When and how much better to sleep. Why you need to go to bed at a certain time

          Your brain is actively resting from 21:00 to 23:00. If you go to bed after 23:00, then gradually over time mental exhaustion will come to you.

If you do not sleep from 23:00 to 1 at night, your life force will suffer. You have a violation of the nervous system. Symptoms: weakness, lethargy, heaviness and weakness.

If you do not sleep from 1 to 3 at night, then you may experience excessive aggressiveness and irritability.

Your beautiful brain needs rest in order to function better. The better you get enough sleep, the better your day’s work will be.

Sleep is not “erased” time from active life, but a process during which your body gains strength, preparing you for the next day. Good dream  gives you strength, you feel fit, think clearly. It allows you to concentrate on work throughout the day. The best way  to do everything you have planned is to give your body time to rest in a dream.

Scientists say that lack of sleep, which has become chronic, reduces the ability to analyze information, adversely affects the processes of memorization, significantly reduces the rate of human response to external stimuli. It is these reasons that prevent a driver who is not getting enough sleep to drive a car, because lack of sleep leads to inhibited actions, not much different from the effect on the brain of alcoholic beverages. So a rash is your accident insurance at the wheel.

The main rule, however, is that it is comfortable and that after waking up you do not feel pain in the body. And if over time you start waking up in discomfort, it may be time to change. Having a good quality curtain may not seem like it, but it is just as important as a mattress and pillow. This is due to the fact that the lighting is directly related to sleep, since all this is regulated by the circadian cycle, which takes into account, among other things, day and night. One of the hormones associated with sleep is melatonin, and it is best to produce when we are in the dark.

Wilting beauty

Sleep is not only vital, it’s also the most effective and completely free way to preserve beauty. It is in a dream that active cell renewal and tissue repair take place.
There is a special method of rejuvenation in a dream. To do this, you need to imagine yourself before going to bed for about 15-20 years younger. You can look at your photo of those years, and keep your image in thoughts until you fall asleep, and do it every day. The authors of the methodology claim that positive results will be noticeable in a week! And in two months of daily classes, you will look younger by 10 years.

If you still need to go to bed late, do not forget to help the body recuperate with proper nutrition, fruit and fresh vegetables. In order to maintain the face and hair at the proper level, we recommend the most effective and, especially with a rejuvenating effect.

Chronic fatigue




Over time, the body grows internal stress, from which the body under normal conditions gets rid of during sleep. As a result, chronic fatigue and inability to heal itself.

Overweight

American scientists have shown that women who regularly sleep less often get better quickly.



The lack of prolonged sleep worsens the metabolic processes in the body, so if late laying is your way of life, then you run the risk of gaining weight 2 times faster, even if otherwise the behavior is exactly the same.

According to studies, people who sleep poorly consume about 15% more food than those who sleep correctly.
The body begins to accumulate fat, taking fatigue as a sign of the approaching crisis.

High luminosity impedes its release, says Stella Tavares, a neuroscientist at the Israeli Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo. According to a specialist, you may have some light in the room, because some people cannot sleep without it. But when the light becomes too strong, the body feels as if it is not the right time to fall asleep. In addition, the light that enters the window in the morning contributes to the awakening. So pay to stay with the curtains closed if you want to get some sleep.

Watch the electronics in the room.

This is because when your brain realizes that a bed is a place to sleep, it is easier to make sleep. Now, if you usually eat, use a computer, or even read a book in bed, drowsiness can complicate things. This refers to the use of electronic items in the room, which are very stimulating. “Watching militants, surfing the Internet, using social networks or even online gaming can increase your arousal, and this can be detrimental to sleep,” said Inoue. The ideal thing is that an hour before bed you will disconnect a little and relax.

Other studies show that the lack of sleep in the body can upset the balance of hormones responsible for the process of burning calories. Experts are unanimous in their opinion that with the help of a diet or exercise  Without good sleep, you cannot achieve magical results. So get enough sleep, be good and young!

