Facts about sleep

Introduction to sleep

Sleep is the natural state of rest during which a person’s consciousness is suspended. When a person is sleeping, their muscles are relaxed and there is no voluntary activity. The pulse will slow down and the respiratory movements will be less frequent, but more profound. There will also be less blood in the cerebral vessels.

Here are some interesting stats and facts that you might not have known about sleep. Sleep facts

The average individual needs in between seven and nine hours of sleep generally. The information commonly heard that older people need less sleep is false.

Sleeping pills should not be abused, and should only be used when a person is having serious problems with insomnia. They should also be used as a temporary solution for the problem. Sleeping pills, such as barbiturates, can suppress RE sleep, which can be harmful if it occurs for an extended period of time.

It is an interesting fact that people can take so-called “cat naps,” which is when someone sleeps for a short period of time with their eyes open.

REM is “rapid eye movement” and this is the time of sleep during which the person is almost completely paralyzed. The only parts of the body that are not paralyzed during this time are the diaphragm and muscles of the heart, eyes, blood and intestines.

When a person is experiencing REM, they are in a deep sleep and it is most difficult to wake them at that time.

If you are dreaming of taking a nap, that means that you need some time to relax and unwind.

REM sleep occurs about an hour and a half after the person falls asleep and it often occurs in bursts during the night, adding up to a total of about two hours of REM sleep each night in total.

A person can dream in any stage of sleep, but the ones during REM sleep are usually the ones that are weird or strange.

Believe it or not, but studies have been done on the sleeping positions of people. About 41 percent sleep in the fetal position, which is the most common one. Others include the log, yearner, soldier, freefaller and starfish positions. It is also believed that these sleeping positions reflect a person’s personality traits.

It is a fact that everyone dreams, however, there are a lot of people who do not remember their dreams when they wake up, but rest assured, they are dreaming. An average person spends about six years dreaming, while one third of their lives is spent sleeping. Some of the most common themes in dreams are related to everyday situations. The most popular topics are school, being chased by someone, sexual experiences, falling, being late, teeth falling out, flying and car accidents.