Bad News for Those Who Sleep Too Little
Are you one of those people who cuts back on sleep to gain more hours in the day? Then I have bad news for you: every hour you steal from your sleep makes a negative contribution to your body's sleep rhythm and pattern. For a healthier and higher-quality life, make sleep, and the hours you devote to it, your priority.
The "Circadian Rhythm," the human body's 24-hour biological clock, easily influenced by factors such as light and body temperature, affects hormone release, cell renewal, body temperature, appetite, physical and mental vigor, and sleep quality.
Our circadian clock, located in a part of the brain, gathers information about the length of day and night from signals coming from the retina, interprets this information, and relays it to our pineal gland. This allows our body to act on the information it receives from our circadian clock, and to begin secreting more serotonin, adrenaline and cortisone in daylight. Actions like waking up and becoming active in the morning are made possible thanks to these hormones.
As daylight begins to fade toward evening, the serotonin hormone secreted during daytime hours gives way to melatonin, known as the sleep hormone; melatonin continues to be secreted throughout the night, the secretion of other active hormones slows down, and our body temperature begins to drop.
IF THE BALANCE IS DISRUPTED
This perfect balance established by nature can be disrupted by environmental and climate change, travel, illness, and changes in daily routine. For example, anyone traveling between two different time zones experiences the effects known as "jet lag" — fatigue, insomnia, changes in eating patterns, balance disorders, and digestive system disruptions.
THE EFFECTS OF SLEEP ON OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
Certain immune cells increase during sleep, which is why nighttime hours are the most ideal time for repair and healing. In addition, melatonin, known as the sleep hormone, is an excellent antioxidant that fights free radicals and other toxins. For this reason, quality sleep is one of the building blocks of a healthy immune system.
THE EFFECT OF WAKING UP EARLY ON OUR HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
For sleep to be healthy and restful, it's essential to wake up early in the morning. Research shows that going back to sleep after waking up in the morning undoes the repair carried out throughout the night. Our biggest mistake is being awake when the sleep wave comes, and sleeping when the wakefulness wave comes. Because no matter what we do, the brain only functions according to the wave it was programmed for by its creator. As the body receives the first rays of the sun, it secretes the melatonin hormone, and this hormone determines our biological clock.
SLEEP IS A HIDDEN AND REAL POWER
Sleep was created as an extremely important process during which everything in our body — and consequently in our life — is put in order, repaired and healed.
It has been proven that there is a close relationship between insufficient sleep and mental power loss, that sleep-deprived people experience a decline in mental activity, and that they cannot focus their thoughts on any given subject. Studies have shown that highly educated individuals deprived of sleep for 48 hours were unable to perform math problems taught to elementary school children.
Regular and quality sleep is extremely important not only during growth years but at every age, for the body to remain healthy.
In my next article, I will address "our sleep rhythm, healthy and correct sleep strategies, and the physical conditions of your sleep environment."