Waking Up to Sleep's Healing Power
Think about the last time you were really sick. You know, that kind of stomach cramping, head throbbing, shivering episode that made you feel like you were being turned inside out. What’s the one thing, more than anything else, you wanted to do? That’s right – go to bed, and get some sleep. It’s the natural thing to do, and your body was craving sleep’s restorative powers.
For those who are afflicted with disease more severe than a bout with the flu, long, effective periods of sleep are even more crucial. But as many as 56% of the patients that arrive at the hospital are seriously sleep deprived by the end of their first day at the facility. And for those who are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the commotion and activity level makes it even more difficult for them to sleep. It seems that the patients who need the most sleep, get the least.
We all need about 7-8 hours of sleep. Older people seem to need a little less, but they don’t always get enough of the right kind of sleep. The same applies to sick people. To understand how the right kind of sleep is important to the human body, it is important to discuss the various dimensions of sleep. We know that there are two main types of sleep: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non REM sleep. We travel through all the stages in about 100 minutes, and throughout the night we slip in and out of the stages as if on an escalator.
In non REM sleep, there are four stages. Stages 1 and 2 are light sleep, and serve as the relaxation and transition period from being awake to being in deep sleep. Stages 3 and 4 are called “delta” sleep, with Stage 4 being the deepest sleep. This is when growth hormone is released into our bodies. Growth hormone promotes protein synthesis, tissue repair, bone growth and red blood cell production. It also promotes epithelial cell growth, regenerates some of our brain cells, and also helps to generate bone marrow and cells in our gastrointestinal tract. Wow! Sign me up for more delta sleep, please.
Even with a normal sleep pattern, only about 20% of our sleep is delta sleep. Sixty percent of our sleep occurs in stages 1 and 2, and another 20% is REM sleep, which is characterized by those periods that we remember as dreaming. REM sleep is important for cognitive function. When we don’t get enough REM sleep, we are more irritable, restless, and confused. In severe cases, we could lose emotional stability, have poor impulse control, and suffer from paranoia. Yikes.
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