We spend about a third of our lives in bed sleeping. It does not mean that this time is wasted. You need to get enough sleep to recuperate and rest. When you start falling asleep a whole lot of things happen in your brain and your body. Poor sleep habits can affect you health. If you sleep less than six hours a day, you may suffer from serious health consequences, such as depression and increased body mass. You can eliminate these problems with several extra hours of sleep on the high quality bed. Wrong kind of mattress may affect your spine and cause lower back pains.
Let’s find out what happens in human body when you fall asleep:
Your Brain
A person goes through five stages of sleep every night. Your brain activity drops during the early sleep cycles, but restores during later stages. First four cycles of sleep also known as non-rapid eye movement (NREM). In the beginning of the sleep your brain waves slowly start deepening, thus plunging you into a deep sleep. The brain reaches its final sleep cycles when the majority of all the waves are slow. The fifth cycle, also known as rapid eye movement (REM) is characterized by high brain activity. Dreams occur during this final stage of sleep. Scientists believe that REM sleep helps people to process memories and emotions. Blood flow increases in the areas of your brain associated with emotions.
Immune System
Sleeping is the best way to recover and fight infection. If you get insufficient amounts of sleep, your body won’t have enough time to resist diseases and you may get sick faster. Sleep deprived bodies produce insufficient amounts of white blood cells – the building blocks of the defense system.
Muscles
Your muscles are relaxed during the sleep. If you had a very active work out session at the gym you need to get enough sleep and allow your body to recuperate before you go to the gym again. Sleep allows your muscle tissues to repair. Even though your brain is active during the REM sleep, your muscles remain being relaxed
Blood
You heart rate slows down during the sleep, thus decreasing the blood pressure. Low blood pressure allows your body to rest. Fractured tissues get restored and repaired faster during the sleep due to the fact that cells produce less toxic waste.
Digestion
When I was a child my mum used to tell me that eating at night wasn’t healthy. I never really understood why. Human digestive system slows down during the sleep hours. Your stomach simply stops digesting the food. If you had a heavy meal before going to bed you may feel bloated. If you do it on a regular basis you may become overweight. Your stomach, just like the rest of your body, needs to get enough rest. Sleep is the best way for your body to relax and recuperate.
Your Eyes
Your eye movements indicate the sleep cycle. Eyes move faster during the REM sleep and roll in the beginning of the sleep.