At this point, it is worth reducing the intensity of the light, putting on a relaxing song or doing a quiet reading, nothing that awakens your mind. Do not clean the environment only from technological incentives. Therefore, it will only make it harder for your brain to relax in the subconscious state. When insomnia strikes anxiety, you can use some methods to reduce them. Try something that you know that usually relaxes you. For example, for calmer people who have already practiced yoga, for example, to experience mentalization, there may be a good call. “But if you are not used to it, it can make your anxiety worse about wanting to sleep soon,” says neurophysiologist Stella.

Weakening of immunity

Everything is obvious and simple: at night, the body is restored, updated, neutralizes the negative effects of wakefulness, which helps strengthen the immune system. During the night, the immune system cells are activated, destroying all pathogens that have entered the body during the day. With constant lack of sleep, the risk of catching a cold, flu, or ARVI increases threefold.



The expert at the Mayo Clinic, MD Timothy Morgenthaler explained why sleep is so important in the fight against disease. The fact is that during sleep, proteins (known as cytokines) are produced that fight infection.

However, excess sleep also causes various health problems, including obesity, heart disease and depression. Adults need to sleep 7-8 hours in order to be healthy.

Improving breathing by taking breathing exercises and breathing exercises slowly can also be a good request, but practice to wake him up! Grandma's advice about drinking tea may well be right. “Soothing teas such as chamomile, fennel and lemon balm help to improve sleep, as they help in relaxation,” says sleep doctor Daniel Inoue. Warm milk can also be one ordered, since it contains tryptophan, the amino acid precursor of serotonin, even in small quantities.

A good tip for potentiating these drinks is to incorporate honey. Some types of this sweet, such as wild, orange blossom and assa fish, have soothing properties and help to relax the body and mind, according to nutritionist Tais Souza from Red Mundo Verde.

Also, sleep is the prevention of serious diseases. Today, lack of sleep is not a risk factor that provokes pathology of the cardiovascular system and diabetes, as well as other chronic diseases, although it has reason to be there.

  If a person sleeps less than eight hours a day, then the risk of these diseases increases by 20%, less than 5 hours - by 50%.

Sleep also affects hair health. When not getting enough, the production of cortisol is activated, which is a stress hormone. It can cause depression and also has a negative effect on many processes, leading to chaos in the body, one of the consequences of which is impaired hair growth.

But the drink that you definitely miss is alcohol. Although it is also relaxing, the quality of your sleep while drinking beer, wine or distillate will not be the best. “Because it relaxes all muscles, including the neck, leaves the airways open, which contributes to sleep apnea, causing a person to sleep irregularly all night,” explains Stella Tavares. That's why when you drink, you can even snore more!

In addition to light, body temperature also helps regulate sleep: when it falls, we become more sleepy. But when we do physical activity, we become warmer. “The ideal thing is not to do the exercises at night because it ends in a sleep disorder,” says Stella. But if this is the only time you have, it is best to let them go to bed until three hours later.

Aging

During a night's sleep, skin cells are restored, the blood flow improves, and the cells are saturated with oxygen and amino acids. There is a natural smoothing of mimic wrinkles, improves skin color, its smoothness. However, these beneficial processes are only possible with a duration of sleep of at least 8 hours a day.



Lack of sleep reduces the overall protective functions of the body, which leads to premature aging. At the same time, life expectancy is reduced by 12-20%. According to statistics, in the 60s of the last century, a person spent 8 hours of sleep, now it is about 6.5.

Health by the hour

See what happens inside our bodies at night:

22 hoursThe number of leukocytes in the blood doubles - the immune system checks the territory entrusted to it.
Body temperature drops. Biological clock signals: it's time to sleep.

We have received numerous comments about that, and we are trying to organize them to facilitate consultations for those who may be interested. These are the ones that are associated with sleep difficulties. Does she have any sleeping rituals? Are parents satisfied and come only in the evening?

At this age, she should sleep around 8 pm, and her sleep can be about 12 hours. During the day she can sleep for about 2 hours. The important thing to regulate her sleep is to wake her up after about 2 hours, so she goes to bed early. "If she sleeps a lot during the day, she might not be so tired at night."

23 hoursThe body more and more relaxes, but in each cell recovery processes are underway.

