Sleep: The Life’s Elixir

 

During our school days, we used to go to bed at around 8:30 p.m. and wake up around 5 a.m., as I remember. My parents and teachers always said, “One who goes to bed early and wakes up early is healthy, wealthy, and wise.” As time passes, we enroll in college and get sleep deprived due to a number of factors, such as competitiveness, expectations, academics, and race. We noticed shorter sleep cycles and the emergence of health issues as our professions progressed. We have the money, the car, the bungalow—all the essentials—but we can’t seem to find the key to a good night’s rest.

Modern society is now able to work around the clock, travel during the day, and interact with a wide range of electronic devices including computers, televisions, and cell phones thanks to technological breakthroughs. Inadequate physical activity, weight increase, and use of drugs including alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine are other behavioral lifestyle factors linked to restless nights.

We are currently losing the greatest medication, which is a universal cure for illnesses. Sleep is the most affordable health insurance coverage you’ll ever find, offered without any hassles or payments. A lack of sleep has a high cost on one’s health. Research has repeatedly shown that those with poor sleep quality are more vulnerable to numerous serious illnesses and health issues. Inadequate sleep and untreated sleep disorders are harmful to health and wellbeing, as sleep is a biological requirement.

For young children, adolescents, and adults, sleep is essential to health and wellbeing. Good sleep is essential for mental, emotional, and physical well-being as well as for the health of the heart, brain, and metabolism.4 Getting enough sleep, both in terms of quantity and quality, can help lower the risk of fatigue and sleepiness-related accidents and injuries, such as car crashes and errors at work.

The best thing we can do every day to restore the health of our bodies and minds is to get enough sleep. It’s an amazing medicine that can prolong your life and help you age gracefully. What is known about Mother Nature’s all-encompassing remedy?

Not many people are aware that getting enough sleep is one of the world’s best remedies. Unexpectedly, sleep is more than just a sense of relaxation. It truly restores the body, mind, and soul by having a profoundly favorable health impact on the complete nerve system. Your body is said to go through a number of restorative activities as you sleep, which encourage collagen synthesis, skin cell renewal, and general skin regeneration. Here are some pointers to help you attain beauty sleep and enjoy its benefits: Put sleep first: Every night, try to get between seven and nine hours of good sleep.

Statistics

 According to a recent study conducted at AIIMS New Delhi, men are more likely than women to have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which affects 11% of adult Indians. It is estimated by researchers that 104 million Indians suffer with OSA, of which 47 million have moderate to severe cases. The productivity and long-term health of the working population are significantly impacted by this disease burden. The upper airway repeatedly closing as you sleep is the cause of OSA.

How Much Sleep Do Required?

 Adults: 7-8 hrs.

Teens: 8-10 hrs.

School-aged children: 9-12 hrs. Preschool children: 10-13 hrs. Toddlers: 11-14 hrs.

Babies: 12-16 hrs. Newborns: 14-17hrs.

Benefits of Sound Sleep

• Lessen stress and recover your mood
• Get better psychosocially
• Enhance athletic performance.
• Reduces risk of lifestyle
• Supports healthy immune
• Reduces the risk of numerous diseases that develop over time, such as obesity, heart disease, some cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and type 2 diabetes. It can also prevent chronic inflammation. might boost your heart
• Make intelligent decisions to prevent harm; for example, intoxicated drivers are responsible for hundreds of car crashes
• May help you maintain or lose weight
• Can improve concentration and productivity
• Can improve academic performance in children, adolescents, and young adults
• Improve problem-solving skills and enhance memory performance in both children and adults

Factors Affecting Good Sleep

Lifestyle: Drinking too much caffeine, alcohol, Drug abuse, Shift work, heavy study load, Jet lag,

Environmental: Excessive noise, air pollution and excessive light

Psychosocial:Anxiety, worry, distress, depression, confusion, and generally lower life satisfaction, family member with a chronic, life- threatening, or terminal illness, lower confidence and

Sleep disorder:    Insomnia, Obstructive sleep apnea, Restless leg syndrome, Narcolepsy, Circadian rhythm disorders

