Sleep to Dream!

One of the most significant topic when we talk about health is sleep. In the current fast paced life (quarantine days aside) and with too many commitments and work in mind, sleep is given the least importance by most of us although we know the repercussion of it.

We all know a normal Adult is supposed to get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep.

We have also been informed time and again the significance of sleep for our physical and mental health.

However, have you ever wondered what happens during the 8 hours of sleep?? When do we fall asleep and when do we see our dreams?? This is such an incredible subject to cover and one of the most favorite from my psychology classes back in college.

Our human body is a brilliant and the most complex mechanism created by God. It is amazing to know how our brain and body functions while we are asleep!!

Around 65 years ago a psychiatrist named Eugene Aserinsky along with two others discovered humans have 5 stages of sleep which includes the famous Rapid Eye Movement or REM stage of sleep.

The 1st stage is when we are falling asleep or having a light sleep, in the 2nd stage our heart rate slows down and our body temperature reduces, the 3 & 4th is when we get into a deep sleep and this stage is very significant as here is when our body starts to repair our muscles and tissues. The last and final stage is the REM where our body feels paralyzed and we begin to dream.

These stages of sleep however, are repeated 4 to 5 times throughout the night in different patterns. We typically enter into the first cycle of REM stage after 90 minutes of our sleep and this lasts for a very short duration and all the stages including the REM repeats throughout the night which is why we need long periods of sleep at night. This is of utmost importance for our body to function properly as it helps our body to heal and stay healthy!

Why is it called Rapid Eye Movement?

If you open the eye lid of a sleeping person, you may observe the pupil of the eye move from left to right and back. This stage if called REM where he/she is dreaming.😊

As a famous Austrian Neurologist and Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud quoted “Dreams are royal roads to unconscious mind” which means what we dream is most often connected to what stays in our subconscious mind.

Amazing isn’t it?? Though we dream everyday we might not remember every single dream.

Now we realize the whole sleep pattern of our body and the science behind it!

This answers all our questions, especially when our doctors and health professionals repeatedly inform us to sleep well when we are not well. Of course this differs between each individual, based on age, health and other aspects.

Following a healthy lifestyle provides us a gift of health which is indeed irreplaceable.

So, Sleep to dream and then dream to wake up fresh and active each morning.

Photo Credits: Google Images