SLEEP AND EXERCISE IN PAIN
Sleep. A third of our lives is spent in sleep. Of the remainder, some is spent in wishing that our small children would sleep longer, and, during our later years, some is spent wishing our sleep was less broken. According to I. Oswald in ‘The Oxford Companion to The Mind’:
‘Sleep is a healthy state of inertia and unresponsiveness that is recurrently imposed by unknown mechanisms within the nervous system.’
Insomnia or inability to sleep affects most of us at one time or another. It is rarely a lasting problem, however, unless there is some medical or psychological condition which makes it chronic. The incidence of chronic insomnia appears to be greater in women, people of ‘nervous temperament’ and among older people. They consume the greatest amounts of sleeping pills.
People who complain of lack of sleep actually sleep more than they suppose. Some people say that they ‘never sleep’. When studied in sleep laboratories with all night brain wave recordings, it is found that they actually sleep all of the night! But their normal deep slow wave sleep is’contaminated’ with brain waves characteristic of wakefulness. This means that their sleep is not restful and they are often aware they have been awake through the night.
Brief episodes of sleeplessness are characteristic of periods of stress. This can occur on the night before an examination, before a trip or a major work-related event.
Insomnia is often more long-lasting after major stresses such as shifting house, changing jobs or the loss of a loved one.
Medical problems such as chronic pain and heart failure, and psychological problems such as chronic anxiety or depression often lead to chronic insomnia.
There is no standard amount of sleep necessary for everyone. Many people say they require 8-10 hours per night while others do well on 6 hours or less each night. A good average seems to be about 7 hours per night.
If you are not feeling fatigued you are probably getting enough sleep. On the other hand there are many other reasons for feeling chronically tired than lack of sleep.
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