For every person that has set foot on earth, sleep is a natural thing. We slide under the covers, fluff up our pillows, and close our eyes. We fall asleep, wake up in the morning unable to remember the past few hours, and feel refreshed; it’s just that simple (Healthy Sleep). Or is it that simple? “Until the 1950s, most people thought of sleep as a passive, dormant part of our daily lives” and to the average human mind sleep is just that, but sleep is much more complex than we may think (American Sleep Association). Healthy Sleep states that “Sleep is a state that is characterized by changes in brain wave activity, breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and other physiological functions”. “Nerve-signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters
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“The sleep/wake cycle or circadian rhythm is a daily pattern that determines when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to be awake” (Sleep). It is like a biological clock. “This clock, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN, is actually a pair of pin-sized brain structures that together contain about 20,000 neurons” (American Sleep Association). The best and most productive sleep cycle we can have contains 15-17 hours of being awake and 7-9 hours of sleep (Sleep). Hormones and chemicals fluctuate in a 24-hour time making us feel tired or awake at different times of the day. An example of these chemicals is adenosine which increases in amount in our blood during the day. It continues to increase until it reaches its max. When it reaches its max in the blood, we are in need of sleep, but whenever we fall asleep, the adenosine levels drop back to where they started. Another example of these hormones is melatonin. The amount of melatonin in our …show more content…
It effects about 18 million people in the United States. It interrupts the breathing rate during sleep and it can have one of two causes. The first cause, obstructive sleep apnea, is associated with fat and loss of muscle in aging and the second cause occurs when breathing neurons malfunction. The suction of air that creates the inhale collapses the windpipe and oxygen is blocked for up to ten minutes. The brain repeatedly awakens the person so they are able to breath again. Constantly being awoken causes the person to be sleep deprived and this could lead to very serious changes in their behavior (American Sleep
“The sleep/wake cycle or circadian rhythm is a daily pattern that determines when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to be awake” (Sleep). It is like a biological clock. “This clock, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN, is actually a pair of pin-sized brain structures that together contain about 20,000 neurons” (American Sleep Association). The best and most productive sleep cycle we can have contains 15-17 hours of being awake and 7-9 hours of sleep (Sleep). Hormones and chemicals fluctuate in a 24-hour time making us feel tired or awake at different times of the day. An example of these chemicals is adenosine which increases in amount in our blood during the day. It continues to increase until it reaches its max. When it reaches its max in the blood, we are in need of sleep, but whenever we fall asleep, the adenosine levels drop back to where they started. Another example of these hormones is melatonin. The amount of melatonin in our …show more content…
It effects about 18 million people in the United States. It interrupts the breathing rate during sleep and it can have one of two causes. The first cause, obstructive sleep apnea, is associated with fat and loss of muscle in aging and the second cause occurs when breathing neurons malfunction. The suction of air that creates the inhale collapses the windpipe and oxygen is blocked for up to ten minutes. The brain repeatedly awakens the person so they are able to breath again. Constantly being awoken causes the person to be sleep deprived and this could lead to very serious changes in their behavior (American Sleep