Is Sleep Better Than Medicine?

Have you ever wondered why you feel so good after a night of deep sleep? Well, a sleep switch in humans has been discovered.

In 2001, a Harvard University sleep researcher identified a group of neurons in the hypothalamus — the brain region that controls activities such as hunger and body temperature — called the sleep switch.

The state when these neurons are shutting down and we begin to fall asleep is known as hypnagogia, and the transitional state when we wake up is called hypnapompia.

It’s at these times that we “coincide with the world” and have a chance to access other dimensions or realities. Salvador Dali famously made use of this in his paintings, which were inspired by his dreams.

Thomas Edison also used these transitional states to solve problems by taking naps while holding steel balls in his hands. As he drifted off, his hands would relax and the balls would fall and wake him up, hopefully with the solution already in mind!

We all eventually succumb to sleep. You do it every night, but have you ever stopped to think what sleep really is?

Science says ‘sleep is a fluctuating state that consists of two forms — rapid eye movement (REM) and slow-wave (SW)- which alternate about five to six times a night, on average every 90 minutes.

REM sleep is named after the way our eyes move under our eyelids when we sleep. It is the most active stage of sleep, and it literally heats up the brain, making it necessary for other forms of sleep to cool it down. In REM, our dreams are vivid, active and easy to recall.

SW, on the other hand, is deep sleep characterized by synchronized brain waves that are hard to wake up from. SW is the most restorative form, and it burns fat, which explains why not sleeping enough can lead to obesity. It’s most likely our most necessary form of sleep, and while we are in it, our dreams are fragmented and difficult to remember.

Both states are characterized by two features; diminished responses to outer stimuli and the ability to wake up. These features differentiate them from other states, such as a coma.

As those of us around the age of 50 and over know, the amount of SW sleep we get decreases over time. In fact, up to a quarter of 50-year-olds and older get no SW at all! This can be a factor of aging, such as less muscle tone, less physical strength, higher body fat, thinning skin, tiredness, lower libido, memory loss and immune malfunction.

Sounds like it’s a good idea to value your sleep. As the Irish say, sleep is better than medicine!