Sleep is one of the most vital bodily processes, yet so many people struggle with it, whether from conditions or just circumstances. Hopefully the information we've gathered can help!

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Sleep is defined as a periodic, natural loss of consciousness, distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation. The circadian rhythm is our biological clock, including regular bodily rhythms, such as temperature and wakefulness, that occur on a  24-hour cycle. As morning nears, your body temperature rises, then peaks during day, dips in early afternoon, and begins to drop again in evening. The actions you take are constantly changing the balance of this cycle. For example, don't nap for several hours during the day if you struggle to sleep at night. A maximum of around 30-45 minutes is recommended. As people age, they experience less deep sleep (NREM-3 stage), falling into this stage only once at the beginning. Their sleep becomes more fragile, awakenings are common, and they have several incomplete cycles.

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is a pair of clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light, the SCN causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness. When light enters the retina of the eye, the production of melatonin is decreased in the morning, and then increased in evening when there are lower levels of light. Based on this, avoiding bright lights at night, which includes phone usage, can greatly impact your ability to sleep.

Sleep is important because it helps restore immune system and repair brain tissue, and gives resting neurons time to repair themselves while pruning or weakening unused connections. Less sleep has been shown to lead to. more conflicts with friends and romantic partners. Those who slept 5 hours or less had a 71% higher risk of depression than peers who slept 8 hours or more. The processing of emotional experiences in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep helps protect against depression.

 

Sleep deprivation can:
- Increase ghrelin, a hunger-arousing hormone, and decrease its hunger-suppressing partner, leptin. 

 - Decrease metabolic rate

 - Increase production of cortisol, a stress hormone that stimulates body to make fat

 -  Enhances libin brain responses to the sight of food

 -  Decrease cortical responses that help us resist temptation
- Suppress immune cells that battle viral infections and cancer

 - Cause more accidents, such as car crashes and equipment operation incidents due to drowsiness