The question of how well you sleep addresses not only the amount but the attributes of time spent in slumber. The aim for most adults is 7 to 8 uninterrupted hours, which takes in both quality and quantity of sleep. There’s a difference in sleep quality if you are regularly waking up during the night.
Many healthy things are going on in mind and body while you are deep in sleep: Brain waves slow down. Bones and muscles are built. Tissues are repaired and regenerated. The immune system is strengthened.
Sleep is a restorative time for your body, so interruptions to your sleep pattern can have a negative impact on how you feel during waking hours and your overall health.
Going Through Sleep Stages
Once you slip into slumber, you move through the various stages of sleep. Three stages of non-rapid eye movement sleep take you deeper and deeper into the rapid eye movement (REM) stage: the dream state of the sleep program. You cycle through all stages several times during a normal night of rest, spending longer periods of time in REM as morning approaches.
During REM sleep, you breathe faster and your heart rate and blood pressure rise. These changes are normal. Your brain activity increases while your arms and legs totally relax into temporary paralysis, which may explain the inability to run away when you are being chased by something in a dream.
On average, you dream roughly two hours a night, whether remembered or not. And your dreams tend to be more vivid in the REM stage of sleep.
The purpose of dreaming is not fully understood, however, dreaming may help you to organize and analyze memories. A recent theory promotes the brain-protective aspects of dreams.
Dreamy or Nightmarish Results
When you have had a good night’s sleep that includes remembered or forgotten dreams, your mood, decision-making and judgement tend to be in finer form. All of these things support your ability to learn new things as you face each new day.
Physically, you simply feel good when your body is rested. That’s why apart from the occasional night of fitful sleep that anyone can experience, the detrimental side effects of chronic sleep loss are a must to avoid.
The causes of sleep deprivation include aging, having a new baby, illness, schedule changes and stress. Worrying about things to the extent that you regularly have trouble falling asleep prevents you from enjoying the restorative benefits of sleep.
Sleep loss can also be the result of physical factors, such as room temperatures that are too warm, too much lighting, poor eating or drinking habits (e.g., late meals or snacks, caffeinated or alcoholic beverages) and use of blue-light-radiating devices near bedtime. All are worth adjusting to avoid losing sleep.
AIM for Sleep
One of the most relaxing minerals on the planet happens to be magnesium, particularly for the effects it has on tight muscles caused by physical or mental tension. Pouring Mag-nificence CWR into your tub as it fills with hot water introduces topical magnesium to your bath time. A soothing soak becomes a way to increase magnesium levels before bedtime, adding mineral magnificence that helps you to relax and slip into slumber sooner than later in the night.
Herbal help from the botanicals in Composure is a natural way to relieve body tension and calm a racing mind. Take passionflower as an ingredient example that promotes relaxation. Used for centuries by Native Americans to soothe nerves, passionflower delivers the relaxation properties of maltol, ethyl-maltol and flavonoids along with passiflorine, which has been reported to promote calmness and induce sleep.
Both of these AIM products can contribute to the quality and quantity of your sleep, helping maintain the restorative rest that keeps you in good health. Sleep well, live well.
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