IN FAVOUR OF DREAMS
“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.”
Social media nowadays focuses on how it is important to have that side hustle to find that true passion. More often, it is our sleeping hours that have the hardest impact; to complete that one project, that one poetry, or maybe that one conversation that would get the job done. And mention not sleep is something one is supposed to be sacrificed to achieve one’s goals as is glamorized in the Bollywood movies as well. How many hours did you sleep last night? Do you need a cup of coffee every day to function effectively? Do you penalize yourself after sleeping ‘too much’?
The reason why sleep attracts a lot of societal apathy is because of the lack of understanding of its need. Lying on a bed, with eyes closed, a person in deep slumber may seem to be accomplishing a futile task as we know very little about the fascinating phenomenon called ‘sleep’.
Shot sleeping increases the likelihood of your coronary arteries becoming blocked and brittle. Insufficient sleep is a key factor in determining whether or not you will develop Alzheimer’s disease. In short, there is no component of wellness that is not affected by sleep.
WHAT CAUSES SLEEP?
There are two factors that which are responsible for sending even the most powerful men on earth to an apparent state of coma every night, at least for a few hours. The first factor is a signal beamed from your internal biological clock, known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus. The second factor is a chemical substance that builds up in the brain and creates a “sleep pressure.” Your suprachiasmatic nucleus along with Melatonin, also called “the hormone of darkness” and “vampire hormone” send a message that it’s dark. At this moment, a chemical substance, which is the second factor, is building up in the brain. The consequence is., an increased desire for sleep.
“Caffeine is not your Best Friend.”
Mathew Walker writes in his seminal book, ‘Why we Sleep’ — “Caffeine blocks and effectively inactivates the receptors, acting as a masking agent. It’s the equivalent of sticking your fingers into your ears to shut out a sound. By hijacking and occupying these receptors, caffeine blocks the sleepiness signal normally communicated to the brain by adenosine.”
ENIGMA CALLED DREAMS
“Sleep on it and Let me Know What you Think.”
A by-product of sleep, dreams are a magnificent universe in themselves. Researchers have found out that dreams help us view our problems from a wholesome point of view instead of the one corner we keep looking at when we are awake. Creative artists have mentioned how dreams have managed to find that one lost piece in the puzzle. Shockingly, some scientists have found their solutions in that one glimpse in their dreams.
Staying on the topic of advantages of dreams, dreaming about traumatic and difficult happenings removes the emotional attachment we have with it. A bad fight with our best friend seems to affect us less over a night of good sleep. Or an unpleasant childhood experience which affects us but not with that impact. Dreams work as a free resource which assists in the therapeutic methods to get over the event.
“To Sleep or not to Sleep is the Question.”
A good eight hours of sleep allows the brain to make informed decisions. Creativity gets a boost. Thomas Edison went a little ahead and described his daytime nap as “the genius gap”. The body is able to keep itself in place emotionally and physically.
If human evolution has still kept the idea of sleep alive, it must have its reasons. Maybe, this is something we need to sleep on!
Book recommendations/Books referenced for this discussion
- Why we Sleep by Matthew Walker
Articles referenced for this discussion
1. workhttp://chronicle.uchicago.edu/990923/kleitman.shtml
2. https://www.reverie.com/blog/blog-how-caffeine-impacts-sleep.html
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