What is it?
Sleep is characterized by the temporary suspension of voluntary motor sensory perception activity, characterized by a state of low wakefulness in which brainwave patterns are typical and change in phases. In addition, it consists of a rest period for the body and mind, in humans it is divided into phases with an average total duration of 8 hours under normal conditions.
What’s sleep for?
This is responsible for maintaining and regulating memory, learning, cognition, mood, behavior, immune responses, metabolic reactions, levels of release of hormones such as melatonin and cortisol and countless other physiological actions.
How does sleep work?
During the night, this waking state is subdivided into cycles (N1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) that alternate and usually last 90 minutes each. In this context, the regulation is made by both the circadian cycle and the homeostatic systems. It is also important to point out that, although at rest, there is consumption of ATP, that is, an energy expenditure to keep the basic physiological functions in operation. During the process of induction and maintenance of sleep neurotransmitters are released to induce it as norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin and acetylcholine. In addition, acting on its regulation also we have the action of melatonin, an important hormone produced in a situation of low sun exposure.
When do you need to supplement?
The low production of melatonin interferes in a good quality sleep, high exposure to white light as those emitted by televisions, cell phones and computers, in turn, interfere in the endogenous production of melatonin in addition to causing other metabolic dysfunctions. Therefore, melatonin supplementation has been used in the treatment of several types of insomnia, also associated with some herbal medicines that are associated with sleep hygiene are common in the clinical practice of health professionals when it aims to improve the quality of sleep of their patients.
Reference
Article
Sleep, Memory and Learning:
Acosta M. T. (2019). Sueño, memoria y aprendizaje [Sleep, memory and learning].
Medicine
,
79 Suppl 3
, 29–32
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