Did you know…we spend about 25 years of our lives asleep and of those around seven years dreaming?
The amount of sleep each person requires to feel refreshed each day is different, because each of us is unique. Only you know how much sleep you need; eight hours is usually quoted as the average but some people survive on a lot less, some people need a lot more.
Research shows that people over 60 years old spend less time in deep sleep. As you get older, you may find that you sleep less, not more as many people presume. This doesn’t mean you need less sleep but that sleep may be lighter and less restful. Stress and Mind activity can be a contributing factor to poor sleep as well as a cause of nightmares.
The amount of time you spend asleep, will affect the amount of time you are dreaming.
If you want to get a healthy night’s sleep Delphi says simply follow ‘the one hour rule’. An hour before bed set yourself up for a good night’s sleep by listening to some calming music, meditate and have a nice warm bath.
What does your sleep position say about you?
The stage of sleep usually associated with dreaming is Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. This is characterized by the dreamer’s eyes rolling from side to side under the eyelids. Other characteristics associated with REM sleep are raised pulse and rapid breathing. Body muscle is paralysed during REM sleep, probably to stop you actually carrying out whatever it is you are dreaming. Sleep walking is not the same as dreaming; it happens in a different, deeper stage of sleep.
Extensive studies and sleep research show that we all dream, every night, even if we don’t remember them and that sleep – including REM Sleep - is essential for our health and well being.
Because of hectic, lifestyles, busy-ness of the Mind and the role of stress, it is more and more likely people will suffer with inefficient sleep and sleep disorders. Science shows that not sleeping properly can affect your memory, performance and increase the likelihood of depression and anxiety. It can also affect your ability to recall dreams and may well induce the likelihood of hallucinations and sleep paralysis (a temporary, but worrying sensation when you wake up and feel as if you can’t move – read about Old Hag Syndrome).
What keeps you awake at night? New article on yahoo! Click here.
It is estimated that sleep disorders affect approximately 770,000 people in the UK with one in three
people experiencing a period of insomnia at least once in their life time. (Source, Fawlty Winks).
Sleep & Dreams Research
Why do some people remember their dreams and some don’t? It’s all in the brain according to researchers in Italy who studied 65 students: read the New Scientist article.
A recent study by Gerhard Kloesch and colleagues from the University of Vienna, Austria, shows that sleeping in the same bed as someone can affect dream recall. The study found, according to the New Scientist, that women tend to remember their dreams after sleeping alone and men recalled them best after sex. For more information visit the New Scientist article
New sleep machine could signal the end for Insomnia. Click here to view this article in the Daily Mail.
Snorers cost their partners two years of sleep over their lives together, researchers claim. Click here to view the article in the Telegraph.
We all hit that difficult part of the afternoon when our energy dips, our concentration flags, and it feels like
we’re not going to be able to stay awake until the end of the workday without crawling under the desk to take a nap… Click here for some tips to beat the afternoon slump.
If you are trying to commit something to memory, take a nap. Even a short daytime snooze can help you learn says the New Scientist. Matthew Tucker at the City University of New York and his colleagues say that volunteers who had been allowed a nap before being tested for their memory scored 15% better than the non-nappers. Click here for more details.
An article in the New Scientist detailing research by Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen of the University of Helsinki, Finland and her team, shows that sleep deprivation can lead to stress-related illness, such as heart disease. You can view this article here.
Research shows that lack of sleep can make you feel hungry. According to American studies, sleep loss has been shown to affect the secretion of cortisol, a hormone that regulates appetite.
Studies have shown that going for a nap after your Sunday roast is hard to resist. University of Manchester researchers have discovered how the nerve cells in the brain that keep us alert become turned off after we eat. For more information on this report you can visit the BBC website here
For information about common dreams click here.
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