24 hours.Consciousness is increasingly taking possession of dreams, and the brain continues to work, laying out the information received during the day.

1 hour.  Sleep is very sensitive. A tooth that is not healed in time or a knee injured a long time ago may differ and will not let you sleep until morning.

Will she take a nap at night, even if it's 10 minutes? . "If this happens, it's a reason to lose a little more sleep at night."

  • Does she have activity during the day that she can spend her energy?
  • Some recommendations below.
Children need a ritual before bedtime, so they begin to get used to this process.

Children, even at this stage so early, make the drama go to sleep, because they want to stay with their parents, and this is often the only time for that. Have a lot of fussy jokes before bed? . Choose a pet or small skirt or something that the child loves, so she can always use it when she goes to bed. This will help keep the company.

2 hours.All the organs rest, only the liver is working with might and main, cleaning out the sleeping organism from the accumulated toxins.

3 hours.  Complete physiological decline: blood pressure at the lower limit, pulse and respiration are rare.

4 hours.The brain is supplied with a minimum amount of blood and is not ready for awakening, but the hearing is extremely acute - you can wake up from the slightest noise.

You can put some furniture for her to always watch and watch the movement before going to bed. A little light from some of the access lamps to help refresh the room a bit also helps. Tell the story and tell her that she will fall asleep because the time has come. Leave the door behind you so that it does not separate from the rest of the house. Exit the room, and if she calls again, go back, cover her, and tell her it's time to sleep. If she calls, come back again, cover her and not look at her and say nothing.

In later times, do the same and repeat as many times as necessary. Some mothers do it more than ten times, but only on the first day. Even if she cries or gets out of bed, return her and repeat the whole process, but not always looking or talking to her. This whole process depends on his perseverance.

5 o'clock.The kidneys are resting, the muscles are dormant, the metabolism is slowed down, but in principle the body is ready to wake up.

6 o'clock.The adrenal glands begin to release hormones adrenaline and norepinephrine into the blood, which increase blood pressure and make the heart beat faster. The organism is already preparing for awakening, although the consciousness is still dormant.

References below. Explain to your daughter that this is a dream, take her to the bedroom, lay on the bed and go out. When she starts screaming, come back, tell her it's time to sleep and leave the room. The second time she screams, stop by, don't look at her and say nothing; just lay it on the bed and go out. Do this as many times as you need.

She's already used to you, and she knows that if she screams, she will bring you back. This process is tedious, but it is the only way to “deconfine” your daughter out of habit, which she has already acquired. There is a collection of books, separated by age, from the Tavistock clinic, and you will find there is a age of 2 years.

7 o'clock  - The high point of the immune system. It's time to warm up and get under the cold shower. By the way, medicines are absorbed much better at this hour than at other times of the day.

"Owls" and "Larks"




Many of you may think: “But I’m an owl and I don’t have time to get up early, and therefore I will not waste this habit in myself.” Especially for you, scientists have proved that every human body obeys a kind of biological rhythms that “prompt” him at what time it is better to go to bed and in which to get up.

In accordance with these biorhythms, the human body experiences several physiological recessions and rises during the day.



The most favorable time to go to bed is between 21:00 and 22:00, since from 22:00 to 23:00 one of the physiological downturns occurs, it is at this time that you can easily fall asleep. But at midnight, you no longer want to sleep, because at this time the body is awake and a physiological rise occurs.

Note. The ads, advertisements or links that appear at the end of each post on this blog are NOT readings, suggestions, or have anything to do with the blog. You all tried: you didn’t do anything with caffeine before bedtime, didn’t eat anything heavy, avoided scary movies and even then, couldn’t you sleep properly?

Manage your daily habits

Knutson, some of the habits that you have may sabotage your sleep, and you may not even know about it. Check out some tips for better sleep. Everyone knows that taking certain types of tea or coffee before bed can worsen sleep. But did you know that drinking these fluids can have the same effect? Even this apple tea from your work, which you drink at four in the afternoon, may not be so innocent. The board should look at the composition of each drink on your label.

