Sleep is essential for the he alth of the body and mind. It is not for nothing that it is said that sleep is the best cosmetic. While you sleep, your brain repairs damage, organizes and remembers new information, and sometimes even solves problems you can't deal with while awake.

What's therole of sleep ? Some people saysenis a waste of time. In modern society there is even a tendency to extend the period of daily activity at the expense of sleep. This is a mistake. Scientific research shows that sleep is fundamental to he alth, and lack of sleep can lead to death faster than lack of food.

After 2-3 sleepless nights, the physical and mental condition deteriorates dramatically, memory and concentration deteriorate. Sleep deprivation has a negative effect on activity, lowers resistance to diseases, and increases the risk of accidents. In short: sleep is good for he alth. But what is really behind this slogan?

Sleep - instant body repair

During sleep, the entire body regenerates, and above all, repairing the damage caused in the brain during wakefulness. - From the medical point of view, sleep is simply turning off the activity of the central nervous system and its renewal at the physical level. This is the most basic function of sleep, but of course not the only one - explains Dr. Michał Skalski, a psychiatrist from the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical University of Warsaw. During sleep, there are two states that alternate with each other during the night. The state of NREM (Non Rapide Eyes Movement - without rapid eye movement) means deep, calm, slow-wave sleep (the frequency of the brain waves is the lowest then). It is divided into four phases. The first one lasts only a few minutes, and is a half-asleep, half-waking state. In the second and third phases, sleep gradually deepens to enter the fourth, deepest. Brain activity then almost completely ceases. It is in this phase that the brain regenerates intensively at the cellular, purely chemical level. - Some scientists argue that this is the most important, or even the only, function of sleep. They believe that dreams do not have much importance for our he alth - says Dr. Michał Skalski. - But how to explain the fact that in people after accidents, with brain damage, the amount of REM sleep, i.e. the phase with dreams, increases,what accelerates recovery?

10 rules for a good night's sleep

Sleep data processing

REM sleep (Rapide Eyes Movement), during which dreams are created (also known as paradoxical), is an active dream. The brain then works intensively, although in a different way than when awake. In a he althy adult, this state takes about a quarter of the night and is cyclical ( alternating with NREM), with the subsequent REM phases getting longer (this is why we have the most dreams in the morning). In this phase, our muscles go limp, thanks to which we do not follow our dreams (our body remains motionless, although, for example, we run in a dream). Certainly, during REM sleep, the brain is doing extremely important work. It is then that the information gathered during the day is organized and segregated. - During the REM phase, the receptors are sensitized, which during the day will respond to various external stimuli - explains Dr. Michał Skalski. - Neurotransmitters are also being rebuilt. The brain fills its warehouses with them and draws from them while awake. This is important because in the case of a deficiency of neurotransmitters, a disease occurs, e.g. depression. In simplified terms, it can be said that in the NREM phase physical regeneration of the brain takes place, while in the REM phase its functional regeneration. The state of paradoxical sleep is also a state during which traces of memory are preserved. This is when the process of learning new information takes place. The brain arranges and files. She is like a housewife who cleans the shelves, deciding what is useful and what is not, what can be put away and what is thrown away. The main criterion that the brain uses during this work is the criterion of survival, so the information that the brain thinks is most needed at the moment is remembered.

Dream - the path to the subconscious mind

In the undisturbed silence of the night, when our body rests calmly and external stimuli hardly reach us, the dreaming mind organizes the stream of information provided to it in the waking state. It is no accident that we say, "I have to sleep with this problem." It is in a dream that we solve difficult life tasks. There is ample evidence of this. Many scientific discoveries, literary, musical and artistic works were inspired by dreams, and sometimes even happened in a dream. For example, Mendeleev's dream about the table of periodic elements is documented. It is known that Einstein used his own dreams at work, Salvador Dali saw his pictures in a dream, and Wagner "heard" in a dream"Ring of the Nibelungen". The examples can be multiplied endlessly. So sleep improves the work of gray cells, but also helps to deal with negative emotions? When REM was first discovered more than 50 years ago, psychotherapists, especially the proponents of Sigmund Freud's theory, concluded that studying dreams could be helpful in treating depression, neuroses, and in solving personal problems. Dreams were dubbed the "royal road to the subconscious". Today we are more reserved about the usefulness of psychoanalysis in therapy. - Not everything can be explained by hidden complexes, but there is no doubt that it is the subconsciousness that largely guides our behavior, and dreams can be helpful in reaching it - emphasizes Dr. Skalski. - The subconscious is an extremely important structure that enables us to live a normal life. All unpleasant events, memories and facts are crammed there. She allows us to forget what was wrong. The mechanism of denial into the subconscious mind is the primary defense mechanism that enables us to live happily. However, if the subconscious is stuffed with too much rubbish, it can bother us. That is why it is worth looking for a way to it, and dreams are useful for that.

Why is it worth dreaming?

Self-censorship is disabled while you sleep. Instead, our imagination, creativity and metaphorical thinking ability are activated. Most dreams are ordinary dreams, which are transformed reflections of real experiences. Sleep can also reflect our fears. We often dream about what we think intensely about, what we worry about, what we fear. We usually dream from four to twenty dreams a night, but only a few or a dozen percent of dreams can be a source of information about our hidden desires or tips to solve important problems. The trick is to distinguish between important and unimportant dreams. Their symbolic message is even more difficult to discover. - The symbols are individual, not universal, so when interpreting dreams you should not use dream books, but be guided by your intuition. The content of dreams should be considered in the context of the experiences and knowledge of a specific person. A dream is a reflection of how we perceive the world, how we think, and what preferences we have - emphasizes Dr. Michał Skalski. - Can dreams have a therapeutic function? Certainly yes. If only because dreams often come true in a dream, which gives comfort and helps you survive difficult moments. It's worth dreaming, because thanks to this man is simply happier …

You must do it

Save your dreams

Everyone dreams, but we don't always rememberyour dreams. If you want to save your dream content, write it down as soon as you wake up. Here are some ways to keep your fleeting dream impressions in check:

  • Keep a notebook and a pen by your bed.
  • Get some sleep. If you get a good rest, it will be easier to remember a dream.
  • Before falling asleep, think for a moment about what happened during the day, and about your feelings and emotions.
  • Wake up naturally, without an alarm clock - then you will wake up from REM sleep.
  • After waking up, lie down for a while and think about the images that appeared in the dream.
  • Write down what you remember without haste (even in the form of a short note).
  • If you have forgotten what the dream was saying, try to remember and write down any feelings or whatever comes to your mind as soon as you wake up.
  • If you can remember several dreams, decide which one is worth writing down.
  • Finally, try to interpret the dream symbolism based on your own experiences.
monthly "Zdrowie"

Category:

Psychology