Why Do We Need Sleep?
Most people think that when
we go to sleep our mind and body shut down. However, this couldn't be further from the truth.....
When we go to sleep our brain undertakes processing, restoration and strengthening, with one of the most important roles of sleep being storage of memories.
All through the day the activities we take part in, which create memories, are stored in our short-term memory. When we sleep our brain retrieves the information from our short-term memory, processes it and then transfers it to our long-term memory for storage – this is called consolidation. Evidence indicates that after a period of sleep people retain information better and perform better in memory tasks.
Not only does our brain need sleep to repair but our body does too. When we sleep our body undertakes restoration, rejuvenation, muscle growth, tissue repair, and hormone synthesis.
How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?
A sufficient amount of good
quality sleep is essential for everyone because we all need to process and store information, learn skills, and heal and repair.
This is probably why children need more sleep than adults, due to the phenomenal amount they learn as they develop language, social, psychological and motor skills.
During these critical periods of growth and learning, younger people need a much longer period of good quality sleep for optimal development and alertness.
If you don’t get enough sleep and develop sleep deprivation (a potentially serious condition) you can’t just sleep for many hours to make up for it (although it is a good idea to sleep if you’re sleep deprived).
For the best sleep hygiene you to need have:
Consistent bed and waking times
Exercise during the day
A ‘sleep-friendly’ bedroom
A comfortable bed, pillows and bedding
A period of winding down
Write down your worries
It can also help to:
Reduce caffeine
Don't over-indulge
Don't smoke
Get up if you can't sleep
You can find more information about good sleep hygiene here.
If you are struggling to sleep well keeping a sleep diary can be helpful to identify any patterns which might be interrupting your sleep.
Sleepio is a digital prpgramme that can help you overcome sleep problems.
The best sleep habits are consistent, healthy routines that allow us, irrespective of our age, to get sufficient good quality every night, so we can cope with lifes challenges every day.
References
National Sleep Foundation (2017) Why do we need sleep? (online) at sleepfoundation.org [Accessed 29/06/2017].
NHS (2016) 10 tips to beat insomia. (online) at www.nhs.uk [Accessed 29/06/2017].
NHS (2016) How to get to sleep (online) at www.nhs.uk [Accessed 29/06/2017].