The same thing happens in the morning. It is easier to get up at 5-6 in the morning (physiological recovery) than at 7-8 hours, when the decline in activity begins again.
Biological rhythms in all act in the same way, which means that all people must be "larks". If you go to bed on time, then you won't be able to wake up early. This is all a matter of habit.

And now advice for those who want to be healthy, young, beautiful and go to bed on time.

Choose products that promote sleep

Leave your energy drinks and caffeinated beverages until two o'clock in the afternoon - so their effect will pass during the day and before bedtime, your body will no longer be influenced by afternoon coffee. If you have already spent several sleepless nights, the expert advice for dinner is a plate of pasta with fresh vegetables and chicken breast, cut into small cubes. This dinner contains a combination of proteins and amino acids that increase the level of serotonin in the body, so that your sleep increases.

To begin with, our sleep has phases that are divided into an hour and a half, that is, we wake up a little at the end of every 90 minutes of our sleep, but we naturally do not notice this. And it is recommended to get up at the end of the sleep phase in order to feel vigorous and sleep. But this does not mean that you can sleep for an hour and a half and get up vigorous, at least two phases need to sleep, that is, three hours.

Take a sip of wine before

Other combinations, such as milk and light cookies or yogurt from cereals, also work. Although a sip of wine can relax you and make you fall asleep faster, it will make the second part of your sleep cycle more restless, with possible interruptions. Alcohol reduces the total amount of sleep and increases the number of times you wake up at night. If you don’t go around evening wine, take your glass at six o'clock instead of eleven o'clock to ensure a deeper sleep.

Do you know that the myth that taking a hot bath helps you sleep? Surprisingly, immersion in a very hot bath before bed can have the opposite effect. Any relationship that increases your body temperature before bedtime can make it harder to sleep. According to experts, the body needs to get colder so that you can sleep. This does not mean going to bed without taking a shower after a hard day’s work. Take a bath a few hours before bed, do not go to bed immediately after leaving the shower.

For example: you go to bed, look at the clock, and there is 10:00 pm, take 7 minutes to fall asleep (this is the average time you fall asleep), you get the alarm to start at 4:07, or at 5:37, and so on.

Of course, you can take it all seriously and say: “I go to bed at midnight, and nothing happens to me.” But not all at once, after a couple of years, and maybe more, you can feel how your strength and beauty are beginning to fade due to accumulated fatigue over many years.

For those who are still thinking, I want to remind: "The one who wants, is looking for opportunities, who does not want, is looking for excuses." This is your life, your beauty and your choice!

One third of life a person must spend in a dream Those who do not comply with this requirement, life ultimately punishes a whole bunch of diseases: from endocrine, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal to mental and oncological. Why? The answer is simple: the body periodically needs daily rest and “maintenance” work. And they, so programmed by nature, are mostly held in our body at night. Therefore, daytime rest can never fully replace the night's sleep.

You probably know that bedtime exercises are not the best idea for those who want a restful sleep — any intensive activity should be completed six hours before. But a relaxing session of yoga or other stretching can be a big help, especially if you feel pain when you go to bed.

Leaving a room dark while sleeping is very important, but it also makes light light before bedtime. Our biological clock reacts to the strong light that we store at home at night, and for some reason thinks it is day, making sleep more challenging. A gradual decrease in illumination imitates twilight, and the body understands that the time has come to turn it off.


See what happens inside our bodies at night:

22 hours. The number of leukocytes in the blood doubles - the immune system checks the territory entrusted to it. Body temperature drops. Biological clock signals: it's time to sleep.

23 hours. The body more and more relaxes, but in each cell recovery processes are underway.

24 hours. Consciousness is increasingly taking possession of dreams, and the brain continues to work, laying out the information received during the day.

1 hour. Sleep is very sensitive. A tooth that is not healed in time or a knee injured a long time ago may differ and will not let you sleep until morning.

2 hours. All the organs rest, only the liver is working with might and main, cleaning out the sleeping organism from the accumulated toxins.

3 hours. Complete physiological decline: blood pressure at the lower limit, pulse and respiration are rare.

4 hours. The brain is supplied with a minimum amount of blood and is not ready for awakening, but the hearing is extremely acute - you can wake up from the slightest noise.

