CENTRO DE IDIOMAS DE LA

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE
SAN AGUSTÍN

TITLE SLEEP IS GOOD FOR OUR

HEALTHY
STUDENT: RAMON ALEXANDER
CHOQUE CONDORI

TURN: ADVANCED 6 7:15PM-8:45PM

 Sleep is good for our healthy

1. Introduction

Think of your daily activities. Which activity is so important you should spend
one-third of your time to doing it? Probably the first things that come to mind are
working, spending time with your family, or doing leisure activities. But there’s
something else you should be doing about one-third of your time “sleeping”.

Many people think that sleep as only a “down time” when their brains shut off
and their bodies rest. People may reduce the time of sleeping, thinking it won’t
be a problem, because other responsibilities seem more important. But
research shows that important activities are done during sleep and this activities
help people’ health.

A lack of sleep may even create some problems about behavior and increases
your risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and infection.

Despite of the idea that sleep is important like adequate nutrition and physical
activity, people are sleeping less. A common myth is that people can learn to
sleep less (less than 6 hours a night) with no adverse effects (without any kind
of consequences or adverse effects).

In 1910, most people slept 9 hours a night. But recent surveys show the
average adult now sleeps fewer than 7 hours a night. More than one-third of
adults report daytime sleepiness so severe that it interferes with work, driving,
and social functioning.

Children and adolescents are sleeping less than recommend because they are
chatting with their cellphone, playing with a computer, watching tv at night, and
other things with relation to the technology.
 2. Definition.

What is sleep?

Sleep was long considered just a block of time when your brain and body shut
down, and it’s often seen as time when the body is inactive.

But nowadays studies have showed that sleep is a complex process through
which our body minimizes essential activities for example:

 low aware of the outside world,

 relaxed muscles
 Increase anabolic states which help us to repair our bodies.

Sleep is good for our brain because it allows:

 Recover and process information that we have acquired in all the day.
 Forming the connections necessary for learning and creating memories.
 Pay attention quickly.

Your brain and body functions stay active while you are sleeping, and each
stage of sleep is linked to a specific type of brain waves (electrical activity in the
brain).

Sleep is divided into two basic types:

 rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

 non-REM sleep (with three different stages).

Typically, sleep begins with non-REM sleep when you sleep lightly and can be
awakened easily by noises. In this stage of sleep:

 Your eyes move slowly.

 Your muscles relax.
 Your heart and breathing rates begin to slow.
Then you enter stage 2 non-REM sleep, which is defined by slower brain
waves with occasional bursts of rapid waves. You spend about half the night in
this stage.

When you progress into stage 3 non- REM sleep, your brain waves become
slower than the previous stages, and the brain only produces extremely slow
waves.

Stage 3 is a very deep stage of sleep, during which it is very difficult to be

awakened. Children who wet the bed or sleep walk tend to do it during stage 3
of non-REM sleep. Deep sleep is considered the “restorative” stage of sleep
that is necessary for feeling energetic during the day.

During REM sleep:

 Your eyes move rapidly in different directions, even though your eyelids
stay closed.
 Your breathing ,hear rate and blood pressure increase,
 Dreaming happens
 Your arm and leg muscles are temporarily paralyzed so that you can act
in your dreams.

Why people dream and why REM sleep is so important are not well understood.

What make us to sleep?

In our organism there are two substances that have a relation to let us to sleep,
adenosine which is created in our blood while we are awake its main function
helps our body to stay awake, and melatonin which is like our biological clock .
Both of them control our sense of sleeping.
 3. Its importance

Sleep makes you look refreshed and feeling happy with energy to do your daily
activities. In fact, sleep is as important to your health as nutrition and exercise.

The right amount and quality of sleep improves attention, behavior, memory.

Sleep helps the body maintain and regulate many vital functions, the most
important of which are restorative:

 repair cells and tissue,

 grow muscles

 Synthesize proteins more than at any other time.

Good sleep habits have been shown to improve mood, concentration and
performance at school or work. They may also help prevent obesity.

Lack of sleep is linked to symptoms of depression such as feeling down,

hopeless, irritable, and using alcohol or other drugs.

There are many risks associated with not sleep. Even reducing that optimal
eight hours by two or three per night can dramatically increase the odds of
developing some of the following:

 Alzheimer’s
 Cardiovascular disease
 Depression
 Diabetes
 Obesity
 Susceptibility to injury

Issues with sleep can also take a toll on your mental health by influencing
behaviours, body sensations, concentration, emotions, and even your thoughts.
 4. Travel and work and their relation with sleeping

Jet Lag

The internal clock of the person tends to prevail, so, when traveling from east to
west or vice versa, you will sleep in the daylight but at night you will stay awake.

Fatigue is the most common symptom; the person gets confused less if he
travels west because a trip to the west prolongs the body clock experience and
distorts the day-night cycle less.

However, if we travel to the east it means traveling in the opposite direction to

the clock corporal:

 Stomach problems
 Confusion in making decision
 Lack of memory
 Irritability
Work shift

Is when you have a job which has different schedules for example one week
you work from 9am to 5pm and the next week you work from 9pm to 5am like
nurses , taxi driver, security ,etc.

Try to avoid limiting night shift work, if that is possible but If you must work the
night shift, the following tips may help you:

 Increase your total amount of sleep by adding naps.

