melatotin- chemical produced that makes one sleepy and helps with prevention of infection
Summary: Did you know humans spend one-third of their life simply sleeping? Now you know. Sleeping is vital to functioning in daily activities; without it, we would be "walking zombies" in the words of Andrew T. McPhee, a leading sleep researcher. Your body's energy level is restored when you sleep. Also, people that get less than the recommended hours of sleep tend to be more prone to infections and such. That is because the body produces a chemical called melatotin when we sleep that helps fight disease and during the day, the production of melatotin is stifled. Now, while we sleep, we pass the sleep cycle that contains several stages . During the first stage, we enter sleepy mode. Bodily functions slow down, such as body temperature and activity in the brain. You become extremely relaxed and then go into the second stage. Your body continues to slow down and soon enough, you will be entering the stage called deep sleep. This part is critical because during this period, growth hormones are generated and, as the name suggests, we get a chance to fully rest. Following this period comes the one you are probably dying to read about, the dream stage. Also known as REM sleep ( rapid eye movement, called this because while we dream, our eyes move in quick, sudden movements), we experience dreams. Dreams are thought to be interrelated with one's life, but there are a few researchers who believe that dreams are just random thoughts. Now, there is so much more fun information to know about sleeping, but unfortunately, I will not be discussing all of them. If you have any questions about anything regarding sleeping, just ask me and I will most likely know the answer (the book contained everything you have to know about sleeping).
Discussion: While I read the book, I constantly thought about how many people are sleep deprived. Not getting enough sleep disables you; many car accidents happen because of people that are not fully awake. Sleepy people are very similar to drunk people as they both are not completely aware of their surroundings and their motor skills are impaired. I know that some nights when I am not able to fit in those eight hours, the next day I tend to forget information easily, I am more irritable, and I sometimes I get sick if it goes on for a few days. What about you? This book also got me thinking about the start time of school. For most high schools, classes begin at about 7: 45 on a typical day. That's ridiculous considering that teenagers start getting tired at around 12:00, it's a scientific fact. For teenagers, melatotin production begins later than other age groups, which means they do not feel the effect of sleep until later into the night. And considering they are supposed to sleep for nine hours, they are cutting it short by two full hours. As I mentioned earlier, sleep helps one do better in general, so why does it make sense to impair high schoolers from doing their very best? It doesn't. I think that school should start later so everyone is fully rested and end earlier so people have more time to do their homework. What is your opinion on this matter? '
More questions:
Have you or anyone you know ever experienced a sleeping disorder?
How much do you typically sleep a night?
Citations:
McPhee, Andrew T. Sleep and Dreams. N.p.: Grolier Publishing, 2001. Print.
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