What Happens When I'm Asleep?

Sleep is more than your brain and body shutting off.  While you’re asleep, your brain remains active, overseeing many maintenance tasks that help keep you running for the next day.  Without enough sleep, you wouldn’t be able to work, learn, or communicate properly.  Mental and physical breakdowns can be a result of irregular sleep patterns. 

It’s more than the number of hours in bed that matters.  The quality of those hours is just as important.  If you allow yourself to get a decent amount of sleep, but you still have problems staying alert all day, you probably aren’t spending enough time in the different stages of sleep.  There are 5 stages of sleep in the cycle.  They are:

• Stage One:  This is the lightest stage of sleep.  It’s the transition between wakefulness and slumber.  It usually lasts for about 5-10 minutes, and if you wake someone during this time, they often claim that   
• Stage Two:  This is where your brain begins to make rapid activity known as sleep spindles.  During these 20 minutes, your body temperature and heart rate begin to decrease.
• Stage Three:  This is when you begin to transition between light sleep into a very deep sleep.  Slow brain waves called “delta waves” are produced during this stage.
• Stage Four:  This stage lasts for 30 minutes, and the delta waves continue to happen.  Sleepwalking is most likely to occur at the end of this stage.
• Stage Five:  This stage is commonly known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.  REM is characterized by eye movement, increased brain and breathing rates.  During this stage, the brain becomes more active, muscles are relaxed, and voluntary muscles often become paralyzed. Dreaming happens most during this last part of the cycle. 

It’s important to know that these stages do not progress in order.  Sleep begins in the first stage, and moves into 2, 3, and 4.  Once the fourth stage is complete, we move back to the third and then the second before entering the fifth stage.  Once the fifth stage is over, the body usually returns back to the second stage.  This happens about 3-4 times a night. 

Avoid Sleep Deprivation

“Sleep Deprivation studies have shown that students who get A's and B's get an average of a total of 35 minutes more sleep per night than those that get D's and F's. And, their sleep is consistent--meaning that they go to bed at the same time during the week as they do on weekends.”

Statistics have shown that 63% of college students do not get enough sleep.  For students, it’s recommended they get about 9.5 hours of sleep.  However, most only get about 6 hours.  Getting enough sleep aids the body in digestion, and other important bodily functions.  When you don’t get the recommended amount of sleep, the brain starts to function abnormally.  This will affect homework and test performances, concentration, and over time can decrease the ability to memorize things.  In addition to these things, it’s been proven that when men and women don’t get the proper amount of sleep, stress and depression begin to take place.  On a larger scale, their body performance decreases considerably.

Symptoms of sleep deprivation:

1. Grogginess
2. Dark circle
3. Muscle fatigue
4. Irritability
5. Drowsiness 
6. Mood swings
7. Inability to concentrate
8. Poor academic performance

Tips for avoiding sleep deprivation:

• Avoid caffeine.  It can take up to 8 hours to wear off completely.
• Have a good sleep environment.  Get rid of bright lights or noises that may distract you from sleep.
• Avoid large meals right before bed time.
• Don’t exercise within 3 hours before your bed time.
•  Have a schedule.  Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on the weekends.
•  Avoid pulling an all-nighter to study. 
•  See your health provider if you continue to have trouble sleeping.

Tips for Managing Stress

Get some sleep!  5 to 6 hours is not enough.  Study after study shows that getting enough rest results in better grades, and your ability to function properly.  8 to 9 hours is recommended for college students.

Maintain a healthy diet. Not getting the proper nutrition can make you more susceptible to stress.  While crazy schedules make it harder to eat healthy, there is no excuse!  Eating right is simple.  Just plan meals ahead of time, cook for the whole week, or use a crock pot.

Exercise!  This helps you both mentally and physically. It provides stress release and keeps you healthy.  There are so many benefits of exercising.

Keep in touch with friends.  Having social support can keep you healthier and happier – an automatic buffer against stress.  You can confide in friends who will lift and support you, and be with them when you need to blow off some steam.

Make some hobbies. Having time to yourself is important.  Hobbies are great distractions from stress and are a great way to relieve any tension.

Take care of your body!  Pamper yourself!  It’s good to do this on a regular basis so you feel great about yourself.
 

Have a good attitude!  Looking and feeling optimistic can decrease your stress level and bring more success into your life.

Process your emotions.  Don’t keep your emotions bottled up.  This often leads to an emotional explosion later.  It’s healthy to write down your thoughts and feelings, thus reducing stress.

Maintain your spiritual side.  Research shows that having religion in your life keeps you healthier.  So pick up your scriptures or say a prayer.  Spiritual practice helps nurture your soul.

What is Stress?

What is stress? Where does it come from? How can I avoid it?  

Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand, both good or bad.

Many different things cause stress.  They range from physical fears to emotional worries.  Some of the most common stress sources are:

• Survival Stress: When you’re afraid that someone or something may hurt you, your body naturally responds with fight or flight instincts.
• Internal Stress: Do you ever find yourself worrying about things that don’t matter, or won’t affect you till later on?  This type of stress is brought upon by yourself.  We need to learn not to stress about things that are out of our control.
• Environmental Stress: This stress is caused by noise or pressure from work or family.
• Fatigue and Overwork:  This kind of stress builds up in your body and can be very harmful.  It’s caused by working too much, not knowing how to manage your time, and not taking time to relax.  People feel this is out of their control, but it isn’t!

(http://www.mtstcil.org/skills/stress-definition-1.html)
 

Eliminate stress!
 

• Take a deep breath! Take a break, give yourself something to enjoy.
• Ask yourself: “what’s the worst thing that can happen to me?”  Analyze the situation, and remind yourself that one task will not make or break your whole life.
• Share your problems and concerns with someone close to you.
• Get organized! Maybe start using a planner
• Learn to say no; you can’t do everything you’re asked.
• Be thankful!  This helps your state of mind.
• Listen to music, and get a drink of water.
• Most importantly: RELAX.