Phases of sleep

 

Hayter article for April 21, 2024

A few facts about sleep. Try to stay awake.

          All of the 8.1 billion people on this planet are in some ways different. Different clothes, skin color, singing ability, food preference, language, religion, temper, favorite color… But one thing each person has in common is – wait for it -- sleep. A person cannot survive without sleep.

          The world record for staying awake belongs to a dead Chinese gentleman who managed to stay awake for 11 days before dying. I’m sure the record has been broken by people who forgot to keep records of their awake time. The only way anyone could manage to stay awake for as much as five days is if his friends took turns keeping him awake.

          You may have guessed that today’s topic is about sleep. Everyone goes to sleep. You lie down, close your eyes, and the next thing you know, it’s three a.m. and you have to pee. Afterward, you feel your way into the dark and then get back in bed and close your eyes. At around eight o’clock you wake up to face another day. The question is, biologically speaking, how is sleep created?

          There was a time when I didn’t care about how sleep works. Just so it worked. Now that I’m retired, I’m curious. That’s why I went online to find out how sleep happens, and now I will reveal my results. Try to stay awake.

          Each of us has a four-step sleep cycle. Cycle One lasts about seven minutes. However, it may take hours to get to stage one. Last night I tossed and turned for about an hour before Stage One showed up. At stage one you feel drowsy and your heartbeat and breathing slow down. Seven minutes later, you move into Stage Two without even knowing it.

Here you’re more relaxed. Most of your sound sleep occurs during Stage Two… unless your spouse manages to knee you in the back about 15 minutes later. In that case, you have to fight your way back to Stage One. However, I recommend you go to the restroom first. I’m just sayin’.

          If you make it through Stage Two, you will eventually meet Stage Three. Here, your brain waves are at their lowest, and you fall into a deeper sleep. This cycle is used to fix some bad connections in your brain and eliminate a lot of superfluous stuff that’s been floating around in there.

          When Cycle Three closes down, you jump into my favorite Sleep Cycle. Stage Four is referred to as REM. During this Cycle, eye movement goes crazy, your muscles relax, your breathing is irregular, and you have increased brain activity which can cause you to dream.

I dream every night, but can only remember parts of about two dreams. At times I can’t remember anything particular, other than the fact that things got weird. In my dreams, I’ve seen people I hadn’t thought of in years, and they act as if they never left. My Dad shows up on occasion and never remembers that he’s supposed to be dead.

During REM you may experience something known as sleep paralysis. I’ve experienced it on a couple of occasions. At our previous house, I was sitting in my lounge chair when I saw a stranger walk through the kitchen and then climb the stairs up to my study. I tried to call out to him, but my mouth refused to operate. I then tried to get up to confront him, but I couldn’t move. All the while, I thought I was awake. But I was actually in the Sleep Paralysis Zone. Scary place. 

I’ve read instances where sleeping people have gotten out of bed, driven to a 24-hour store, and come home with a bag of ice. In other words, we’ve got people who are driving around while asleep! I didn’t find any explanation of how that happens.

Lastly, I want to tell you about your brain’s “circadian clock”. I didn’t find a picture of one, but I read that a particular gland produces weird rhythms that create melatonin. Melatonin is a chemical that helps you sleep. You can buy melatonin pills from the pharmacy or you can allow your brain to supply it. On occasion, my brain needs a pill to wake up the gland that’s Bogarting my melatonin.

What the gland is supposed to do is stop its delivery of melatonin whenever you’re standing, playing, or lying in a place where there’s light. If you’re in the dark for any duration, the gland will send your brain a special delivery of the homemade drug.

Of course, you can find melatonin at any pharmacy. If you can’t sleep without taking a melatonin pill, your doctor probably needs to check on that lazy gland of yours.  The Doc probably knows where the thing is located.  

 Concerning my overall research on “sleep”, the vast majority of what I found was way over my head. I apparently didn’t take nearly enough biology classes. However, I would like to leave you with one sentence that was enough to make me understand a little more about sleep. I didn’t learn as much as I hoped to, but it’s enough to know that -- “We need sleep to restore our immune system, defend against cancer, consolidate memory, and drain our brains of toxins.” I particularly liked the “consolidate memory” part.

          Later, I might learn how hypnotism works. I’ll be sure to share it with you. – I beg your pardon.

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