasleepas,wegothroughAlphaandTheta


Fosco2

(lighterbrainwaves),andhaveperiodsofdreaminess,almostlikedaydreaming,exceptweare
beginningtofallasleep(Walcutt2016).Sensationsoffallingormusclecontractionscanalsobe
associatedwiththisfirststage,Instagetwo,Ourbrainbeginstoproduceveryshortperiodsof
rapid,rhythmicbrainwaveactivityknownasSleepSpindles.Bodytemperaturebeginsdropping
andheartratestartsslowingdown(Walcutt2016).Instagethreethetransitionbetweenlight
anddeepsleepoccurwithourbrainproducing,Deep,slowbrainwavesknownasDeltaWaves
(Walcutt2016).StagefourisalsoknownasDeltaSleepbecauseofthedeepdeltawavesthat
occurduringthistime.This,deepsleepthatlastsforabout30minutes.Sleepwalkingand
bedwettingtypicallyhappenattheendofthisstage(Walcutt2016).Thelaststageisknownas
theREMorrapideyemovementstage.Thisis,eyemovement,increasedrespirationrateand
increasedbrainactivity(Walcutt2016).Becauseoftheincreaseinbrainactivity,dreaming
occurs.Bodyparalysisalsooccurs.Onlyinvoluntarymovementisevidentlikeyourheart
beatingorbloodflow.Duringsleepthesestagesoccurincycleswhich,beginsinStageOneand
progressesintostages2,3,and4.Then,afterStageFoursleep,StagesThree,thenTwoare
repeatedbeforegoingintoREMsleep.OnceREMisover,weusuallyreturntoStageTwosleep
(Walcutt22016).
Alotoftimeswedontthinkabouthowimportantthistimeinourlivesaretodaily
functioning.Whatwouldhappenifwedecidedtosimplynotsleepforadayordays?Sure,wed
beunbelievablytiredbutthatsitright?False.Theanswerisdemonstratedinapsychology
experimentdonebyLungatoin2016.Hestudiedthephysiologicaleffectsofsleepdeprivationin
miceandfoundthatthroughacellanalysisthat,anincreaseinthedeathofBlymphocytesfrom
thebonemarrowandspleenwasassociatedwithanincreaseinoxidativestressindicators,such


Fosco3

asDCFHDA,CAT,andmitochondrialSOD(Lungato2016).Withoutsleep,thebodyliterally
startedtobreakdownchemicalsinourbones!IthinkIcansafelysaythatstrongbonesare
importanttoourphysiologicalmakeup.Asforhowitpsychologicallyaffectedthebody,the
resultsfromLungatosexperiment(asmentioned)showedhowstressindicatorsalsoincreased,
meaningthatwithoutsleepyoudbemorestressedduringthedaythus,makingitmoredifficult
forpeopletodealwithlifesproblems(andmaybesoundalittlecrazyduringtheday).With
excessstresscomesotherharmfulphysiologicallongtermconsequences,butitallbeginswith
sleep.
Nowthatwenotonlyunderstandmoreaboutwhysleepissovitaltoourdaily
functioningandhowsleepworks,wecangettothepartwherewetalkabouthowtogetagood
nightssleep.MichaelBreusletsusknowinaWebMDarticlewhatgettingagoodnightssleep
isntasdifficultaswemightthink.Hementionshowourbodyneedstodefinitelybe
comfortablebothphysicallyandphysiologically.Wehavetomakesurewehaveacomfyplace
torestandagoodsupportforourheadandneck.Onehelpfulpillowadvertisedonlineiscalled
TheMiracleBambooPillow.TheadvertisedcommercialcanbefoundonYouTubebutto
summarize,itbasicallyexplainshowitsverycomfortablebecauseoftheshreddedmemory
foamandbecauseofthat,itwilladjustonitsowntosupporteveryindividual.Also,itssaidto
haveabuiltincoolingsystemtokeeponecoolerduringthenight.
Thisbringsustowhywephysiologicallyneedtobecomfortablewhenwesleep.We
havetomakesurewearenthungryandthatourbodyisattherighttemperature.Beinghungry
andcoldorhotcanmakeitdifficulttosleep.Whenyougetreadytosleep,turnoffanysocial
mediadevicesbecauseifyoureworriedaboutwhatsomeonewillsayorcommentyourbody


