Sleep.
Sleep is absolutely vital to our daily lives.
In simple terms sleep can be described as a state of reduced awareness and activity that occurs at regular intervals in most mammals and birds., though there is considerable variation in the amount of time spent sleeping. Sleep differs from hibernation in occurring daily rather than seasonally, and involving less drastic reductions in metabolism. The function of sleep is unclear.
People deprived of sleep become irritable, uncoordinated, forgetful, hallucinatory and even psychotic.
Sleep patterns.
The natural pattern of waking and sleeping that occurs within a 24-hour day is part of your circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm is regulated by a biological clock in your brain that usually makes you sleepy at night and ready to wake up in the morning. Your surroundings, including your exposure to sunlight, help synchronize your biological clock. Your biological clock regulates your body temperature and many of your hormones.
Most people’s clocks run on a cycle of about 24 hours, but individual clocks vary. When your natural circadian rhythm is upset — for example, by spending too long in bed, traveling across time zones or experiencing a few nights of insomnia — sleep can become difficult.
For most people a night or two of poor sleep, or even a night of no sleep, isn’t that bad. As long as you get back to a normal sleep schedule within a few days, you’ll experience no lasting consequences. One good night of sleep after a few poor ones usually is enough to catch up.
What happens when you can’t catch up with lost sleep?
Chronically losing sleep results in sleep debt, which can lead to serious consequences. Sleep debt is cumulative, and even small nightly sleep losses can add up to affect your daytime function. Possible consequences include increased accidents and poor performance on the job or in school.
Long-term sleep deprivation can affect your physical and mental health. Sleep helps bolster your immune system so that you can fight off viruses and bacteria. After a few nights of absolutely no sleep, some people begin hallucinating.
Will afternoon sleep napping help?
Everyone varies, but generally the urge for an mid afternoon sleep nap is built into your body’s biological clock. Usually between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. you experience a slight drop in your body temperature, indicating nap time. If you’re not getting enough sleep, napping may or may not help. The best solution is to go to bed earlier. If that’s not possible, a daytime nap might give you the boost you need, helping you feel more energized and alert. If you have insomnia, though, a daytime nap may make sleeping at night more difficult.
To discover how naps affect your energy level and the quality of your nighttime sleep, do an experiment. Take a daily nap for a week. The next week, don’t nap. Every morning, rank your sleep quality on a 10-point scale. Every evening, rate your day on a similar scale. After two weeks, judge whether naps work for you.