Sleep is something that every single being on this planet does and if you have ever thought about the process that helps you to sleep and rest, you will be very interested to read on.
Something that takes up a third of your life sounds very important, and that just happens to be sleep. It sounds simple enough but it’s actually a complex process inside your brain while your eyes are resting.
Falling Asleep – What part of the Brain Controls Sleep?
It was once believed that deep within your brain was what is referred to as a sleep center, the hypothalamus. But new research has proven that it’s actually a complex combination of different parts inside your brain working together to achieve sleeping and waking. This network involves the hypothalamus, the basal forebrain, and the reticular activating system. Once this information was discovered, the so-called “sleep center” theory was thrown out of the window.
Although the hypothalamus is not the sleep center, it’s still a large part of the brain that controls sleep. It’s the part inside the brain that is like a switch enabling the sleep or wake mode. Within this area of the brain, neurons send out signals by neurotransmitters. This lets the brain know it’s time to wake up or when it’s time to sleep.
Recipe for Sleep
Many neurotransmitters work together during the process for sleep. And it’s not just neurotransmitters at work either. There are many things that have to “come together” in order for your body to begin to relax and eventually fall asleep.
So again, what part of the brain controls sleep? Ingredients of Dopamine, histamine, serotonin, glutamate, melatonin and some other things that allow your body to switch back and forth between sleep and wake.
Internal Clock
Your internal clock, or circadian rhythm, is always running in the back of your brain no matter what else is going on. This is controlled by the hypothalamus and is another part of how your body knows when it’s time to be awake or time to sleep.
Your internal clock works best when you have built good, regular habits of sleeping. When you interrupt your set patterns to stay up late and perform tasks or have jet lag due to traveling, this can severely disrupt your sleep cycle.
Stages of Sleep
Within the sleep cycle, there are five different stages. The first four stages do not take place in the REM sleep while the last stage does. You may be very surprised to see just how active your brain is during sleep.
In the first stage, individuals will experience light sleeping. This is when you will see someone drifting off and waking. Their eyes can be seen moving slowly around and even open slightly at times. The heartbeat and breathing will also slow.
In the second stage, the eyes will stop moving and a drop in body temperature will occur. This is the stage that happens before you drift off into a deeper sleep. The brain waves will start to slow in this stage. Most individuals will spend the majority of sleeping within this particular stage.
The third stage shows that individuals produce very slow brain waves at this point. This is when they begin to fall into a deep sleep. For most individuals, this stage occurs during the first half of the night. This stage is vital in order to feel refreshed when waking up the next morning. In this stage, it may even be very difficult to wake someone.
In the fourth stage, the deep sleep will continue as the brain continues to release what is called delta waves. Delta waves are slow-wave sleep waves (SWS).
Once the fifth stage occurs, individuals enter into REM sleep. REM, or rapid eye movement, is when the brain begins to act as if it’s actually working inside an individual when they are awake. The eyes continue to stay closed but are moving around very quickly as the person’s brain is preparing to wake up. In this stage, breathing will become faster and even irregular at some times. Blood pressure and heart rate will rise to almost the point of when someone is awake.
This is also the point of sleep when dreams occur. Dreams have been experienced during non-REM but aren’t typical. During REM sleep, your leg and arm muscles become temporarily paralyzed. This keeps you from acting out what is going on in your dreams. As you grow older, you spend less time in this stage of sleep. This is believed to be because of memory consolidation.
Each of the cycles can last as little as 90 minutes up to a maximum of 110 minutes.
Benefits of Good Sleep
Having a good mattress can be a key component to sleeping well. Getting a regular and good amount of sleep each night can be very beneficial. 7-9 hours of sleep nightly can be rewarding for your health.
Memory – Being able to remember and learn is affected by the amount of sleep you obtain. While you are sleeping, your brain is processing all of the information that you learned during that day. It processes and stores this information. If you aren’t getting the amount of sleep needed, your brain can’t process this information correctly and your memory will suffer because of it.
Mood – A study showed that individuals who received less than 4.5 hours of sleep reported feeling sad, angry, and mentally exhausted. Getting the sleep that your body needs allows you to have a better control over your emotions and impulses.
Skin – While sleeping, your body produces collagen. With a lack of collagen, occurring during sleepless nights, you are likely to notice an increase in wrinkles and fine lines.
Stress – When you are stressed, it’s often hard to fall and stay asleep. But, this can even cause more stress the next day and even a harder time falling asleep (again). Managing your stress can significantly help your sleep patterns.
Weight Control – This one may be very surprising. Individuals who sleep well every night have an ability to lose 50% more fat than those who aren’t well rested. This is because your metabolism doesn’t function correctly if you aren’t getting a proper night’s sleep.
Sleep is very fascinating and research is being done all the time so that we may discover more about the mystery of it.
For further reading, check out our article about what happens when we sleep too much here.