Sleep

Transcript

Transcript

Sleep is a fundamental part of daily life, and with the rise in stress in modern society, many individuals suffer from sleep-related disorders and issues. Music has the potential to assist sleep function, and offers a nonpharmacological approach to treatment. Sleep is the natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the body restores its resources. Until the 1940s, physicians believed that sleep was a period of brain inactivity. Since that time, research has demonstrated that although temperature and blood pressure drop, the brain remains active during sleep. During sleep, the brain goes through multiple cycles and levels of alertness, and at some stages, the brain is as active as when a person is awake. Scientists discuss human sleep in terms of brain wave activity patterns and physiological changes, concentrating observations on behavior changes that accompany sleep.

There are two main types of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. As the brain prepares to sleep, there is a gradual decrease in the activation of neurons throughout the brain as a person moves from a state of being awake to NREM sleep. Neuron firing also changes to a harmonized pattern during NREM sleep. Typically, humans begin sleep with NREM sleep, which unfolds in three stages: phase one, 1 to 7 minutes; phase two, 10 to 25 minutes; and stage three, 20 to 40 minutes, with this stage referred to as delta or deep sleep. REM sleep generally follows shortly after, and NREM sleep and REM sleep continue to alternate throughout the duration of sleep in a cyclical fashion. REM sleep, also known as paradoxical sleep, is a stage in the normal sleep cycle associated with dreaming. REM sleep is linked with rapid eye movement, increased brain activity and pulse, and a loss of reflexes. Brain wave activity and respiratory/heart rates are variable during REM sleep, but are highly regular during NREM sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation states that adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per day, but a National Health Interviews Survey found that nearly 30 percent of adults report having an average of less than six hours of sleep per day. Inadequate amounts of sleep have been linked [Page 1012]with chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. In addition, insufficient amounts of sleep impair a person's ability to operate vehicles and machinery, thus increasing the rate of accidents.