5 o'clock. The kidneys are resting, the muscles are dormant, the metabolism is slowed down, but in principle the body is ready to wake up.

6 o'clock. The adrenal glands begin to release hormones adrenaline and norepinephrine into the blood, which increase blood pressure and make the heart beat faster. The organism is already preparing for awakening, although the consciousness is still dormant.

7 o'clock  - The high point of the immune system. It's time to warm up and get under the cold shower. By the way, medicines are absorbed much better at this hour than at other times of the day.

You see, what important recovery processes occur in the body when we sleep peacefully! And so that they all pass without a hitch without a hitch, the dream must be not only long enough, but also qualitative: calm, deep, without unreasonable awakenings and snoring.

Science has several dozen different sleep disorders, which affect 20% of the population. First of all, it is insomnia - insomnia, as doctors say. It is most often based on stress, neurosis, mental stress, shift work, air travel from one time zone to another.

The situation is aggravated by the so-called "Edison effect" - the abundance of electric lighting in our homes. The fact is that the sleep hormone - melatonin, which regulates the cycles of sleep and wakefulness, our epiphysis (pineal gland) produces only in the dark. And constantly and in a certain rhythm, which provides such a hypnotic effect, which you can not achieve with any pharmaceutical preparations. Therefore, those who want to be healthy, doctors advise not to sleep in the light, to take care of the pineal gland and to increase the melatonin content. naturally. What is needed for this?

Avoid stress and do not overload.

Do not break daily cycles. It is necessary to go to bed at sunset - at about 22 o'clock and get up at dawn every day, including weekends.

At dinner, it is better to eat foods rich in serotonin: tomatoes, celery, bananas, corn cobs, oatmeal or rice porridge, sea fish. Serotonin - one of the so-called "hormones of happiness" - is the raw material for the production of melatonin.

You can indulge yourself with carbohydrates. They also increase melatonin levels. Only they should be eaten on an empty stomach and not mixed with fats and proteins. Eliminate alcohol, nicotine and caffeine.

Make sure that the food was enough vitamins of group B: B3, B6 and B12, as well as calcium and magnesium.
  Avoid excessive electromagnetic radiation - it has a bad effect on the pineal gland. Try to sit less in front of the TV or computer, turn off all electrical appliances in the bedroom before bedtime.

Tips

For the prevention of sleep disorders for 30 minutes before going to bed, it is useful to drink a glass of soothing herbal tea. His recipe: Mix equally chamomile flowers, fennel seeds, peppermint grass and valerian root. 1-2 tbsp. l collection pour a glass of boiling water and hold for half an hour in a water bath. Then cool, strain through several layers of gauze and squeeze.

Renowned neurologist Konstantin Umansky with sleep disorders advises to make a special medical pad: put hops in a canvas bag and hem it in with a regular pillow for several months. Hop volatiles have a calming effect on nervous system. The bag can be filled with other herbs. When the scent of mint, chamomile, sweet clover and other plants is in the air, it sleeps much better.

Drink the air of the bedroom with medicinal aromas and with the help of an aroma lamp. The smell of roses and lavender calm the nervous system, pine needles - relieve fatigue, laurel - prevent spasms, rosemary - ease the condition for chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract.

Ordinary houseplants have a good healing effect. Geranium, for example, not only calms the nerves and improves sleep, but also reduces the pressure in hypertensive patients. Therefore, decorating the window sills with flowers is not a whim.

Sleep is necessary for a normal healthy life - everyone knows that. You can eat the healthiest food and not get out of the gym, but if you do not get enough sleep all the time, all efforts will go down the drain.

1. Our ancient ancestors set asleep more time because their daily rhythm depended on the rising and setting of the sun. Today we have an artificial light that allows us to prolong the period of wakefulness and, therefore, reduce the time of sleep. And although the requirements in a dream for each organism are individual, many experts insist that healthy sleep  should last about nine hours a day. Recent studies have shown that the majority of insomnia sufferers are engaged in something that stimulates brain activity one hour before sleep: 90% of people watch TV, 33% work on the computer and 43% do something about the housework.

