LITMIR.BIZ

      Chapter 1:

      Introduction

      Synopsis

      In sleep, all the voluntary muscles remain inactive and involuntary muscles functions are reduced. In other words, it is like switching off a machine or placing it in idle mode to allow the machines to cool off and prevent damage. It is mostly done at night where hormone levels are at the lowest.

      How Sleep Works

      A person’s sleep can be affected by a lot of factors one of these factors include the circadian rhythm. The sleep-wake homeostasis or the circadian clock controls the sleep timing. It may have the greatest significance and greatest effect on the sleep of an individual. Sleep timing means the time you sleep and the time you wake up.

      The circadian clock is also an inner time keeper, temperature controller, and an enzyme regulator. It is the rhythm that determines the ideal time for a person’s restorative sleep and rest. It works together with a neurotransmitter called Adenosine.

      Adenosine is a neurotransmitter responsible for inhibiting bodily processes involving wakefulness. Our circadian rhythm is commonly affected by poor sleeping habits such as overnight shifts, shifting time zones like flying from one country to another,

      When a person goes to bed to rest, he or she undergoes a bodily and organized process called sleep. An individual passes through five phases of sleep: stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM (Rapid Eye Movement).

      These stages progress into a cycle from stage 1 to REM. The cycle may be repeated more than twice in one night. An individual spends about 50% of his sleeping time in stage 2 of the cycle, 20% in REM and 30% is spent on the other part of the cycle. Infants on the other hand have different percentages wherein they spend about half of their sleeping time in REM.