Sleep

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that signal the nerves in the brain in order to control our sleeping cycle. It acts on many different groups of nerve cells, or neurons in the brain. For an example, the neurons located near the brainstem produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters function to keep the brain active.

Circadian clock is also known as biological clock. It describes the physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a daily (24-hour) cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in the environment. Hence, our bodies are prone to feel tiredness without sunlight.

REM, also known as the Rapid Eye Movement, is a stage in our sleep cycle when our eyes move around. Although uncertain, there are many theories that conclude that the movements in the eyes are initiated by different phases of dreaming. REM can further be broken down to tonic and phasic. During this phase, REM sleep-on cells are active, and its activity might be an explanation to why such movements occur in the eyes. The researchers found activity in areas of the brain that control sight, hearing, smell, touch, arousal, sleep-wake transitions, balance and body movement, but some parts of the brain were completely shut down. Although some neurons are very active during this phase, some neurotransmitters, such as norepinephrine, serotonin, and histamine, stop functioning during REM.

nREM, also known as non-Rapid Eye Movement, is found to be a dreamless sleep. 80% of the sleep consists of nREM. This phase is when the breathing and the heart rate of the sleeper is slow and regular. The blood pressure is low, and the sleeper is relatively still.

Insomnia is a sleep disorder when the sleeper has trouble falling asleep. It can be caused by many different causes, but some of the main factors that trigger such disorder are alcohol, coffee, anxiety, and/or stress.

Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder commonly found in overweight people, or children with enlarged tonsil tissues. This is due to the airway that collapse or is blocked during sleep.  This leads to shallow breathing, breathing pauses, snoring, or even gasping in the middle of the sleep. When the airway is blocked, the oxygen flow rapidly decreases. The body signals the brain to stop sleep, which leads to the sleeper to wake up in the middle of the night, gasping for more air.

Restless leg syndrome is caused by the disturbance in sleep due to a sudden urge/ need to move one’s legs. The sleeper feels uncomfortable creeping, crawling, aching, pulling, searing, tingling, bubbling, or crawling sensation that can only be relieved by moving his/her legs. Although it can be considered very minor, it can be very uncomfortable for the sleeper and impact one’s sleep cycle by disrupting the sleep pattern.  

Narcolepsy is caused by reduced amounts of a protein called hypocretin. The disorder is characterized by the numerous sleep attacks throughout the day, and/or excessive sleepiness. Some of the symptoms of this disorder include: dream-like hallucinations involving different senses that occur during the stage in between sleep and wakefulness; sleep paralysis that prevents the body from being able to move around as soon as one wakes up; a sudden loss of muscle tone, also known as cataplexy.

Researches have shown that teenagers need at least 8-9 hours of sleep daily. Without sufficient amount of sleep, our bodies tend to become more vulnerable to sickness and stress. Even from personal experiences, I’ve noticed that whenever I got less than 6.5 hours of sleep, I was dysfunctional. The tiredness was overwhelming, and I was incapable of controlling my brain. I’ve noticed that my lack of sleep plus stress guarantees a sick day.