Think You Know About Sleep & hellip

Sleep for some, is elusive. For others, they can nod off in the blink of an eye. For others, falling asleep is not the issue, but staying asleep is… and for others, the nightmares and dreams they face on a nightly basis are harsh and unsettling.

Sleep has baffled humans for centuries; no one really know why we need sleep but we all know what it feels like when we don’t get enough – sluggish, fragile and short-tempered in many cases. Find out more about sleep here… because, if truth be told, you do not know as much about sleep as you think…

When we sleep, our brain does not rest – we think that sleep is for letting the brain switch off and recharge. But this is not so; sleep is a physical hiatus for the body; the brain is constantly working, preparing us for our next bout of alertness.

If you don’t get your full quota of sleep, you will feel sluggish the next day – how many of us can relate to this? Just one hour less of sleep can make us a very different person the next day. Some people need around 8 hours of sleep a night to function correctly… how many hours do you get?

Think you get enough rest, but not sleep? There is no substitute for sleep; just as food and water is essential for the body to function, sleep is also needed and think of foregoing sleep as a debt that will need paying…

Is snoring harmful? Scientists say not! Your partner may snore and it may be maddening and frustrating as you try to nod off, but experts now suggest that people who persistently snore, night after night, may be harbouring ill-health. For example, many people who really snore, wake themselves several times a night and this does have an impact on their alert state the next day. Time to seek help?

We all dream at night, it’s just that some people remember their dreams every time they wake, some people remember the odd one and some remember none of what they saw in their dreams. Dreams are at their most vivid during the part of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM), of which there is a lot of intrigue and research.

Think you need less sleep as you get older? Wrong! We all have a sleep quota that is unique to use (sleep without the alarm clock and see how long you need in terms of your own natural sleep quota) and this stays with us all throughout adult life…

You never get used to nightshifts (not really…) because, scientist have proven that humans and animals have a 24 hour rhythm, known as a cirdacian rhythm. This means, regardless of where or when you work or not, you will always feel at your most sleepy between midnight and 6am but, if you get your sleep quota during the day, you will stay away but, as soon as you are released from this pattern, experts say, you will fall back in to this natural rhythm.

This article is from guest writer Dick Beijen, Director of Devon Duvets and Apillow. Dick has developed products to help sleep and gained his knowledge over many years.