Fosco4

isntrelaxing.Onthecontrary,itsonalertthusmakingfightorflightchemicalsinyourbrain
keepyouawake.Eventhoughsometechnologyispreventingagoodnightssleep,notallofitis
bad.Relaxingmusic,noisemachines,oranysleepapneatechnologyisbeneficialtohelpingthe
bodyreachitsfullrelaxationstate.Therearealsosomeusefultechnologythattracksyoursleep
patternsbyregulatingheartbeats,ordetectingmovement.Noteveryonesleepstheexactsame
way,andlearningmoreaboutyourownsleepwillcertainlyhelpyoudowhatyouneedtoto
improvethequalityofit.
ResMedexplainshowtherearealsodifferentactivitiesduringthedaythatcaneven
improvesleepquality.Theymentionhoworganizingyourdailyschedulesothatyoucanget
everythingdoneearlyinthedaywillallowyoutohavetimetorelaxwhennightimecomes.
Beingabletomaintainaconsistentamountofsleepeachnightwillhelpyourbodyadjusttoa
sleepingschedule,thusimprovingyoursleepaswellasmakingiteasierforyoutofallasleep.
Dailyexerciseisanotheractivitythatwillhelpsleep.Exercisingforeventenminutesadaycan
improvesleepdurationandsleepquality.TheNationalSleepFoundationexplainshow,Itused
tobethoughtthatworkingoutvigorouslytooclosetobedtimewasanonoforeveryone,
becauseitmayoverstimulatethebody.Butitturnsoutthat
exercisingatnightdoesntinterfere
with
everyones
sleep
(NationalSleepFoundation2016).Thearticlesaysthatitreallydepends
ontheperson.Asmentionedearlier,everyonessleepisdifferent,sotryworkingoutindifferent
timesofthedayandseewhattimesuitsyou.Trygettingsleeptechnologytonotonlyimprove
yoursleep,butalsolearnmoreaboutit.Gettinggoodsleepduringthenightissoimportantto
dailyfunctioning.Notonlycouldlackofsleepaffectyoumentallyandphysically,itcanalso
affectthosearoundyou.Gettingagoodnightssleepisntdifficult,butstickingtoyoursleep


Fosco5

scheduleisthechallengingpat.Sleepissomethingyoucanbeselfishabout.Afteralongand
hardday,knowthatyouoweittoyourselftoallowyourbodyto
properly
letitselfreplenishand
renewitself.


Fosco6

WorksCited
Asseenontvchat.MiracleBambooPillowCommercialAsSeenOnTVChat.
YouTube
.N.p.,
8Sept.2015.Web.17Apr.2016.<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrWmaaqrec
>.
Coop."Coop'sJokesRiddles."
Coop'sJokesRiddles
.N.p.,unknown.Web.
.<
http://www.coopsjokes.com/riddles/hard7.htm
>.
Davis,JeanieLerche.GoodSleep:CanItStillBeSimple?
WebMD
.Ed.MichaelJ.Breus.
LLC,20052016.Web.11Apr.2016.
<
http://www.webmd.com/sleepdisorders/features/goodsleepcanitstillbesimple
>.
Lungato,Lisandro,etal.EffectsofSleepDeprivationonMiceBoneMarrowandSpleenB
Lymphopoiesis.
JournalofCentralPsychology
(2016):n.pag.
AcademicSearch
Complete
.Web.11Apr.2016.
<
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=1397742c969841a9a6f1c
1637695c06f%40sessionmgr4001&hid=4207&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY
29wZT1zaXRl#AN=112999245&db=a9h
>
NationalSleepFoundation.HealthySleepTips.
NationalSleepFoundation
.N.p.,2016.Web.
14Apr.2016.<
https://sleepfoundation.org/sleeptoolstips/healthysleeptips
>.

ResMed.HowtoGetaGoodNightsSleep.
ResMed.com
.ResMed,2016.Web.11Apr.2016.
<
http://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/diagnosisandtreatment/healthysleep/howto
getagoodnightsleep.html
>.
Walcutt,DianaL."StagesofSleep."
PschCentral
.N.p.,2016.Web.29Apr.2016.
<
http://psychcentral.com/lib/stagesofsleep/
>.