SLEEP TIPS

Staying awake and alert or sleeping restfully when we choose to

depends largely on the function of a few small areas of the brain.

When the alerting areas of the brain are most active, they inhibit activity

in other areas of the brain responsible for promoting sleep. This

inhibition of sleep results in stable wakefulness.

Similarly, when the sleep-promoting areas of the brain are most active,

they inhibit activity in areas of the brain responsible for promoting

wakefulness. This inhibition of wakefulness results in stable sleep.

We normally change from one stable state to the other due to internal

factors, such as increasing drive to sleep that builds up during

wakefulness, and changing influences from our internal biological clock.

A number of other factors can influence the stability of this system and

may cause us to fall asleep or wake up at inopportune times.

Sleep was once considered an inactive, or passive, state in which both

the body and the brain "turned off" to rest and recuperate from the day's

waking activities.

Scientists have since found that the brain goes through characteristic

patterns of activity throughout each period of sleep, and that it is

sometimes more active when we're asleep than when we're awake.

Understanding these patterns, and the factors that affect them, may help

in making choices that will lead to better quality sleep.

Sleep is a state that is characterized by changes in brain wave activity,

breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and other physiological

functions.

Depending on the sleep stage, different physiological functions may be

more active and variable (for example, during REM sleep), or less active

and more stable (for example, during NREM sleep) .

The reasons why we dream and the meaning of our dreams, despite

scientific investigations, still largely remain a mystery.