gomabonshop

Sleep deeply related to brain activity

Humans sleep at night. It is said that the average sleep in adults is about 7 to 8 hours of sleep every day, but there is no special basis for this, and it seems that sleep time varies greatly from person to person. According to statistics, most of the Japanese sleep between 6 and 9 hours, but 5% of people sleep less than 6 hours.
Sleep has long been regarded as a state of rest to relieve mental and physical fatigue, but is now considered one of the active resting activities caused by the work of the brain.
Sleep is said to be closely related to brain function, as evidenced by the difference between EEG when awake and EEG while asleep. Sleeping is generally thought to help relieve body fatigue, but it is not. Even though you are in your room all day and not tired, you will fall asleep at night, because your brain will try to take a rest and relieve fatigue. This is called the essence of sleep. Given this, insomnia is considered to be a symptom that appears when, for some reason, the sleep mechanism in the brain fails.
Regular life is closely related to the normal functioning of the brain, such as regulating sleep rhythms. Because the body's hypothalamus in the diencephalon incorporates "biological rhythm", it is synchronized with the outside day-night rhythm in a cycle of almost one day, even if there is some deviation between morning type and night type Because it creates a life rhythm. In the human body, the sympathetic nerve is dominant during the day and the body temperature is high, whereas the parasympathetic nerve is dominant at night and the body temperature is set low, and it is easy to sleep. is.
The brain that controls sleep determines sleep quality based on sleep deprivation. The longer you stay awake, the more deep sleep you will see. This plays a major role in making up for sleep deprivation. If you have a lack of sleep, it will be reflected in your night's sleep, with deeper sleep appearing more often than usual and making up for the lack. Therefore, you can adjust your balance well without having to sleep long.

Non-REM sleep and REM sleep

There are two types of sleep: non-REM sleep (brain waves show slow waves, body and brain are asleep) and REM sleep (brain waves show findings close to awakening, but the body is relaxed). From non-REM sleep to REM sleep is a cycle in about 90 minutes, repeated four to five times a night, making one cycle of sleep.
Non-REM sleep has the function of deeply resting the brain. REM sleep also has the function of awakening the brain and relaxing muscles, resting the body. By the way, if you wake a person who is in REM sleep state, most people dream and it is thought that sleep is closely related to dreams.
Non-REM sleep immediately after going to bed is deep, but it repeats its cycle and becomes lighter at dawn. On the other hand, REM sleep is prolonged. This can be interpreted that the brain is issuing a command to the whole body, "I'm up now."
In general, when sleeping for a long time, the rate of light sleep and awakening during sleep is high, which means that poor sleep is continued, and that much sleepiness remains during the day. In such a case, if you take a nap or take a nap, it will be difficult to sleep well at night.

Sleep depth
Sleep quality declines with age

Newborn babies drink milk and poop every three to four hours and are almost asleep. Sleeping and waking up several times a day in this way is called “polyphasic sleep”. As this kind of polymorphic sleep in infancy grows, it sleeps intensively only at night. Concentrated sleep only once in this way is called "monophasic sleep".
It is generally said that the quality of sleep decreases with age. Older adults may fall asleep during the day or wake up at night, but this is considered to be one of the aging phenomena caused by the impaired brain activity. More elderly people complaining of insomnia seem to be related to their sleep being interrupted prematurely. As the quality of sleep has deteriorated, it is necessary to cover the amount, for example, to sleep early or stay in the futon for a long time.
So how many elderly people complain of insomnia? According to a survey of elderly people living at home in a prefecture, one-sixth of them reported insomnia. In the United States, it has been reported that over the age of 60, more than 25% of the total, and over the age of 70, 60% have trouble sleeping comfortably.