As we continue to blog about insomnia, today we will discuss how age affects our sleep. According to SleepHelp.org, as we age, the patterns of our sleep are prone to change. Some of this can be a natural result of modifications to our Circadian Rhythm. For example, there is a tendency for older people to have a greater percentage of fast-wave sleep compared to younger people. In addition, other health conditions can interfere with consistent sleep and normal progression through sleep cycles. These conditions can range from frequent urination to anxiety to sleep apnea to arthritic …
Why does sleep matter?
In today's blog we will discuss why sleep matters. According to SleepHelp.org, it is necessary to keep in mind that there are still many mysteries when it comes to sleep and understanding exactly how it affects our bodies and our physical and mental health. That said, from observing people in sleep studies, it appears that deep sleep plays an important role in how our body recovers and recuperates. For example, during stage 3 sleep, the body releases the bulk of its human growth hormone (HGH), which is involved in muscle repair. Deep sleep also gives the body a chance to slow down and become …
Does Deep Sleep Have a Specific Meaning?
In this second blog about insomnia, we will discuss deep sleep. We use the term “deep” to refer to any sleep that feels profound or heavy. According to SleepHelp.org, the specific meaning of deep sleep refers to stages 3 and 4 of the sleep cycle. Even though it’s normal to talk about sleeping deeply, here we’ll focus on the more particular meaning of “deep sleep.” In stages 1 and 2 of the sleep cycle, we start to doze off and settle into sleep. In these stages, you still have more involved breathing and brain activity even though your body is beginning to slow these things down. For this …
Insomnia and understanding how we sleep
Many clients have trouble sleeping. Over the next few blogs I will provide information about sleep and how to make improvements. Today's topic is deep sleep. According to SleepHelp.org, the more sleep is studied and how it affects the body, the more we realize that it is a very complex biological process. Sleep involves all aspects of the body and can be intensely variable. While we tend to think of someone as either “asleep” or “awake,” the truth is that what it means to be asleep is extremely complicated. One example of this is the stages that make up the sleep cycle. Studies …
