The Sleep-wake Cycle – What Should I Know About This?

The sleep -wake cycle refers to the moment just before falling asleep. Part of the cycle is while we’re awake and the rest of the cycle is while we’re asleep. The sleep -wake cycle is regulated by the nervous system. There are specialized neurons that coordinate specific functions, nerve tissues, and the biological clock.

Chronobiology studies the chronometer we have inside of us. The one who determines every function in life gives rhythm to everything.

People have three types of them:

• Daily ones are those that your body performs in approximately 24 hours, for example, the wake-sleep cycle.
• Infradian are those that last more than a day, such as the menstrual cycle.
• Ultradian are those that end in less than a day.

The sleep-wake cycle – differences?

The sleep-wake cycle connects the two stages of your life: wakefulness and sleep. Both stages are important, although they are very different from each other.

Wake is a state of consciousness. We are then aware of what is happening and use our senses to communicate with the environment around us. In this way, we can think, plan and act accordingly.

Wake is the task of the nervous system, and more specifically the ascending reticular system, which is a set of specialized neurons. In addition, this tissue communicates with the thalamus and the cerebral cortex.

One of the neurotransmitters most used during wakefulness is norepinephrine, as opposed to sleep, where the brain uses melatonin. This substance regulates our attention and our impulse to perform activities.

Serotonin and norepinephrine are important. They play important roles in the cerebral cortex, especially in the area of ​​neurons that regulate vision.

Sleep-wake cycle – action of melatonin

As we said above, melatonin is a key hormone in the wake-sleep cycle as it counteracts norepinephrine, allowing you to fall asleep. It is replenished cyclically throughout the circadian rhythm.

Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland when it detects darkness. In turn , sunlight or artificial light instructs the gland to stop producing it.

During a relatively normal night where a person rests for 8 hours, maximum melatonin production will occur in the fourth hour of sleep to sustain the rest.

Then, exposure to light stops melatonin from working, and any activity performed in bright light before bed changes the wakefulness and sleep cycles. For example, cell phone use is one of the most characteristic habits that delay melatonin production.

You can also take an artificial form of this substance in tablets:

• As a result, it can maintain sleep for an average of no more than 4 hours.
• Prolonged release, on the other hand, can simulate the natural effect and help you get 8 hours of sleep.

Sleep-wake cycle disorders

The wake-up and sleep cycle is easily disrupted. In fact, disturbances due to a problem in the biological clock are circadian rhythm diseases. Medicine cataloged some of them:

• Phase lag occurs in people who go to bed late and then don’t wake up early in the morning. It can happen to anyone, but becomes a disorder when it lasts more than a month.
• The phase shift is the opposite of the previous one. Here a person falls asleep early. However, he wakes up in the middle of the night and cannot fall asleep again.

• It is difficult to determine an irregular rhythm because the biological clock has no parameters that define the steps. There may be a phase delay one day and a phase delayed the next. It qualifies as a disorder when it lasts more than 3 months.

Sleep-wake cycle – other anomalies

Disturbances in the wakefulness and sleep cycle are varied and alter quality of life.

• Jet lag is a traveler’s disease. It happens to people who cross different time zones in just a few hours as a result of air travel.
• Shift work is a common disorder of night workers, such as caretakers or nurses.
• Hyperthermia is a disorder in which the circadian rhythm of sleep-wake lasts more than 24 hours and gradually lengthens (a person tends to sleep longer each day until they sleep almost all day).

Sleeping off is the key to happiness

The wakefulness and sleep cycle is used for the proper functioning of our body. Therefore, good rest is key to a healthy waking period. Conversely, waking up without feeling tired leads to a pleasant sleep the following night.