Why do people sleep? What is the use of sleeping? It seems to be a very strange question, because sleep seems to be innate, sleep when you are sleepy, and sleep when it is dark... However, this kind of habitual thing is a big problem in science. Today I will tell you about the things you sleeping with you!
1, why do people sleep?
The study of the circadian molecular mechanism awarded by the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2017 points out that the reason why we sleep has complex scientific principles, which even involves a very ancient evolutionary mechanism, namely the sensing of light, which is the response of our life on earth to one of the largest external environments, the sun [1].
In fact, there are many unpredictable contents, including many scientific reasons behind it, such as the same circadian rhythm. If you look closely, you will realize that some organisms are more special in this regard. For example, reindeer , which live in the Arctic Circle , will face the polar day and polar night cycles for up to half a year, rather than the rising and falling east and falling every day. So how do they adjust the rhythm? A science study in 2021 interprets this issue and discovers the unique mechanism of reindeer regulating sleep [2].
. If you think further, some people claim that sleep is not very meaningful, and even think that it can be shortened to less time. Is this really the case?
2, what is the use of sleep?
Research has found that sleep actually has many functional functions, such as sleep can clear away brain metabolic waste. During sleep, the flow channel of cerebrospinal fluid will expand by 60% compared to when awake, so that cerebrospinal fluid can flow better, so as to more efficiently remove brain metabolic waste and promote brain recovery. This clearance process itself also improves the brain and body's immune ability [3].
From this we can see that there are still many scientific secrets waiting to be explored behind sleep, and for us, having a good sleep is naturally a very meaningful thing. However, it is not easy to sleep well. In modern society, insomnia has become a very common phenomenon.
3, why do you suffer from insomnia?
According to statistics from the Chinese Sleep Research Association , more than 300 million people in my country have sleep disorder , and 38.2% of adults have insomnia problems. Different people have different factors that lead to poor sleep. Common factors such as:
Environmental problems : The most typical one is noise. Whether it is the noise upstairs and downstairs in the neighborhood, or the sound of traffic on the roadside, it has an impact on many people. In this case, it may be necessary to solve the noise problem. For example, my house is next to the road, which was a bit noisy before, but later it was much better after installing soundproof glass . Of course, there are people who have problems with lighting and other issues, so they may have to use thick curtains.
Personal behavior : This may be the reason why many people stay up late. Some people are playing games, some people can't stop watching TV shows, some people are forced to rush deadline, and some people are even staying up late in revenge. In this case of
, you may have to work hard to adjust your personal routine, after all, confronting the circadian rhythm is not a good thing.
Psychologically : In fact, this situation is quite common. For example, some people can't fall asleep after a new place and change the environment. This is often caused by psychological insecurity. Therefore, you can find some factors that make you feel safe, such as the sound of rain, waves, wind, etc. white noise may be a good choice.
Of course, there is also pathological. In this case, the hospital needs to be asked for help and has a special response strategy.
But there is another situation that is easy to ignore: mattress. As the main place for us to sleep, the most important part of the bed configuration is the mattress. And mattresses have a significant impact on people's sleep.
4, what impact does the mattress have on sleep?
What impact does the mattress have on sleep? The most intuitive thing is the soft and hard problems of the mattress.
When we lie down, the weight of our whole body is carried on the mattress, and the fit between the mattress and the body is actually a very important factor.
The mattress is too hard, just like our wooden bed, many people will feel uncomfortable when they sleep. In fact, it is not suitable for our body lifting. The waist and cervical spine are both suspended and the body is involuntarily exerting force, which leads to prone to back pain after waking up.
In this case, sleep often makes people feel uncomfortable, and because they are constantly involuntarily exerting force, their nerves are actually unconsciously nervous, which will also affect the quality of sleep.
On the other hand, then is the soft bed suitable?
Many people will find that the hotel bed is very comfortable, because the hotel bed often uses a lot of mattresses to make the bed as soft as possible. It does feel comfortable to sleep, but you probably have also discovered that although the hotel sleeps for a long time, you often feel tired when you wake up. This is also a typical problem with a soft bed, which is not conducive to energy recovery.
From the perspective of the spine, the soft bed is not suitable.
The bed is too soft and the human body will carry it according to the weight distribution, and the result is that our spine cannot actually maintain the correct state. The best bed is
without soft or hardness. As shown in the figure below, such a bed can fit better and maintain our spine in the correct posture.
In fact, the bed I slept on myself has always been a relatively hard mattress before, and it basically doesn't collapse every time I sit on it, but I always feel less comfortable. Later, with the recommendation of a friend, I bought a mattress that is ergonomic in line with the design. Hahaha, since then, the quality of sleep has achieved a qualitative leap! Therefore, an ergonomic mattress can greatly improve the quality of sleep!
In short, sleep is a big deal. There is a saying that we invest money in the place where we spend the most time together. The bed even exceeds the mobile phone. It is the place where we have been with us for the longest time, so choosing a good mattress is worth it.
Burki, Talha. "Nobel Prize awarded for discoveries in circadian rhythm." The Lancet 390.10104 (2017): e25.
Lin, Zeshan, et al. "Biological adaptations in the Arctic cervid, the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)." Science 364.6446 (2019): eaav6312.
Xie L, Kang H, Xu Q, et al. Sleep drives metabolite clearance from the adult brain[J]. science, 2013, 342(6156): 373-377.
