We all have got one, all animals, in fact all life...
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Did you know that you possess your greatest level of cardiovascular efficiency and muscle strength at around 17:00? And that the sharpest rise in your blood pressure occurs at 6:45 in the morning? The primary cause of these “built-in” functions is daylight.
The technical term for our biological clock, also often called “body clock”, is called a circadian rhythm. The term “circadian” comes from the Latin circa, meaning “around” and diem or dies meaning “day”. The rhythm is linked to the light-dark cycle, which is recorded and interpreted by the retina (our eyes), which is then passed on to the pineal gland, responsible for producing the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is nature’s sleep-regulating hormone and antioxidant, stimulated by darkness and suppressed by light. Levels are lower during the day and gradually increase as night falls to help induce sleep. Low levels of melatonin can lead to difficulty in initiating sleep, maintaining sleep and waking too soon from sleep – all cases of varying degrees of insomnia.
Prolonged disturbances to sleep patterns can also seriously alter levels of important hormones linked with appetite and eating behaviour. When you are sleep deprived the hormone leptin, responsible for making you feel full decreases while levels of ghrelin increases thus triggering hunger. In other words, lack of sleep puts your body into a pre-diabetic state, making you feel hungry, even if you have already eaten.
Often people are unaware that their bed may be one of the reasons why they are not sleeping well. Research shows that a new bed is more effective than sleeping pills, so if your mattress is more than 10 years old, you should seriously consider replacing it, and maybe with one also that is not a box sprung one; if you can find one. I am still looking.
Sleep is directly related to how you feel during your waking hours. A good night’s sleep helps the body recuperate and all stages of the sleep cycle are necessary in order for you to wake up alert and rested. Deep sleep revitalizes the body and REM-sleep clears the brain. In addition, your bed should be pressure relieving and free from blood circulation interference. That makes the construction and the content of your bed incredibly important.
When I was a kid there were mattresses that were put onto a bed frame with springs, though the same can be achieved with cords, as they do in India, which often was filled with horsehair or sea grass. Those mattresses, in my opinion, are far superior to any of the modern box sprung ones. Those old mattresses supported and also cradles you and it did not matter how old they were; there were no springs inside that could cause problems
Many people recommend memory foam mattresses but it seems that true memory foam mattresses are difficult to get in some places and secondly, as far as I am concerned, foam is a product that can off-gas and I am not about going to have anything to do with that.
Ultimately, it is sleep quality rather than quantity that’s key to positively influencing our biological clock. There is compelling evidence that a healthy sleep routine can contribute greatly to one’s physical and mental well-being as well as their overall quality of life. Sufficient sleep ranks among the best defence mechanisms we have to stay healthy and effectively handle stress.
This means that going to bed at a proper time is not just something for children but for adults too, and that time should be, as far as possible, at the same time in the evening.
If you make use of the diagram then it will become clear when the best time is to go to bed because the body is getting ready for sleep and there are times when, definitely, your body will tell you. You fight that at your peril.
© 2011
