Why does yesterday's grief seem less terrible in the morning? And why do we sometimes wake up refreshed and refreshed and sometimes overwhelmed? Scientists at the University of Helsinki are investigating how sleep affects our physical and psychological well-being. And the somnologist advises how to deal with insomnia.
Too little REM sleep can cause stress and depression.
How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?
If you are awake, then you have slept. If you are feeling very tired, it means that you have not slept enough.
Everything is very simple. Many people constantly feel tired and still cannot go to bed on time.
This contradiction also strikes the doctor-sleep doctor Henri Tuomilehto (Henri Tuomilehto).
“This phenomenon is widespread throughout the world. People do not sleep enough and the quality of their sleep is poor. We do not allocate enough time for sleep, and in the mode of our stressful life this is fundamentally wrong."
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When you don’t spend enough time sleeping, REM sleep is most often affected. This phase occurs mainly in the early morning. The person is missing out on the most important part of this phase if they don't get their full sleep hours.
Researchers have already received ample evidence that REM sleep is associated with a person's mental state.
The University of Helsinki has launched a study on the effect of REM sleep volume on human feelings.
“It is known that sleep in general affects how we feel, how intense it is, and how much we control it. More and more research points to the importance of REM sleep,”says Anu-Katriina Pesonen, head of the Sleep and Mind Research Group.
According to Pesonen, during REM sleep, the brain reaches a state similar to wakefulness. She calls the activity of the brain during this period "hyper flexible". Some of the connections between nerve cells are strengthened. A similar process is observed, for example, during training.
"Strengthening the connections between nerve cells affects how what the day before becomes part of the permanent structure of the brain."
In the same way, some neural connections are broken - then we forget information. According to Pesonen, this is important because it also affects negative feelings.
Researchers at the University of Helsinki are also investigating whether the link between an unpleasant experience and a physiological response could break overnight.
“It's about the regulation of the senses. If we experience a very strong feeling in the evening, it can soften by morning. The next morning, yesterday's grief will no longer seem so terrible.
Researchers at the Sleep and Mind Project want to find out which memories grow stronger and which fade during REM sleep, and how sleep affects this. Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to depression, and in the worst case, depression, Pesonen says.
“Negative emotions, depression and stress continue to build up. The morning does not bring relief, the first thing we encounter is the heaviness associated with the feelings that we experienced the day before,”says Pesonen.
Somnologist Henri Tuomilehto notes: the harder life is, the more attentively you need to monitor your sleep. If the atmosphere at work is oppressive, and free time is also strictly scheduled - for example, we have a hobby with a specific framework and goals - we need enough time to recover.
“During sleep, a person recovers by more than 90%. They say: did a good job, rest well. The harder the work, the more you need to recover and the better you need to get enough sleep,”notes Tuomilehto.
According to Tuomilehto, now not everyone is even aware of fatigue, because many are used to it. And yet a person feels better both mentally and physically if he sleeps more. There is no specific number of hours of sleep needed, it depends on the person and their lifestyle.
To determine if you're getting enough sleep, Tuomilehto says, add 30-60 minutes to your usual sleep time for a couple of weeks. If, thanks to this, your condition improves, then even without a doctor it will be clear that you used to sleep very little.
What if you try to go to bed on time, but still cannot sleep?
Tuomilehto advises first of all to try some self-help methods. A healthy diet, regular diet and exercise can help you sleep well. When a person has more physical activity, they sleep better. But if a person sleeps too little, he has no energy left for sports.
Exercising late with an increase in heart rate may not work for everyone. If you feel that your body is overwhelmed and interferes with sleep, you can try, for example, relaxing walks in the early evening.
Pay attention to the moment of fatigue
According to Tuomilehto, those who sleep poorly should abandon things that invigorate the mind in advance and turn off their gadgets long before going to bed. Don't put off going to bed if you're feeling tired - even if you don't finish watching the movie.
“When your body tells you it's time to sleep, you have a 15-20 minute window to easily fall asleep. If you missed the moment, then it can already take two to three hours to fall asleep, which will have to be subtracted from the night's sleep. In the morning you will definitely feel it."
Shift work is a major challenge for good sleep, Tuomilehto said. Research has also found a link between shift work and the development of breast cancer. Too little sleep increases the risk of heart and vascular disease.
“Man is a daytime creature who needs to sleep at night and work during the day. People who work in shifts should take care of themselves and lead a healthy lifestyle."
According to Tuomilehto, you should only seek professional help if you cannot help yourself. If your sleep problems continue, you may have a medical case of sleep disturbance - insomnia.
Ulla Malminen