Deep sleep is essential to optimal brain health.
I often hear people bragging about only getting 4 or 5 hours of sleep as if it were a badge of honor.
The reality is, people who get less than 7 – 8 hours of sleep are doing themselves a disservice. Sleep is right up there with food and water of the things critical to our survival.
A lack of quality sleep affects your productivity as well as your health. Skimping on sleep can also influence your mood, appetite, and your sex drive! Without adequate sleep, you will have a difficult time performing complex tasks or lose the ability to think clearly.
A third of our lives are spent sleeping. When we put our heads on our pillows that’s when the brain kicks into high gear and goes to work. The brain is almost as active when we sleep as it is when we’re awake. Neurons begin to fire and the process begins.
Deep Sleep Happens in Stages
While we sleep our brains go through stages.
The first is slow-wave sleep (SWS). In this stage, we are in deep sleep. This is where we do most of our sleeping.
According to scientists, our muscles are relaxed, we experience slow, deep breathing and slow, large brain waves as well as lose consciousness.