Browsing: Lifestyle

What is a chronic illness, and how does it affect our mental health?
How can the psychological strain of chronic physical illness be treated?
How does chronic illness affect caregivers?
Conclusion
References
Further reading

Introduction
Cause and Symptoms
Bacillus anthracis
Epidemiology
Diagnosis and Treatment
Biological Warfare Agent
References
Further Reading

Sleep is a physiological behavior that is common in all animal species. It forms around one third of a human life. It is not known clearly the exact functions of sleep but it seems to be essential for survival as prolonged sleep deprivation leads to severe physical impairment followed by cognitive loss and eventually death.

Sleep plays an essential part in maintaining health. There are several disorders and disturbances that affect the duration and depth of sleep. In adequate sleep or over sleep can cause numerous behavioral and cognitive problems. Some of the sleep disturbances include:-

A team of researchers has made a ground-breaking discovery on the use of the popular mindfulness meditation app, Calm, in improving sleep in adults with sleep disturbance.

By Dr. Chin Moi Chow,  The University of SydneySleep is vital for overall health. Poor sleep can cause daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and mood deterioration and has implications for poor health outcomes. Getting six or fewer hours each night may also provoke increased appetite leading to risk of weight gain and, in the longer term, the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. There is also a significant association between poor sleep and depression.

Sleep deprivation is a term that refers to an inadequate quantity of sleep, characterized by signs of sleepiness during the day, reduced alertness, and decreased performance at work or school. Sleep deprivation often occurs as a result of a sleeping disorder that restricts the quantity, quality, or timing of sleep.

Sleep deprivation is a condition defined as lack of sleep or disrupted sleep-wake cycle. Although it is not a specific disease, sleep deprivation can lead to poor health conditions.

Sleep plays a key role in human function and cognition, affecting learning, memory, physical recovery, metabolism, and immunity. The functional role of sleep is well documented across species, and more recently, research has revealed the function of sleep in regulating emotion. The relationship between the two is reciprocal; sleep is crucial for mental and physical health while regulating emotion plays a vital role in decreasing the detrimental effects of emotional stress on sleep physiology.

Teenage or adolescence is often associated with changes in sleep patterns, which may often seem extreme. This period is linked to drastic physical, mental, and emotional changes, stemming from alterations in brain activity, which lead to changes in sleep rhythms as well.

When an individual is sleep deprived, the best way to reduce the symptoms and manage the condition is to increase the quantity or quality of sleep to meet their needs. However, the techniques used to increase sleep will vary according to the cause of sleep deprivation and the specific situation.

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is marked by movement of the eyes and low muscle tone in the body, in addition to more rapid brain waves, similar to that of an awake individual.

Although it was historically believed that sleep was a passive but necessary process for healthy bodily functions, it is now known that brain activity continues during sleep. In fact, this brain activity is thought to play several important roles in the maintenance of physical, emotional, and mental health.

Throughout wakefulness and sleep, the electrical activity of the brain changes and creates different types of brain waves. These brain waves are therefore used to characterize the various stages of sleep.

The regulation of sleep is important to control the transition between being awake and sleep.Sleep is an unconscious state, marked by immobility and reduced responsiveness, of which there are two broad stages: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. The brain is active during REM sleep whereas brain goes through periods of synchronized neuronal activity during NREM sleep.

Sleep is essential to protect the mental and physical health of an individual, in addition to improving the quality of life. However, the function of sleep has not always been clear and, until recently, the main function was believed to be the avoidance of sleep deprivation.