Sleep
is one of the true mysteries of nature. It is a feature of all
organisms and it is enjoyed at various times during the 24 hour cycle.
Some organisms like bats are known to sleep during the day, while most
other organisms sleep when it’s dark.
In man, there are regulatory mechanisms
for this important feature of our lives. The average individual is
required to sleep an average of six to eight hours a day in order to
maintain a sound body and mind. At the extremes of life, in the newborn
and the very old, the total length of sleeping hours is much more. It is
not usual for one to have a continuous sleeping pattern, but in brief
spells at intervals in the course of the day and night.
No individual can tell the precise moment
when he or she falls asleep nor can anyone say with precision when they
awake. At best, one can say, ‘I slept at about this time or that time
and woke up at about this time’. Even in artificially induced sleep such
as anaesthesia, the mystery endures. It is not usual to determine
precisely when a patient slept off. It is usually said: “He is asleep”.
The precise moment of sleep is usually unknown. It is such a fundamental
part of our daily existence that we sometimes take it for granted. It
is one of the mysteries of nature to the extent that we do not remember
to see it as a problem until we are not able to get it.
Sleeping is also important because it is
only during sleep that the brain rests, in the sense that it is not
supposed to be engaged in acts of active thinking and problem solving at
that time. In particular, there is what is known as the Rapid Eye
Movement (REM) sleep, when sleep is at its deepest. This is the period
when almost all dreams occur. The sleep is so deep at this time that the
person is almost unconscious. Deprivation of this aspect of sleep often
causes a host of psychological and mental health problems for an
individual. It lasts for no more than a few minutes during several hours
of sleep, but its absence is guaranteed to have robbed that person of a
certain quality of sleep.
When this aspect of rest is absent in
one’s life, sleep disturbance is said to occur. It is manageable when it
occurs for brief periods in the life of an individual. It is an
important contributor to the onset of disease when it is a consistent
feature of a person’s life. Sleep deprivation causes an impairment of
judgement such that the operation of machinery, driving, the operation
of sensitive equipment and performing regular tasks at work, all become
impaired over time. Productivity at work, therefore, falls and the
mental health status of the person could become a casualty.
Also, sleep deprivation is now associated
with weight gain, obesity and even diabetes. The relationship between
these is based on the disturbance of the normal regulatory processes of
the hormones which modulate our metabolic processes and keep us fit.
This regulatory effect, which is dependent largely on the sleep-wake
cycle, becomes ineffective over time and allows the development of the
sequence of events that would lead to the above problems. It is not
enough to obtain a certain number of sleeping hours; this period of
sleep should also be maximised to rest and viewed as a genuine relief.
Thus, the sleeping position is important, as is the comfort in doing so.
For example, it is not possible to compare the quality of sleep enjoyed
by a man who sleeps in a wheel-barrow with that of another who sleeps
on a mat or with that of yet another who sleeps on a mattress. In due
course, there are consequences of this sort of pattern.
Some of these problems that arise are
agitation and lack of concentration. There may be a reduction or
increase in appetite, depending on the person’s nature. Anxiety symptoms
may also develop that the person would eventually become ineffective at
work. Over time, that individual would withdraw into his shell and is
unable to maintain normal personal relationships. People around him may
then be perceived as enemies or as being responsible for his plight. Any
person with such erratic behaviour requires the help of a psychiatrist,
who is an expert on the effects and management of the problems arising
from sleep disturbance or deprivation. There is no stigma involved here.
It is not equivalent to madness or insanity but if this important kind
of help is not sought, then it could lead to mental illness.
In some parts of Lagos, there are people
who are awake as early as 4am and prepare to get to work by 8am or
earlier. Some of these people would have gone to bed not earlier than
midnight because of the distances they have to commute to and from work.
Frequently, there are no outward signs of trouble among such people
until things get out of hand. It is a creeping illness with unique
disabilities that are often missed by most of the people around such
workers. It is a peculiar situation that might endure until a problem
arises.
There are mechanisms some of these people
have adopted to cope with the situation. They arrive early to the
office and sleep until work resumes. Some find time to effectively
disappear during the day to sleep for an hour or two before re-appearing
to continue the work. Others close early from work in order to get home
on time and sleep before 9pm. In some cases, people have an alternative
accommodation where they retire after the close of work during the
week, and return to their ‘real’ homes on Fridays when they can sleep as
they wish.
Nature cannot be cheated and the adoption
of strategies like these has helped many to prevent potential health
disasters. Many others are on sedatives and hypnotics prescribed by
their doctors to help them cope with the result, so much so that some
have now developed some addiction to (or dependence on) these
medications. Even these have their downsides, but it is good to know
that there are natural ways to cope simply by adapting to one’s
environment.
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