One of the things that you should know about sleep is that if you get up in the morning and feel completely rested and refreshed, then you had a restorative sleep. This is called restorative sleep. In simple terms, restorative sleep occurs when the brain activity at the hour of sleeping assists in restoring your body and mind, mainly resetting you for the activities of another day. Researchers continue their study on the process of sleep and they have found evidence, which tells that your body and brain achieve a lot during sleep, which comprises of protein synthesis, muscle repair, and growth of tissue. If you don’t get sufficient restorative sleep, then it can affect your health and also your capacity for working another day.
Recognize the Difference:
You should know about the importance of sleep, and you should also know what happens if we don’t get enough restorative sleep. Now, let’s look at the key differences between restorative sleep and non-restorative sleep. As per Dr. Nicole, the last two stages of sleep, i.e., deep sleep and rapid eye movement (REM sleep), are known as restorative sleep. During deep sleep, your body will regrow and repair tissues, then build muscle and bone and strengthen the immune system. Also, you should know that REM sleep is the stage in which you dream and that it is important for memory, cognition, and learning. A non-restorative sleep occurs when you get up in the morning feeling not so refreshed even after sleeping for a long number of hours.
Conditions Causing Non-Restorative Sleep:
Dr. Nicole further explains that feeling a bit tired from time to time is ok and normal, but regularly feeling weary, having an inability to focus, or finding yourself falling asleep at the desk is not ok and normal. There are many things that can cause non-restorative sleep. Certain conditions that can cause non-restorative sleep are insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and lung disease. Also, know that when you are having trouble getting sufficient sleep and that leaves you feeling tired, you should consult with a doctor. Other factors which can cause non-restorative sleep are the life stress that can have a negative impact on your ability to get good night’s sleep, also poor sleep hygiene can also have effect of the same.
The Effects of Non-Restorative Sleep on Health
Some other things that can disturb your regular sleep cycle comprise shift work, jet lag, having young children, offering regular care for individuals who are ill, anxiety, chronic pain, and certain medications. Many people also should know what happens if one doesn’t get enough restorative sleep. If you don’t get enough restorative sleep, then it can affect your health in a number of ways and have short-term consequences like difficulty getting through the day, trouble with memory, and issues with concentration and focus. If you have poor sleep, then it can contribute to chronic conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. Regular non-restorative sleep can even have impact on the mental health and can lead to depression and other mental health conditions too.
Enhancing Restorative Sleep
There are ways in which you can increase the restorative sleep cycle. You need to make a few changes so that you can get enough restorative sleep. It is also important that you improve your sleep hygiene. It doesn’t mean that you should take a shower before bed. Of course, that helps some people improve their sleep. But you should keep the lights off in your room when you go to sleep, then you should keep all the mobile and computer devices away from the bed, and so on.
