Why does the brain sleep?
Sleep is an integral part of our life. The general condition of a person depends on it. You can sleep for a long time and still feel worn out. That is why, Wikium will tell you what everyone needs to know.
Sleep is a natural state of the body when the activity that is different from the activity of the body and the brain in the awaken state happens. During our sleep, some physiological processes are slowed down and others are activated. For example, a natural physiological process with a decreased reaction to the world around us.
Sleep may include the stages of fast and slow sleep. During the night, there is a change of several stages of sleep. After falling asleep, the first stages is slow sleep. After 1.5 hours of passing through the slow sleep stage, the fast sleep stage begins for 10-15 minutes. It is in this stage when we have dreams.
Why does the brain need sleep? Why should the brain sleep?
Sleep plays an important role in the process of human rest, it contributes to the processing and storage of information, and also restores immunity.
According to the researches, a person can survive 3-4 days without sleep, but at the same time his cognitive functions suffer greatly. A person feels discomfort and apathy, he cannot conduct active mental and physical activity.
After one sleepless night, fatigue appears, concentration and memory decreases. If you do not sleep 2 nights in a row, the concentration of vision deteriorates, speech problems, nervous tic symptoms, and nausea can occur. The general emotional background also decreases. Hallucinations can be a clear sign of fatigue. With a long absence of sleep, the changes in the frontal lobes of the brain start.
For drivers, lack of sleep can result in loss of reaction speed, leading to an accident. For people whose work is related to physical activity, lack of sleep will contribute to fatigue and rapid loss of strength.
Melatonin
During our sleep, the synthesis of the hormone melatonin happens, which regulates the activity of the endocrine system, which protects us from stress and premature aging, from colds and even cancer.
During the night, 70% of the daily amount of melatonin is produced - a hormone that is produced at night and in the absence of light. What else does melatonin do? It regulates the activity of the endocrine system, blood pressure, sleep frequency, slows down the aging process, enhances the efficiency of the immune system, has antioxidant features, affects adaptation processes when changing time zones, and what is more, melatonin is involved in the regulation of blood pressure, digestive tract functions, work of brain cells.
Therefore, if you want to stay healthy, cheerful, attentive and capable of further development and life, you need to sleep regularly for 7-8 hours for adults and up to 9 hours for children. Do not neglect this activity, always find time and place for it without irritants. Such as noise and bright light.