Sleeping is important
We spend one third of our lives sleeping. Although it may seem like a simple process, it is a must for a healthy life.
Why is sleep important?
Sleep is actually not a passive period as it seems. Because some vital physiological repairs required for a person to stay healthy only occur during sleep.
Sleep makes up a third of our lives, but most of us don’t pay enough attention to it. Sleep is a period when our brain and body are rebuilt. When we sleep, 1/5 of all blood in our body feeds the brain. It saves the learned information in the memory. During sleep, new synaptic conduction buds are formed that provide the connection between nerve cells that we call neuroplasticity and strengthen long-term memory.
The brain gets very busy when we sleep and repeats what we learn throughout the day. Sleep helps to rearrange memories and present them in the most efficient way. Findings we obtained; suggests that memories are dynamic, not static. In other words, memories; even old memories are not disappearing. Sleep constantly updates them. During the sleep cycle, we estimate that both old and new memories repeat spontaneously. This prevents forgetting and improves recall efficiency. ”
When we sleep, the glimphatic system mechanism works, which enables the toxic substances accumulated in our brain to be removed.
Our brain and body do the cleaning and repair work between 23.00-03.00 at night. During wakefulness, the energy spent by consuming our energy resources turns into harmful substances called adenosine. As adenosine increases in our brain, our desire to sleep increases, because this is the “sleep residual” warning the body gives us. We call this “sleep suppression” colloquially. Harmful adenosine substances, which are formed as a result of the exhaustion of energy sources by falling asleep, are excreted from the body and these substances are prevented from damaging our body. In order to get sick less and have a strong immune system, it is very important to spend hours asleep between 23.00 and 03.00 at night.
When should we go to sleep?
Melatonin, produced in our brain, is part of our internal biological clock that enables us to fall asleep naturally at night. It protects the biological clock, provides adjustment of sleep rhythm and body temperature. It is anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic. Melatonin is a very powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenger. It protects the brain. It reduces the harmful cholesterol we call LDL cholesterol. Melatonin insufficiency due to decreased sleep in shift workers and in later ages triggers insulin resistance and glucose intolerance and causes obesity. The release of melatonin starts around 21.00 at night and reaches a maximum between 23.00-03.00 at night. Therefore, the most ideal sleep is the sleep after 21:00 when melatonin release begins.
Ideal sleep time varies according to age. While a newborn baby sleeps 18 hours a day, children of primary school age need 10-11 hours of sleep and 7-9 hours in adulthood. For adults, less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours of sleep is harmful to the body. While sleeping less than 7 hours negatively affects the repair system of the body, sleeping more than 9 hours increases blood pressure and increases the risk of death by 30% since it overheats the heart and increases the risk of heart disease, obesity and DM.
Not going to bed at 3 a.m. and getting up at 10 a.m.
Sleep has a time schedule. It is also very important to sleep at certain times and wake up at certain hours. The hormones secreted at the specified time in your genetic sleep calendar and your memory functions repaired during sleep are very different from other times of sleep.
The quality of your sleep is as important as the duration. If you can’t sleep well, sleep won’t help you. When you sleep deprived or do not sleep well, you will age faster and get sick faster because your immune system weakens. Your productivity decreases, your memory deteriorates, and your sugar and blood pressure rise.
14 benefits of good sleep
– Strengthens the immune system, increases resistance to diseases
– Increases learning ability
– Strengthens memory
– Increases concentration power
– Protects against heart disease by reducing bad cholesterol
– Provides removal of harmful toxins from the body
– It ensures that our biological clock works properly
– Reduces cancer formation
– Prevents obesity
– Allows our brain to renew itself
– Regulates our hormone release
– Delays aging
– Reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack
– Prevents hyperactivity in children
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