When people talk about rest, they always say "take a nap."
Scientific sleep also recommends: young people maintain 8 hours of sleep, adults need about 7 hours of sleep, and infants sleep at least 12 hours a day.
So, why does the human body need sleep? What is our body doing during sleep?
Extreme challengers
In 1949, the Soviet Union conducted a "sleep deprivation experiment". In today's widely circulated version, the cause of the experiment was a catalyst that keeps people awake for a long time, named "Nikolaev gas."
In order to test the effect, the research team conducted an experiment.
The experimenters were five carefully selected criminals.
During the experiment, the five people were asked to live in small rooms and provide them with food, water and entertainment items such as books and cards every day. Of course, it will also be monitored and observed from all sides, and the experimental status will be recorded at all times. In order to improve cooperation, the researchers also promised the five people that they would be free after the experiment.
The experiment lasted thirty days. The prisoners were initially calm and hopeful about the future of freedom, talking to each other, playing games, and passing the time.
However, after five days, they began to be irritable and extremely negative. Severe sleep deprivation brings hallucinations and paranoia. Their minds begin to be confused and their behavior aggressive.
Nine days later, one of them started yelling, which lasted up to three hours. They began to complain, curse, thinking that the experiment was treating them like guinea pigs. And try to obstruct observation by obstructing it.
After 14 days, the experiment ended, and the participants committed suicide or had serious mental illness.
In fact, although the experiment was widely circulated, there was not enough evidence to support the claim. It is only from this, the risk of long-term lack of sleep can be seen.
The next story is real.
A young man from the United States set a record of 264 hours, or 11 days without sleep.
Randy Gardner, a young man living in California, is young and strong, full of energy. One day, a bold and novel idea was born – he wanted to push the limits of the human body and not fall asleep until the day of the New Year.
For the safety of the experiment, his roommates supervised and co-assisted the experiment, and there were also experts such as Mr. William de Monte, a professor at a famous university. In fact, the field of physiological research is very interested, and the robust Randy is indeed a suitable experimenter. There was no doping in the early stage of the experiment and he went to work as usual.
After a few days, Randy became in a trance, procrastinating and irritable. While walking on the road, he almost got into a car accident because he could barely hear the whistle.
By the ninth day, coffee was no longer enough, and Randy's spirit was on the verge of breakdown. The experiment had to use drugs to keep the spirits high.
Under the strict control of the doctor, Randy received the injection and returned to the original state of full spirit.
After 264 hours and twelve minutes, the drug's effects subsided, the experiment finally came to an end, and Randy immediately fell into a coma, only to recover after twelve hours of rescue and long-term recuperation.
Randy was fortunate that his strong body left him with no serious sequelae.
Lack of sleep can lead to a variety of psychological and physical symptoms and even more serious consequences.
Scientists conducted similar experiments on mice to try to get inspired.
In the experiment, neurological drugs were used to force the mice to stay awake, and after several days, the mice began to be irritable, attacked each other, and died one after another during the 32-day test. Studies have confirmed that this is caused by a lack of sleep leading to a decline in immunity or loss of body temperature.
For social and moral reasons, the experiment was not allowed to be actually carried out, but it was believed that lack of sleep would cause irreversible and serious harm to the body and mind.
This shows the huge impact of sleep deprivation
Lack of sleep affects all aspects of life:
1. Memory loss: long-term lack of sleep, the brain and vital organs of the body can not be rested, may cause autonomic dysfunction, neurasthenia, cerebral blood insufficiency, menopausal syndrome and other physiological problems, resulting in memory loss or energy can not concentrate, and even difficult to complete daily work.
2. Decreased resistance: Lack of sleep can lead to the body not recovering, the immune system is chaotic, unable to fight diseases, bringing serious diseases such as pneumonia.
3. Dizziness: The inability of the brain to rest will bring overwork, mental stress, anxiety, depression and other physical and mental problems, dizziness, headache, may fall or even coma during the day. Long-term lack of sleep, forming a vicious circle, resulting in intracranial nerve dysfunction, brain fatigue, and even tension headaches, migraines and other conditions.
4. Skin problems: scientifically speaking, lack of sleep will cause skin capillary stasis circulation is blocked, and after the skin experiences daytime damage, it cannot get nutrients at night, self-recovery and metabolism, resulting in gray, yellowing and even sagging skin to wrinkles, dark circles and even acne, and spot problems follow.
5. Depression: Not getting a good sleep puts the body and mind under great pressure, which in turn causes irritability, sensitivity and irritability, and over time, causes depressive symptoms.
So what is our body doing while sleeping?
First, sleep is a physiological process of brain renewal and self-preservation. Many necessary tasks of the brain, such as consolidating important memories, maintaining the balance of the body's secretions, removing junk toxins, adjusting the immune system, eliminating fatigue, rejuvenating, strengthening immunity, etc., are done during sleep.
In short, sleep is a big adjustment to the body. It's a good time to clear the tiredness of the day.
The study also found that many genes inside the brain only become active when people fall asleep.
What's more, these genes are linked to pathways for repair and metabolism. Therefore, sleep provides time for the brain to metabolize waste products and rejuvenate.