2. Lack of sleep most seriously affects hormones that control metabolism, appetite, mood, ability to concentrate, etc. Research has shown that among those who sleep less than six hours a day, there are more people who smoke and drink heavily. non-athletic and obese. Curiously, the same can be said about people who regularly sleep more than nine hours a day. Specialists from the Medical College of the University of London found that lack of sleep and its surplus doubled the risk of death.

Scientists have long known about the connection between lack of sleep and cardiovascular diseases, although they cannot explain why sleep is so bad. Recent studies have revealed the dependence of sleep overload on depression and low socioeconomic status, but this issue needs further study.

3. Cryptochromes are ancient squirrels that are found in all plants and animals on our planet. These substances, which "live" mainly in the eyes and on the skin, are sensitive to all shades of blue that appear in nature at dawn or at dusk, and therefore are very important for our daily cycle. With the help of these substances, our bodies are able to recognize sunlight with their eyes closed.

Have you ever wondered where the blind know when - the day, and when - the night? Cryptochromes determine that sunlight has stopped flowing and give a signal to the epiphysis to convert serotonin, which kept you awake all day into melatonin, thanks to which you can have a good rest at night.

As soon as morning comes, the formation of serotonin will increase, and melanin will decrease, and you will be ready for a new day. That is why doctors so often prescribed as an antidepressant drugs SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; approx. Mixstuff.ru). All that a person needs in order to overcome depression is to have a good sleep.

4. The active use of artificial light led to a disruption of the natural rhythm of serotonin-melatonin production, which has developed over thousands of years. The production of melatonin is suppressed by light and resumes with the onset of darkness, so the longer you sit up in the evenings, the more negative it affects your physical and mental condition.

Studies have shown that premature aging is related to reduced melatonin levels during sleep. Melatonin is associated with our ability to learn and work memory. It can be beneficial in treating Alzheimer's disease. It is a powerful antioxidant that can protect DNA from free radical damage and prevent the development of certain forms of cancer.

Recent studies have shown that workers whose daily cycle is constantly disrupted due to working on night shifts are at risk of cancer. So if you have to work at night, try to at least arrange for night shifts to alternate with day shifts.

And before you go to the pharmacy to buy preparations containing melatonin, please note that although these supplements can help for a while, in the long run they will cause your body to produce even less melatonin.

Nothing, absolutely nothing can replace healthy sleep.

5. Studies have shown that hormonal disorders are associated with a violation of the deep sleep phase. That is, ultimately, it is not so much the amount of sleep that is important as its quality.

Superficial sleep increases the level of cortisol, a stress hormone. In moderation, it is useful, but if its level is too high, it becomes dangerous.

High levels of cortisol lead to a decrease in testosterone levels, weakened immune systems, loss of muscle mass, and high blood pressure. In addition, a surplus of cortisol contributes to weight gain, especially in the abdomen, and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

Cortisol reduces the formation of serotonin, and the lack of serotonin can be increased by taking carbohydrates (sugar and starch). That is why many people are so attracted to sweets when they are under stress or stay up late. Because seratonin soothes, improves mood, and relieves depression, in certain situations you may become addicted to sweets.

In order to maintain normal weight, body energy and mood, try to keep cortisol levels under control - find the best way to deal with stress. This may be, for example, a morning walk to work or to school or listening to news on the radio before bedtime.

How long does it take a person to sleep

Scientists are increasingly inclined to the fact that the duration of sleep is strictly individual and genetically predetermined. How can it be defined for you personally? When you are on vacation and you do not have to jump up in the morning to run to work, in the second or third week, observe how much you have overslept and whether it was enough for a good rest. This will be your individual time that you need to sleep. I set such an experiment over myself. It turned out that for complete rest I should sleep for 9 hours. Most people sleep 7-8 hours.