 Use bright lights in your workplace.
 Use caffeine only during the first part of your shift.
 5. How improve your sleep?

There are many ways to improve your rest:

Create a relaxing evening ritual.

Do things that relax before you sleep to remove some stress. Eventually, a
routine may act as a signal and your brain that it’s time to sleep. Use common
favorites like take a shower or try other activities like meditating, breathing
exercises or listening music to relax.

Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day including on the
weekend. This helps your body to get into a routine. Try not to take naps in the
day as this affects your body’s routine.

Use only your bed for sleep.

Keep electronics, food and any other stimulating activities out of your bed.

Don’t prepare your bed for eating, reading, video games, studying or chatting on
the phone when you lie down.

Remove electronics from your bedroom.

Screens and electronics are an integral part of our daily lives. The activities
associated with them, the light they emit, and the stimulus they provide, make
televisions, computers, tablets, phones and other digital items a major
hindrance to sleep. Try to unplug at least an hour before bed and keep
electronics out of the bedroom.

Keep your bedroom quiet, cool, and dark.

Removing light, sound and keeping your space at a constant temperature.

Exercises.

A well-known stress-reliever, people who exercise regularly (30-60 minutes,

three times weekly) also have better quality, deeper sleep, and are, overall,
healthier. Exercise also combats obesity, a major risk factor in lack of sleep,
sleep apnea, insomnia and daytime sleepiness3. Of course, exercise is a
natural energy-booster as well, so be sure to get in that workout at least a few
hours before bedtime.

Cut out nap.

While a quick “power nap” may work well for some, when there are issues with
sleep, it’s best to stay awake during the day. This makes easier for your body
and brain to anticipate and respond to a consistent waking and sleep routine. If
you absolutely must nap, keep it short - no more than 30 minutes.

Avoid going to bed on a full stomach.

Balanced, healthy meals during the day will help keep your body and blood
sugars balanced for optimal sleep. Try to keep meals scheduled and don’t eat
large meals right before bedtime. If you’re hungry, have a light, nutritious snack
(low-fat dairy or turkey) that won’t sit heavily in your stomach or boost your
energy. Avoid consumption of high fat foods like chips, ice cream, or fried foods
to increase the likelihood of a good quality sleep.

Get up after 30 minutes if you can’t sleep.

Can’t sleep after a half hour? Don’t worry.Remove the pressure and any anxiety
by getting up and resetting things. Leave your room for a while and go back to
some of your pre-bedtime relaxation activities or rituals before heading back to
bed and trying again.
Make it a priority…and make the time.

A recent North American poll reported taking an average of 23 minutes to fall

asleep; if you’re of the mind that your own rest needs improvement, chances
are you’ll need that amount of time, or even more, to actually settle into sleep.
So account for that when planning. Committing to getting the sleep you need
(and employing the methods you need to get it) may go along with some major
changes in how you eat, work and even play, which may prove challenging at
first. Stick with it! Remember – those extra few hours will benefit your mind and
body across the board.

Sleeping is such an important part of a mindful, healthy, balanced life and most
of us could use more of it, and its benefits. So, make a point of implementing
some new sleep strategies, jump into those PJs and sweet dreams!
 6. Disorders and sleep problems.

The four most common sleep disorders are insomnia and narcolepsy. Additional
sleep problems include such as sleep walking, sleep paralysis, and night
terrors.
A) Insomnia

Insomnia is a disease that is defined as difficulty in initiating or maintaining

sleep and may manifest as difficulty falling asleep and waking up frequently
during the night or waking up very early in the morning, earlier than planned.

The most common complaint associated with insomnia is daytime sleepiness,

low concentration and inability to feel active during the day.

It is important to use general measures or sleep hygiene, including following a

schedule as regular as possible.
 B) Sleep Paralysis

Is a transient inability to perform any kind of voluntary movement that takes

place during the transition period between the sleep state and the waking state.

It may occur at the time of beginning to sleep or in waking up and it is usually

accompanied by a feeling of anguish.

Its duration is usually short, usually between one and three minutes, after which
the paralysis subsides spontaneously.

During the episode, the person is fully conscious, with auditory and tactile
ability, but is unable to move or speak, which can cause great anxiety.

However, there is no danger to life, because the respiratory muscles continue to

function automatically.
 C) Somnambulism

Is a sleep disorder, in which people develop automatic motor activities that can
be simple or complex while they remain unconscious and unlikely to
communicate.

A sleepwalking individual may get out of bed, walk, urinate or even leave his
house.

Sleepwalkers have their eyes open, but they do not see how they are awake
and they tend to believe that they are in other rooms of the house or in
completely different places.

Sleepwalkers tend to return to bed on their own initiative and the next morning
they do not remember getting up at night.

Sleepwalking occurs during phases 3 or 4 of sleep, that is, the stage called slow
sleep or slow wave sleep.
 D) Narcolepsy

It is characterized by the presence of excess irresistible drowsiness during the

day.

It can cause cataplexy (paralysis or extreme bilateral weakness of a muscular

group).

There may even be sleep paralysis, and interruption of nighttime sleep.

According to epidemiological studies, the prevalence of this neurological sleep

disorder in the adult population is between 0.02 and 0.16%, affecting men and
women in a similar way.