WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DON’T GET ENOUGH SLEEP
Many people don’t realize that sleep is one of the cornerstones of well-being, along with diet and exercise. We may be aware that regularly eating junk food and not exercising affects our physical and mental well-being, but we may not make the same connection with not getting enough deep sleep. Although this is an emerging field in research, with new discoveries being made all the time, it is known that sleep is closely linked to all the body’s physiological systems, and so when sleep is disrupted, it is inevitable that we don’t function at our best, emotionally, mentally, and physically. We have all experienced how we become more irritable and reactive when we are lacking sleep and there is usually a decline in mood as well. We are more likely to rate our mood negatively after one night of sleep deprivation. Our unique mp3 music downloads of sleep music delta waves available at this website are made up of a wide variety of soft instrumental music, ambient sounds and soothing nature sounds, with a serene and calming composition. We incorporate delta brain waves into our free sleep music downloads to relax your mind and body, calming sounds that assist contemplation and bring inner peace and deep sleep.
Lack of sleep particularly affects basic attention and vigilance, the cornerstones for more complex thinking. The ability to maintain sustained attention is also critical in many industries where work involves monitoring, so poor sleep can have an impact on safety as well as performance. Most of us begin to experience slower reactions and responses after we have been awake for 16 hours, and this increases as wakefulness persists. Even restricting sleep by a couple of hours a night can lead to a significant lengthening of reaction times. If we sleep six hours a night for two weeks, our performance will be impaired to the same degree as if we had been awake for 48 hours non-stop. It also seems that slower response times are associated with greater activation of the default mode regions of the brain. Although the pre-frontal cortex appears to be particularly affected by sleep deprivation, the evidence does not show clearly how the brain’s executive functions are affected. It seems that some types of thinking are affected more than others by sleep deprivation: More creative, flexible, and innovative aspects are degraded particularly, as well as those that rely on emotional data. The pre-frontal cortex plays a role in emotional processing, inhibiting connections with the more primitive areas of the brain like the amygdala. If these connections are impaired, effective emotional processing will be too. Our ability to learn new things and remember them is essential for basic survival as well as performance. Sleep is crucial in preparing the brain to acquire new information before learning, and it also plays an essential role afterward, consolidating learning and integrating it into long-term memory banks, from where it can be retrieved when it is needed. If these two stages are disrupted by sleep deprivation, the development of new memories—and therefore learning—will be hindered. Next time you are studying for an exam, starting a new job, or learning a new skill, invest in your sleep before and after to help you get the most out of it.
“Sleep is the best medicine” is not an old wives’ tale. The proper functioning of the body’s immune system is compromised by poor sleep. Sleep music delta waves are powerful brainwaves used to naturally encourage a state of relaxation. Our free sleep music online mp3, which is only available for download at this site, can affect brain wave speed, inducing a brain activity comparable to a hypnotic or a meditative state. We combine delta waves with calming and healing music for a more pleasant auditory experience. A good night’s rest is essential when battling acute infection which can delay healing. There is an association between lack of sleep and an increase in spontaneous pain, as well as general physical discomfort, headaches, and muscle and stomach pain. With our carefully made sleep music delta waves we may solve sleep problems like insomnia and heal the body from illness and pain. Deep binaural beats will make you fall fast asleep and enjoy a deeper sleep all night long without any disruptions to your sleep cycle. People suffering from lack of sleep benefits greatly from playing free sleep music with calming delta waves in the background before bedtime to prepare the brain for deep sleep. Soothing delta waves are used not only to improve your sleep but also to improve your life outside the bedroom as well.
HOW MUCH SLEEP DO WE NEED?
There is no “golden” number of hours that is the perfect amount of sleep, and subjective sleep quality (whether we feel we have had a good night’s sleep or not) is as significant as duration. Two people can sleep for a similar amount of time with similar periods of wakefulness and yet perceive it very differently. In general, eight hours is usually quoted for adults; children and young adults will need more and the elderly less. However, mindfulness and meditation practice may be helpful in letting go of particular expectations and striving toward a particular goal and instead helps us to be okay with the way things actually are, which makes it easier to fall asleep.
Try this to work out the number of hours of sleep that is best for you:
STEP 1 Pay off any sleep debt by getting plenty of sleep. You may need to do this while you’re on vacation!
STEP 2 Using 7½ hours as a starting point, count back from the time you need to get up and make that your bedtime (factor in a short period of “falling- asleep time”).
STEP 3 Begin going to bed at that time for at least a week or, better still, ten days, and notice whether you begin waking up just before your alarm.
If after ten days you still need the alarm, go to bed a little earlier and continue until you find the right duration for you. If you have the flexibility to get up at any time, another option is to go to bed at the same time each night and notice when you wake up naturally, without any outside interference. Doing this over a period of a couple of weeks will allow you to determine how much sleep you personally need. The test is sleeping for a particular length of time and waking naturally (without an alarm) feeling refreshed, without needing any stimulants such as caffeine. However, you may want to have an alarm clock set as a backup! A really effective yet simple way to fall quickly asleep is to play our free sleep music mp3 downloads. Powerful delta waves with calming and healing music should at least make you de-stress and unwind. We only use the most soothing instrumental sounds like piano, flute, and guitar music, and beautiful nature sounds like ocean waves, birds and rain sounds to enhance body and mind relaxation. Our high-quality mp3 downloads of sleep music delta waves are quite therapeutic and will improve your well-being and overall health.