When to go to bed

Our internal biological clocks are associated with the duration of daylight hours. When the sun declines and the light becomes less, the hormone melatonin, a regulator of daily rhythms, begins to be more actively synthesized in our body. It "gives a signal" to our bodies: it is time, for example, to reduce the activity of the digestive system and rest the heart. In an amicable way, in order not to go against our biological clock, you need to sleep at night, not during the day. People go to sleep at different times. Optimally, this should be from 10 pm to midnight. The maximum concentration of melatonin in the blood is observed from 12 am to 4 am. Our dream ends at dawn. Light blocks the synthesis of melatonin in the body and "wakes" us. If the body did not have time to recover due to the fact that someone went to bed late, then there will be little benefit from such a dream. Some people shift their sleep to the hope of getting up early. They deliberately shorten the duration of sleep in the hope of becoming an “owl” into a “lark”. This should not be done, because a person must sleep a certain number of hours per day. Disruption of the biological rhythm can lead to unpredictable consequences. And sleep less than 5 hours or insomnia can cause many diseases.

What happens in the body when we sleep

When a person is sleeping, it seems that he is in a state of complete rest. This is not entirely true. As many know, sleep consists of two phases: fast and slow. The fast phase comes in an hour and a half after falling asleep. Its presence is indicated by the movements of the eyeballs, which are identical to the movements of the sleeper, which he performs in a dream. The slow phase is “not rich” in events, and more often it can be identified by the loud and flurry snore of the sleeper. The slow and fast phase lasts an hour and a half in total. During sleep, a person goes from 4 to 6 such cycles. During the slow phase, physical recovery of the body occurs, and during fast sleep  there is a mental recovery and a variety of information is processed. During sleep, there are many important biochemical processes in the body. First, an active synthesis of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), known as a universal source of energy for all processes occurring in living systems, occurs. Thus, our body stores energy during sleep. Secondly, up to 75% growth hormone (somatotropin) is synthesized. During sleep, there is an active growth of the young body. The same hormone promotes protein synthesis, slows its breakdown, helps burn fat and increases the mass of muscle tissue. Somatotropin also takes a significant part in the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism. Thirdly, during sleep, testosterone synthesis occurs, which is responsible for the sexual development of a person. And, finally, within 7-8 hours, self-purification of cells and intercellular body fluids from metabolic products takes place.

How long can a person stay awake

Even scientists are still unable to accurately answer this question. A few years ago an interesting experiment was conducted. Within two weeks, several young people gradually reduced sleep from 8 to 4 hours a day. It turned out that everyone had sharply increased blood pressure by the end of the observations, mental disorders were noted, there was an elevated sugar content in the blood - the first step to diabetes. Scientists believe that a person can die in 5 days if he is not allowed to sleep. However, reality presents surprises. For example, American R. Mac Donalds did not sleep for 19 days. His record was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. One more example. During the First World War, the Hungarian soldier P. Kern was wounded in the frontal lobe of the brain. Doctors cured him, but Paul stopped sleeping. Doctors decided that his days are numbered. However, Kern felt quite decent and lived for many years after being wounded. And another amazing story. It happened to our former compatriot Yakov Tsiperovich, who now lives in Germany. After severe poisoning, this man experienced clinical death, then a week was in a comatose state. When he woke up, he found that he could not sleep anymore. This is still half the trouble, it was impossible for him to even lie down! So in a state of complete insomnia, he lived for more than 16 years. No medicine could explain this phenomenon. Later, Jacob began to practice yoga. After some time he could spend a couple of hours in a horizontal position and get some rest. But what is most surprising is that over the past 20 years since the poisoning, it has not changed in its appearance. He is now over fifty, but he looks at 25 years at most. This is another mystery, which science is not yet able to unravel.

Sleep must be complete

To have a good rest during sleep and after waking up to feel a surge of energy, you need to follow the following rules.

· Do not eat at night heavy fatty foods, do not drink coffee, do not smoke or drink strong drinks. Good evening finish well for 3-4 hours before bedtime. However, if before bedtime you feel that you are hungry, then a light snack is not forbidden. It is better to take something in your mouth than toss and turn in bed for a couple of hours and suffer from hunger. What can you eat? For example, a slice of cheese, or drink a glass of milk. These products contribute to the synthesis of melatonin. Why not drink alcohol at night? It is known that even a small dose of alcohol helps to quickly fall asleep. But when the process of its utilization by the body ends, a person wakes up and cannot sleep more.