As you know we spend about 1/3 of our lives asleep. We just wanted to point out why we should be thankful for that. Once you have drifted into an unconscious state a number of functions happen to grow and restore your body to the peak mental, emotional, and physical condition.
Once we approach the depths of deep sleep we begin a scheduled maintenance program that restores all of our vital systems.
- Our brain catalogues our memories and emotional experiences. Many studies have shown that a subject, who is well rested after learning new material, will recall and improve upon his learning. As someone who did not receive more than 6 hours of rest will only recall a limited amount of the newly learned material and retain less emotional connection to it.
- The body starts to produce Human Growth Hormone (HGH), a protein hormone the produces bone, muscle and tissue repair. Lower amounts of HGH are found in those who are not rested properly, the problem here is that the HGH proteins are necessary to carry amino acids (the building blocks to life) to all parts of the body for repair.
- The immune system increases production of proteins that fight infection and disease. Sleep deprivation has been shown to lower counts of infection fighting white blood cells.
- During sleep your heart rate drops 10-30 beats per minute, thus causing your blood pressure to drop. Periods of sleep deprivation have been shown to increase a subject’s blood pressure; stress levels and is at higher risk of hypertension.
- The skin’s metabolic rate speeds up and many of the body’s cells show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins. Since proteins are the building blocks needed for cell growth and for the repair of damage from factors like ultraviolet rays.
Think back to the last time you didn’t get a good night of restful sleep. Nine times out of 10 you felt horrible the next day. Take this experience and multiple it for consecutive nights. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities to be irritable, utterly fatigued, and lack any semblance of concentration to stay on task. And then if you add in the fact that you catch yourself waking up trying to breath or your snoring could literally wake the neighbors, then the issue might be bigger than you thought.
If this sounds familiar, take note as you might have a serious sleep disorder known as sleep apnea. Characterized by a narrowing or blockage of your airway, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) prevents proper breathing while you sleep. A person with this condition can stop breathing multiple times during the course of an hour, which invariably impacts the amount of oxygenated blood going to the brain. In turn, if undiagnosed and not treated, someone with sleep apnea conditions is at high risk for life-threatening issues such as high blood pressure, heart failure and heart attack, and stroke.
If you have trouble sleeping or think you have sleep apnea, please contact one of our medical concierges today at 1-855-863-4537 to schedule a free consultation.