Medical conditions:    Inflammation, lifestyle diseases, Use of certain medications

Lifestyle: exposure to artificial light at night light from TV, computers, and phones, food consumption during late night, poor lifestyle

Consequences of Less Sleep:

Stress, inflammation, weakness or shortness of breath, major distress and/or problems functioning, depression, seizures, high blood pressure, migraines worsen, immunity is compromised, increasing the likelihood of illness and infection, psychosocial issues, mood disorder, cardiovascular disease, Obesity, Diabetes, cancer, may impairments in male & female reproductive health and hormonal profiles, insufficient sleep markedly increases the chance of suicidal thoughts, suicide planning, and tragically, suicide completion, sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnoea, had a significantly higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Role of Brain, hormones and neurotransmitters:

Several structures within the brain such as the hypothalamus, brain stem, thalamus, pineal gland, basal forebrain and amygdale are involved in sleep cycle. Very important hormones such as melatonin, adenosine and serotonin plays very important role in sleep cycle. Similarly, Neurotransmitter Such as GABA, hypocretin, acetylcholine, histamine, adrenaline, cortisol, and serotonin.

Sleep Cycle: circadian rhythm & sleep-wake homeostasis

Your sleep cycle is controlled by an internal “body clock,” which determines when you feel awake and rested or exhausted and ready for bed. The circadian rhythm, a 24-hour cycle governed by this biological clock in the brain, controls how the body reacts to light cues and produces the hormone melatonin at night, turning it off when it detects light.

The brain’s synthesis of the organic chemical adenosine may be connected to this sleep drive, often referred to as sleep-wake homeostasis. As you grow increasingly exhausted throughout the day, your body releases more adenosine, which is then broken down by the body when you sleep.

The circadian cycle is influenced by light as well. The hypothalamus, a unique area of nerve cells in the brain, and the superchiasmatic nucleus, a group of cells in the hypothalamus, process signals from the eyes when they are subjected to artificial or natural light. The brain uses these signals to distinguish between day and night.

An inducing hormone called melatonin is released by the body as natural light fades in the evening. The body releases the hormone cortisol, which encourages energy and alertness, as soon as the sun rises in the morning.

Sleep Stages

There are two basic types of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep (which has three different stages). Each is linked to specific brain waves and neuronal activity.

Non-rapid eye movement Sleep (NREM): sleep encompasses three sleep stages during this stages tendency for the sleeper to experience slowed breathing, eye movements, muscle activity, heartbeat, and brain waves

Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM): first happens roughly 90 minutes after going to sleep. Eyes flick quickly in all directions. Your pulse rate and blood pressure rise to levels almost identical to those of waking, and your breathing becomes rapid and irregular. While you’re in REM sleep, most of your dreams happen.

Systematic Technique to Improve Sleep

Primary treatment: Yoga & Pranayam Mediation, Anulome vilom, Bhramari and Udgeeth

Secondary treatment: Ayurvedic treatment Panchkarma therapy Brahmi, Ashwagandha, Shatavar, shankpushpi,Vacha, Jatamansi, Valerian

Tertiary: Synthetic drugs and impact. Taking sleeping peel is not ideal approach to retain our health because it badly impacts our biological system.

To sum up, I would say simply give yourself short bursts of time to maintain mental stability, practice meditation, yoga, and pranayama, exercise frequently, spend quality time with your family, take pleasure in nature, music, and hobbies, make an effort to leave toxic work environments, and maintain your calmness. Make an effort to establish connections with small children and the elderly since their touch will reduce tension; be patient. Life is really valuable; cherish it, celebrate it, and constantly remember to smile in the face of difficulties. Take problems and struggles lightly; they are a natural part of life. Try to solve the problem if you have it; if not, turn it over to the all-powerful God.

Never underestimate the significance of sleep for overall health and a life free from sickness. It is the only preventive medication we have to immunize ourselves against disease. It is therefore the elixir of life, for the rest of your life, sip, and relish. Rest well at night.

Dr. Surendra G Gattani

Professor,

School of Pharmacy

S.R.T.M University, Nanded