The Beauty of Sleep
Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with the surrounding environment. While sleep differs from wakefulness in terms of the ability to react to stimuli, it still involves active brain patterns, making it more reactive than a coma or disorders of consciousness.
Sleep occurs in repeating periods, during which the body alternates between two distinct modes: REM and non-REM sleep. Although REM stands for "rapid eye movement", this mode of sleep has many other aspects, including virtual paralysis of the body. Dreams are a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.
Why is sleep beneficial?
- During sleep, most of the body's systems are in an anabolic state, helping to restore the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems.
- Sleep may facilitate the synthesis of molecules that help repair and protect the brain from metabolic end products generated during waking.
- It has been widely accepted that sleep must support the formation of long-term memory, and generally increasing previous learning and experiences recalls.
Hours of sleep recommened for each age group
- Newborns (0-3 months) - 14 to 17 hours
- Infants (4-11 months) - 12 to 15 hours
- Toddlers (1-2 years) - 11 to 14 hours
- Preschoolers (3-4 years) - 10 to 13 hours
- School-age children (5-12 years) - 9 to 11 hours
- Teenagers (13-17 years) - 8 to 10 hours
- Adults (18-64 years) - 7 to 9 hours
- Older Adults (65 years and over) - 7 to 8 hours