A life of sleep, from birth to menopause and beyond | Life and style

BBetween drowsiness and alarm, our bodies and brains undergo many changes. Sleep researchers call the first stage of sleep N1. It's daylight, and if it came out, we might not realize we had drifted out. Our night trip is well established as we enter the second stage of sleep, N2. This can be identified in the laboratory by distinct brain waves such as sleep spindles, involving sudden brain activity. N3 is called deep sleep or slow sleep because of brain activity, which is more comparable to waves. Finally, we reach paradoxical sleep – a phase characterized by brain activity quite similar to that observed in our waking lives. Bright dreams and body paralysis also occur – maybe they protect us, preventing us from going to the act. Adult sleep cycles last about 90 minutes.

Two main processes control our sleep. The first one is called sleep homeostasis and refers to our sleep reader. The longer we have been awake, the greater our pressure to fall asleep. That alone does not explain why we could have trouble sleeping during the day while we were up all night; or we find ourselves sleeping in the evening even if we took a nap during the day. Instead, the circadian process helps to explain such events. This clock-like mechanism is controlled by a central stimulator in the brain. Our internal body clocks often work a little over 24 hours a day. We therefore use zeitgebers (time donors) of the environment to adjust our internal clocks to adapt to the outside world. The signals come from everywhere – including the time at which we eat or exercise – but none is as important as exposure to light. The light helps our brain to know that it's time to be awake and the darkness allows us to produce melatonin, which gives our body the sign that it is the best. 39, sleeping time. Without the signal from the environment, bedtime would usually become night later, and we would soon be ready to sleep when we should wake up.

Babies

Our sleep changes in the course of our lives. At birth, babies do not go through the stages of sleep as they will in adulthood. Instead, they start their night in active sleep (a bit like REM) and progress through a phase called calm sleep. A premature baby can complete his sleep cycle in half the time of an adult. The circadian and homeostatic processes are progressively developing; at six months, the biological clock is well established and synchronized with the surrounding world. It can be difficult for parents to cope with babies' sleep, but a multitude of tips are available, such as those available on the website created by the Child's Sleep Council.

Children

As babies become preschoolers then enter school, the amount of sleep they need decreases. The composition of sleep changes too. While newborns spend about 50% of their sleep in a state similar to that of EMT, this proportion rises to 25% at the age of two years. REM sleep is the most abundant stage of life in which the brain is the most plastic – and at the moment when the connections are formed most rapidly. This suggests the importance of EMR for the developing brain, and one of its functions may be to support the developing visual system.

Over time, the challenge of permanent awakening can be replaced by other nocturnal problems, such as the resistance to bedtime of a toddler. Establishing routines early in life can be helpful, and research has shown that the longer a child has a bedtime routine, the better he sleeps. There are countless other tips to promote sleep, especially to avoid light at night: an exposure can suppress melatonin. TVs must also be kept away from the room. Preschoolers with TVs in their rooms would sleep less well.

teenagers

In addition to duration, sleep changes in our lives. The most dramatic change occurs during adolescence. Sleep can easily change two hours later in adolescence, compared to that of younger children or older adults. This change affects teens around the world and other mammals and is linked to puberty. For example, puberty has been badociated with a delay in the beginning and end of daily activity in marmoset monkeys. The processes leading to sleep shift that occurs in adolescence have been described as a "perfect storm," involving changes in homeostatic and circadian mechanisms, along with social pressures and societal demands.

The mechanisms underlying this change are complex. For example, there is some evidence that adolescents sleep shorter than children at certain times of the night, which prevents them from sleeping. With increased development, there does not seem to be a greater sensitivity to evening light, as was once envisioned, but greater exposure to light could delay the biological clock. This light can come from many sources, including smartphones, tablets and TVs. Increased parental autonomy and increased social obligations may also result in a later bedtime.

While it is clear that sleep is important for development, many children and adolescents may not have enough. For example, a report from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released last year, indicates that more than half of the middle school children evaluated reported receiving less than the recommended amount. This increased to nearly 75% of those in secondary education.

This generalized problem must be solved. Political decisions, such as postponing the start time of clbades for teenagers to align with their circadian habits, can result in more sleep. If the bedtime is set by the parents (and the time at which it is set) is also related to the amount of sleep of the children. Educating children about sleep may seem intuitive, but research has shown that education alone does not always result in the desired change in behavior. Those who miss sleep during the week might want to catch up on weekends – and this can be helpful. However, we should not fool ourselves that this is as good as a consistent sleep routine. Substantial changes in our sleep pattern can lead to jet lag. A change of sleep schedule on weekends may mean that we have to cross several time zones on Sunday nights so we can get ready early on Monday morning. Going to bed earlier than we did on previous nights may mean that it is difficult to fall asleep and that we are short of sleep. Social jet lag has also been badociated with various difficulties, including alcohol consumption, depression, metabolic dysfunction and obesity.

adults

By the age of 20, hours of sleep are restored, and it was even thought that this change of course provided biological evidence of late adolescence. Recommendations for sleep duration for young adults and young adults average eight hours per night. However, during these rush-hour years, many people report that this can be difficult to achieve. At least some recent data suggests that things could improve and that the duration of sleep increases. Sleep remains important by the time we reach the age of three, but it may be more difficult to obtain than ever before. The reasons are many and could include a reduction of cells in brain regions important for sleep and changes in our eyes that filter light differently. Health problems and social problems, such as lifestyle changes related to retirement, can also play a role.

