Sleep

Sleep

Sleep is perhaps the single best recovery method known to man. But how much is really known? Scientists aren’t even entirely sure why we sleep, but they do know the plethora of benefits it offers! There are several stages of sleep that align with the depth and quality.

Stage 1 – The process of falling asleep, in which brainwaves, heartbeat and breathing begin to slow.

Stage 2 – Light sleep. Muscles relax further and bodily functions occur even slower.

Stage 3 – Deep sleep. Muscles are completely relaxed and your breathing and heartbeat are at their slowest.

Stage 4 – REM sleep. This is a period of rapid eye movement, in which your body mimics being awake even though you are completely asleep. You are temporarily paralyzed during this time, as to avoid injury to self should the body react to any dreams.

Sleep has a major impact on brain plasticity, which is the brains ability to comprehend and react to incoming data. It also allows for the waste-products created by the brain to be properly disposed, rather than the inefficient disposal method used during periods of alertness. Symptoms of illnesses and diseases rapidly increase when insufficient levels of sleep are achieved, and mental symptoms of mood disorders severely worsen.

However, lack of sleep can impact more than just your mind. Without proper sleep, your inter-neural reactors are unable to fire properly, leading to worsened coordination, lack of agility and slowed recovery rate. Poor sleep quality and short sleep duration have been proven to be linked to obesity.