The Importance of Restorative Sleep - By Registered Therapeutic Counsellor, Bobbie Miteva

If you could make one small change today, what would it be?

Sleep.

​Go to bed earlier and sleep longer – this is what research proposes.

Sleep is one of the few universal behaviors among mammals and birds, which suggests that it performs an important function. Although it feels necessary to recover from moving and exercising our bodies, studies show that sleep deprivation does not damage the body. On the other hand, it appears that sleep is essential for normal brain functioning, and mental exercise increases the demand for deep sleep.

The stages of sleep tend to follow an orderly sequence:

• In stage 1 (marked by the presence of theta waves) we drift in and out of sleep and can be easily awakened;
  
• In stage 2 we are in light sleep, our eyes stop moving, breathing and heart rate regulate;
  
• In stage 3 and 4 we enter deep slow-wave sleep (delta waves become predominant) – this is when restoration occurs.
  
  When someone wakes us up during stages 3 or 4, we tend to feel confused and act grumpy, as our cerebral cortex hasn’t resumed its functioning – providing evidence that slow-wave sleep allows the brain to rest. After this deep sleep, we cycle into Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, which is when dreaming happens. Studies suggest that REM sleep plays a role in learning and helps us discard useless information from our memory, while transferring important information from short-term to long-term memory. Interestingly, the highest proportion of REM sleep is observed during the most active phase of brain development: 70% of a newborn infant’s sleep compared to less than 15% REM in late adulthood. 

Sleep deprivation studies show numerous negative consequences not only to performance (fatigue, poor decision-making abilities, lack of energy) and memory (difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, trouble remembering), but also to overall health – physical (weight gain, high blood pressure, compromised immune system) and mental (irritability, mood swings, symptoms of anxiety and depression).

Sleep has such a broad and significant influence because during the restoration stages there is a release of a number of hormones, regulating various systems in our bodies, such as ghrelin and leptin (regulating hunger/body weight), cortisol (involved in metabolism, stress and immune response), growth hormone (essential for tissue repair), oxytocin (aka “love hormone” involved in social behavior).

​Additionally, both serotonin and dopamine – two essential neurotransmitters for our mental health and digestion (along the Gut-Brain Axis which I wrote about here – link to previous article?) – are also involved in the sleep cycle. Last but not least, during sleep the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the flight-or-flight response gets a rest, and so do we – from various stressors or anxious thoughts we might have on our minds.

Warmly,
Bobbie Miteva, MA, RTC

If you, or someone you know is suffering from sleep issues due to stress, anxiety, depression, or situational difficulties, please reach out to Bobbie for an appointment by clicking here