Women and sleep

Although relatively under-studied, different aspects of sleep have been linked to gender. The difference in sleep patterns among adolescents differs between men and women, with change reaching its maximum earlier in women than in men, perhaps reflecting their previous physical development. After puberty, men usually have one hour of sleep later than women, a tendency that disappears once menopause is reached.

Puberty also sounds changes for those awful sleepless nights we all experience. While insomnia is reported with a similar frequency in young boys and girls, after puberty, it is more common in women and remains so until adulthood. Daniel Buysse, a professor of sleep medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, said, "Men and women also exhibit differences in the physiology of sleep, particularly a greater amount of deep sleep in women. Paradoxically, one could predict a better sleep for women. "

So why could these differences between the bades appear? Links to other conditions could play a role. Depression cases, which are usually badociated with insomnia, become more pronounced in women than in men during adolescence. Could the increase in the rate of depression among women after adolescence also contribute, to some extent, to explain the increase in insomnia?

Another possibility is that there are gender differences in the way men and women report symptoms. Professor Derk-Jan Dijk, director of the Surrey Sleep Research Center, thinks this might be the case. He tells me, "Our data show that in healthy people without sleep complaints, the link between the subjective quality of sleep [self-report] and polysomnography [an objective measure of sleep] is much stronger in women than in men. This might suggest that women are more specific than men in reporting certain aspects of their sleep.

Buysse also notes that "differences in stress sensitivity, especially interpersonal sensitivity, may also play a role. Women are generally more sensitive to social badessment and social stress, which can disrupt sleep. "

Hormones are likely to be important when it comes to sleeping. This is consistent with a study revealing a reduction in sleep efficiency (or the proportion of sleep time spent) as the woman progresses through her cycle, plunging to her lowest point in the premenstrual period. This may be due to a decrease in reproductive hormones during this phase, during which some also have premenstrual symptoms. Subsequently, menstrual cramps can also disrupt sleep.

Changes related to pregnancy also bring new nocturnal challenges. Women often report poor sleep and poor quality, as well as daytime sleepiness. Disorders such as restless legs syndrome and sleep-disordered breathing can also develop during pregnancy. Jodi Mindell, a professor of psychology at Saint Joseph's University in the United States, said, "During pregnancy, over 95% of women report waking up at least once a night. Sleep disturbances are a universal problem for pregnant women and have even been badociated with premature labor and increased likelihood of cesarean delivery. "

When babies arrive, there is no respite, and disturbed nights can last for months or even years. In a study of 29,287 parents, it was found that even between the ages of two and three, children wake up once a night. "Sleep disorders are expected to be an integral part of the new mother," says Katherine Sharkey of Brown University's Alpert School of Medicine, "but it does not make any difference. There are no guidelines for perinatal women and clinicians who treat them with regard to their severity and duration of shortening. and sleep disorders should be tolerated before treatment is considered during pregnancy and postpartum. "

The arrival of menopause brings more sleep challenges. Postmenopausal women are more likely to report short sleep, have trouble sleeping, and wake up feeling uncomfortable compared to their premenopausal counterparts. In my book, Nodding Off, I quote a seventy-year-old woman describing her sleep during menopause: "My joints were more painful, especially at night. I woke up feeling intense heat around the face and neck. I felt trapped in the fiery furnace of my body … Even in the coolest nights, I threw away all my blankets and I still felt very warm inside, although I was aware that my feet were freezing … "

As described in a paper by the American Society for Research on Women's Health, sleep problems during menopause can be caused by a multitude of problems, including an increase in sleep apnea rate, flushes of heat and night sweats, as well as symptoms of depression and stress that may occur at this stage of life. Treatments include those that are also recommended at other stages of life, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia and badociated sleep problems such as apnea, as well as d & # 39; Others more specific at this stage of life, including hormonal therapy.

Women differ, so how are group comparisons useful? Understanding trends can be helpful. If we know that insomnia is a particular problem among older women, "good women" checks may want to make sure that this problem is still discussed. If different factors predict poor sleep for both women and men, it may be helpful to implement disturbed night prevention measures for both. The comparison between men and women also revealed bad differences in the metabolism of some hypnotic sleeping pills – implying that, when they are prescribed, men and women must receive different amounts to avoid side effects. potentially dangerous. More work on gender differences will mean better nights for all.