What accomplishes this work is cerebrospinal fluid, a bodily fluid secreted inside the brain. During work, the cerebrospinal fluid and brain cell tissues exchange fluid, and through mutual cooperation, the brain metabolic waste in brain cells is first transported to the cerebrospinal fluid, and then brought from the cerebrospinal fluid to the perivenous space, and then excreted outside the brain. Thus completing the day's "360 antivirus".
Stay up late in retaliation
There have been reports doing research. The results were shocking.
In every 100 samples, only 19 people said they did not sleep at midnight less than four times a week. Among the people who stay up late, 79% of the people aged 18~30. Among the respondents, only 16 people used mobile phones for 1~3 hours a day, 32 people used mobile phones for 4~6 hours, and 52 people used mobile phones for more than 7 hours.
It is normal for young people to fall asleep after midnight.
Previously, a 2018 study released by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association reported that the average sleep duration of the "post-90s" respondent group was insufficient, and more than half of them were sleep-deficient. Nearly 30% belong to poor work and rest habits, and 30% belong to severe sleep deprivation, facing insomnia and lack of problems. Among them, only about 20% of respondents can maintain a healthy schedule.
In the era of economic development, young people's lives are under great pressure, which derives work models such as "996". Busy business is increasingly squeezing personal time. Young people always frantically make up for "self-dominated" personal time after work, and even have a kind of "going to bed early is a loss".
"Staying up late with revenge" comes from a "self-compensation psychology". is an unhealthy mental model. As long as you change your lifestyle and control yourself, you can change unhealthy sleep habits.
How to help with sleep
Under the dual pressure of life and work, insomnia is also a problem that plagues many people. Is there any way to improve sleep quality?
First, understand what kind of sleep is high-quality sleep. The scientific definition is: the standard of high-quality sleep is that after sleep, the body and mind can be well relaxed. There are several indicators of quality sleep.
1. Fall asleep at a suitable time. The best time to sleep is from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Different age groups and different groups of people have different needs for sleep. A healthy life requires a regular biological clock, and most importantly, when the time comes, you should fall asleep, not "stay up hawks".
2. Get enough sleep. Whether you get enough sleep depends on whether it is appropriate. Some people are energetic, a small amount of sleep is enough to regain energy, others need a full 8 hours or more.
Interestingly, in some rare diseases, a person's need for sleep is infinitely reduced.
This condition is typically characterized by muscle twitching, sweating, pain, weight loss, hallucinations, and severe sleep loss.
There have been people who have been unable to sleep for several months under the influence of Mo Forget's syndrome and have not felt any physical exhaustion or desire to fall asleep during that time. The problem that followed was that almost every night he was tormented by hallucinations, pain, cramps, etc.
There is also a condition called fatal familial insomnia, which is inherited along chromosomes and appears in clusters where patients are not advised to marry or have children. Patients experience insomnia for half a year or more until death. Unfortunately, there is currently almost no cure for this condition.
3. Good sleep quality. The quality of sleep is related to the time it takes to fall asleep, and the number of awakenings during the night is related to the number of dreams. One of the best indicators of sleep is falling asleep within half an hour of going to bed, dreamless or dreamless night. Sleep deeply, not easily disturbed and sleep until dawn.
Improving sleep can start from the following three aspects.
1. Life aspect. In daily life diet, pay attention to lightness, avoid fishy and greasy, and minimize coffee and other foods. Foods with certain sleep aids, such as lotus seeds and red dates, can be eaten appropriately. You can drink a glass of warm milk before bed to help you fall asleep. Soak your feet or take a hot shower before bed to relax and stretch your muscles.
Reduce sleep during the day, maintain regular sleep time, do not apply mobile phones and computers before going to bed at night, keep your mood calm, and help you fall asleep.
Create a comfortable, calm sleeping environment. Relax anxious, tense emotions, adjust your mind, or use music to help you sleep.
2. Ask for help. If you have insomnia due to psychological factors such as stress, you can seek psychological intervention in time or use medical methods to help you fall asleep.
Sleep posture has a certain effect on falling asleep, and placing a pillow on the arms and legs can play a role in supporting the arms and legs, which can help the body relax and fall asleep smoothly.
There are many acupressure points on the body that aid sleep after massage, such as pressing the center of the eyebrow with the tip of the finger, or the acupuncture point between the big toe and the second toe of the right foot.
At the same time, we should also pay attention to cultivating a scientific biological clock, so that the body can have a suitable "work and rest schedule" as soon as possible.
3. Exercise properly.
Do more exercise during the day, such as walking, running, swimming, etc., exercise while consuming energy, and exercise can improve the body's autonomic regulation ability, and improve sleep quality at night. However, it should be noted that it is not recommended to do strenuous exercise within two hours before going to bed to avoid physical excitement and cause insomnia.
Sleep, like diet, is the most basic human need. As a basic cyclical physiological pattern.
Sleep is essential for everyone. Although different people have different needs for sleep, its importance is unquestionable.
"Go to bed early, get up early, be healthy" is not just a slogan. Only by truly incorporating it into life can we have the "revolutionary capital" to explore all the beauty of life.
After reading this article, if you have any ideas and opinions, welcome to discuss in the comment area.