Sleep is a natural, recurring condition of body and mind, often characterized by suppressed awareness, decreased sensory activity, decreased motor activity, and decreased interactions with the surrounding environment during rapid eye movement sleep (Rapid Eye Movement sleep), and decreased social interactions and cognition during non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep (NREM sleep). A number of potential causes for sleep disturbances have been identified, including alterations in hormone levels, genetic and neurological factors, stress, abnormal brain functioning, hypnosis, drug use, nutritional deficiencies, sleep position and posture, and insomnia. The treatment of sleep problems depends on the underlying cause of the disorder.
The most common sleep disorder is insomnia, or persistent inability to get enough sleep. People who are regularly tired all the time and feel sleepy during daytime need to get more sleep. Insomnia can be caused by a lot of factors, and some of them may even be as simple as not getting enough sleep at night before going to work or school. On the other hand, there are also more serious causes that make someone lose their sleep for a couple of days every week. When this happens, they will usually feel exhausted during the day and may seem as if they don’t have the strength to carry out simple tasks.
In order to understand how to prevent and treat insomnia, it helps to know how sleep cycles work, and what are the four stages of sleep. Sleep occurs in stages that are similar to the cycles of our bodies go through throughout the day. During each stage, we usually have a half hour of sleep and wake up in the afternoon feeling refreshed and full of energy.
Sleep does not need sleep. It is necessary to refresh and repair our minds and bodies between sleep cycles. However, our brains usually need eight hours of shut-eye in order to fall asleep and function fully. If you do not get enough sleep at night, your brain might work overtime, causing you to wake up in the middle of the night and feel as if you have been awake for several hours.
The problem is that sometimes you are simply too tired to fall asleep at all. You could be too stressed, too busy or your brain is simply not working overtime. If you find that after a long day you are still awake and not feeling as fresh as you did when you went to bed an hour ago, you may have to implement a nap or sleep drive into your daily routine. A nap can help you feel rejuvenated by taking away your mental stress and allowing your body and mind to rest. A sleep drive gives you a chance to feel refreshed again so that you can function properly the following day.
Of course, the type of nap or sleep drive that you use will depend on your lifestyle. Those who take naps or sleep early in the morning do not necessarily need a nap drive to stay asleep. They simply need to find a time where they can go to bed early enough to get the effects of the sleep-drive and then awaken refreshed. A more chronic sleep deprivation can require a more extended period of nap or a night of constant sleep. In this case, a sleep schedule that incorporates a sleep drive of some sort will help you fall asleep and stay asleep for longer.