​We need sleep to live. We spend a third of our mortal lives asleep. Sleep rejuvenates and restores. Our bodies need the downtime to re-energize and make sense of our world. Researchers have made the following recommendations to enhance our ability to sleep in a world that is becoming hazardous to our health. The first recommendation is to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (including weekends). The routine ensures we get a chance for adequate sleep and our body is programmed to maximize the experience. 

​There are over a hundred different problems with sleep but I will discuss only four. Somnambulism involves sleepwalking or sleep talking. When this occurs, the brain is asleep (as shown on brainwave scans) but the body is awake and responding to a confused, but well-rehearsed action coming from the brain on autopilot. The disorder is common in children but less so in adults. 
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Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder affecting 1 out of 9 people. It is twice as common in women than men and more common in African American and Hispanic Americans. People who suffer with insomnia cannot disengage from a pattern of worrisome, ruminating brain activity. There are many natural behavioral approaches Dr. Matthew Walker recommends in his book Why We Sleep (p341). He definitely advises against taking sleeping pills. He says they generate synthetic sleep or fake sleep and the pills have significant side-effects.

Dreams occur during the phase of sleep called Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep is characterized by strong activity in the visual, motor, emotional, and autobiographical memory regions of the brain. In conjunction with this increase in activity there is a decrease in the prefrontal cortex regions that control rationale thought. Dreaming overnight appears to be a form of brain therapy where our brain seeks to resolve emotional problems. Dreams can take the painful sting out of difficult and traumatic episodes experienced during the day. 

​Have you ever wondered why we need differing amounts of sleep during our lifetime? Sleep amounts and times vary as we transition from infant to adult. As a fetus in the womb, we need approximately 6-9 hours of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep a day. It's important at that stage to have a lot of REM sleep because the brain is developing. This stage is called synaptogenesis and it involves the creation of trillions of synapses (or wiring links) between neurons. These are the brain pathways that allow thoughts to flow.

It's interesting to note that researchers have shown autistic children to have an imbalance of normal sleep patterns. They have too many connections with the wiring links in some areas of the brain and not enough in others. They also have a 30 to 50% deficit in REM sleep. Newborns of alcoholic mothers demonstrate similar problems. Even an occasional glass of wine can have a significant effect on a fetus or the newborn of breastfeeding moms. There is a 20 to 30% reduction in REM sleep due to even mild levels of alcohol. This reduction directly affects brain development in babies.

Most of us are unaware of the importance of sleep brainwaves and the sleep stages so vital to our health and well-being. ​Researchers measure sleep and determine the various phases and stages of sleep by looking at brainwaves. When you are awake, your brainwaves will have a fast-frequency, chaotic activity. Different parts of your brain are processing different pieces of information at different moments in time and in different ways. Electrodes can read the entire discombobulated pattern of electrical activity and this has enabled scientists to gain new insights into how the brain works. Let's take a look at two types of brainwaves and why they are important to our sleep.

​The urge to sleep is due to the Circadian Rhythm which is an internal 24-hour and 15-minute clock. It is called the suprachiasmatic nucleus and is located in the middle of your brain. It consists of 20,000 brain cells connected to optic nerves in your eyes and is reset by sunlight every day. It also coordinates core body temperature fluctuations. Core temperature is higher during the day while you are awake. It lowers as you get ready to sleep and is at its lowest during sleep.