Sleep & dreams|Disorders & snoring

Sleep is state of natural rest. The capability of for arousal from sleep is a proactive mechanism and is necessary for good health and survival.

The various studies have proved that people who sleep for 4- hours have a longer life as compared to those who sleep for less hours or comparatively longer hours.

There are various factors that affect a good sleep like environment, temperatures, medication, depression, stress and other related factors.

When we fall asleep, our metabolic rate slows down, as does almost every other function across the board, we effectively go into hibernation mode. The amount of adrenaline in our body promoting awareness decreases and somatotrophin, controlling the repair of tissue is more abundant. This is effectively the healing process of sleep that revitalises us.

The synaptic nerve connections containing recollections about the last day are also strengthened, hence when you wake up the more you realised you did yesterday.

This localised area of memory is what many of our dreams consist of, our past recollections of the day. You may have dreamt something twice, and on the second time it was only because you thought of that first dream the day before you dreamt the second.

When looking at it like this, it confirms the reason why you have the same dream, your conscious thought about it accesses that part of the brain thus 'remembers' it at night.

The older we get, the less sleep we require. Teenagers buck the trends in needing the most sleep of us all, due to the growth spurt occurring at puberty that involves a larger turnover of materials and energy.

This was thought to be the best practice as constant contact between mother and baby not only gave the baby a sense of security but also strengthened the emotional bond between the two.

The increase in research and studies done on babies, in the recent times, has given rise to a debate as to whether it is better for the baby to sleep with their mother or alone in their cot.

Some mothers prefer sleeping together other prefer to put their baby in a cot. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. It is for the parents to decide what is best for their baby

Certain drugs are available to induce sleeping, but most are addictive and require controlled and responsible use. The next page looks at the works of famous past neurologists like Carl Gustav Jung and Sigmund Freud, who both actively pursued the way in which we dream as a career in neurology.

Somethings the inner thinking and negative thoughts also affect the sleep.