Sleep is an innate biological rhythm – a Bio-Rhythm – and is part of our homeostasis. Homeostasis is the process that regulates our body. It is like our body’s thermostat. It maintains a “steady state” of internal conditions, such as blood pressure, body temperature, hunger, hormone levels, our acid-based balance,Continue Reading
Hypersomnia Excessive daytime sleepiness, most common during adolescence due to rapid physical changes during puberty, increases the need for sleep. This can also be the result of one or a combination of sleep apnea, depression, insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep drunkenness, periodic limb movements, drug abuse, or other problems. Insomnia Difficulty gettingContinue Reading
Anything that disrupts our normal sleep affects our sleep-wake cycle. This can lead to an imbalance in sleep Homeostasis and Circadian Cycles. For many people, poor sleep constitutes a serious medical problem. Doctors describe and treat nearly one hundred different sleep disorders. Each year more than 40 million Americans sufferContinue Reading
During the course of our lifetime we will spend one-third of it sleeping. That sounds like a lot, and it is, but children sleep even more: 12 to 14 hours each day. New born babies sleep 18 hours a day. An Individual Thing As we get older we tend toContinue Reading
Although it’s common to think of sleep as a time of “shutting down,” it is actually an active physiological process. While our metabolism generally slows down during sleep, all major organs and regulating systems continue to function normally. REM and Non-REM Sleep can be categorized into two distinct types: RapidContinue Reading
The Importance of Sleep to Our Physical Health Scientists and researchers are still learning why we sleep. What we do know is that our bodies secrete many important hormones while we sleep. These hormones control metabolism and many other bodily functions. Cortisol For example, cortisol, a stress hormone, enters ourContinue Reading
If you ever feel sleepy or “zone out” during the day, or just find it hard to wake up on Monday mornings, you are familiar with the powerful need for sleep. But you may not realize that sleep is as essential to your well-being as food and water. The mysteriesContinue Reading
Sleep’s age-old mysteries have intrigued scientists and researchers for centuries. As sleep overtakes us and different parts of the cerebral cortex stop communicating, consciousness fades (Massimini et al 2005). Once asleep, we pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages at intervals of about every ninety minutes. Breathing becomesContinue Reading
If you think you might be having a problem not getting enough sleep – print out this quick Sleep Test and answer Yes or No to the following questions: Count the answers you marked as Yes. If you answered Yes to 3 or more statements, you are probably not gettingContinue Reading
You may be surprised to know that the rhythms of the seasons underlie some depressions. Our typical annual cycles cause many people to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). A depression that occurs during the fall and winter months, especially in the far northern climates. Some people call it “cabinContinue Reading