{"id":45,"date":"2023-12-12T11:46:15","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T11:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agb-pharma.com\/_wp\/?page_id=45"},"modified":"2024-11-15T13:27:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T13:27:39","slug":"sleep-health","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.agb-pharma.com\/en\/sleep-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleep health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"AGB_logo_lila\"\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\tNight is the Mother of Day\n\t<\/h1>\n\t

Sleep is one of our most fundamental needs. So isn’t it strange that 40% of people say they have problems sleeping? You have to wonder what nature was thinking…1<\/sup><\/p>\n

To be honest though, nature probably wasn’t expecting fluorescent tubes, mobile phones, coffee, and nine-to-five jobs. And if you think about it, it’s actually kind of amazing that most of us still manage to sleep fairly well, even if our modern lives do often derail our natural sleep cycle.<\/p>\n

Sleep is a means. Not an end. It’s a process that allows the body to repair itself, to tidy up, and to clean up.2<\/sup>\u00a0And the more you know about sleep, particularly your own, the greater the chance that sleep will come when it’s supposed to.<\/p>\n

AGB-Pharma’s goal is better sleep health for everyone. Not for the sake of the night. But for the sake of your day.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\"AGB-PharmaAnimation_Video1-optimize\"\n

\n\t\tWhat is sleep and why do we sleep?\n\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\"AGB-PharmaAnimation_GIF1_optimize\"\n\t

Sleep is something we have in common with almost every animal species on the planet. But all those different species sleep differently. Some, like us humans, have a single extended sleep period, while others sleep in short spurts, now and then. Elephants only sleep for two hours out of every 24, while some species of bats sleep for up to 20 hours a day.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

Why we sleep is still something of a scientific mystery. But we’re learning more and more about how we sleep and what happens when we sleep (or don’t sleep!).<\/p>\n

It might feel like we’re doing nothing when we sleep, but the truth of the matter is that our bodies are very active when we sleep. As soon as we fall asleep, our blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature, and respiratory rate all fall. Our muscles relax and our brain activity changes. Impressions and memories are processed, and new cells replace old ones. Communication within the cells that control the nervous system, the hormonal system, and the immune system increases.2<\/sup><\/p>\n
\nThe sleep cycle<\/strong>\n

Our sleep is divided into sleep cycles, and we usually go through five sleep cycles per night. Every sleep cycle has four phases.4<\/sup><\/p>\n 1. Light sleep<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>1-5 minutes. You are only just asleep and can wake easily. 2, 4<\/sup>\n 2. Deeper sleep<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>10-60 minutes. Deeper relaxation and sleep.4<\/sup>\n 3. Deep non-REM sleep<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>20-40 minutes. The deepest non-dreaming sleep. This is when you find it hardest to wake up. This phase is thought to be important in terms of recovery for both your body and your brain.4<\/sup>\n 4. Dream sleep: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>10-60 minutes. Your brain’s activity increases again, and you dream. The percentage of dream sleep increases for each cycle. Dream sleep is thought to be particularly important to our emotional well-being.4<\/sup>\n

\n\t\tWhy do we want to sleep?\n\t<\/h1>\n\t

Our bodies regulate our sleep in two ways – through sleep pressure and our circadian body clock.4<\/sup><\/p>\n

Sleep pressure is thought to be controlled by the neurotransmitter, adenosine, which increases in concentration in our bodies when we are awake. Caffeine, which is present in coffee amongst other things, reduces the effects of adenosine.4<\/sup><\/p>\n

Our body clock regulates WHEN we sleep and is controlled by the switches between daylight and darkness and regulated by the hormone, melatonin.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\"AGB-PharmaAnimation_Video3_optimize\"\n

\n\t\tSleep disturbances – when your body clock goes wrong\n\t<\/h1>\n\t

Around 4 in every 10 people say they find it hard to fall asleep. The problems seem to increase in middle age, and older people are more likely to say they have problems sleeping than younger ones. Women also have more sleep problems than men. Sleep problems are, in other words, pretty common. But they are also individual and manifest in different ways.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

There are five questions you can ask yourself to assess your general sleep health:2<\/sup><\/p>\n

1. Do you usually sleep for between 6 and 9 hours a night?<\/p>\n

2. Do you usually sleep at night and are you usually awake during the day?<\/p>\n

3. Do you sleep for the majority of the time you spend in bed?<\/p>\n

4. Do you usually feel alert and awake during the day?<\/p>\n

5. Are you, generally speaking, happy with your sleep?<\/p>\n

If you can answer yes to all five questions, your sleep health is, in all probability, good.2<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

What are the risks associated with sleep problems?<\/h5>\n\t\t\t

Sleep is one of our fundamental needs, and long-term sleep problems can have negative impacts on both your physical and mental health.8<\/sup><\/p>\n

Long-term sleep deficiency increases your risk of diabetes, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and cardiovascular disease – conditions which, in turn, increase your risk of premature death. Johan Axelsson at the Karolinska Institute’s Department of Clinical Neuroscience equates the health risks associated with sleep disturbances and sleep deficiency with those associated with smoking and a sedentary lifestyle.9<\/sup><\/p>\n

In the short term, sleep deficiency causes a deterioration in our ability to function on a day-to-day basis, and there are a number of common symptoms you may experience in conjunction with short-term sleep deficiency:8<\/sup><\/p>\n