In our last episode we talked about what sleep is and why we need it. It turns out that those are very complex questions, because sleep is very complex. It’s not just shutting down the body and resting. In many ways, our bodies are as active during sleep as they are when we are awake, but the brain and body have an agenda, a structured set of tasks and processes that it must accomplish in sequence.
Sleep architecture refers to the basic structural organization of normal sleep. It is broken into phases and subdivided into cycles. The first priority is tissue repair and calorie restoration in muscles and organs. After that, energy is redirected to regenerating and reorganizing brain tissues and neural pathways.
So, when sleep is cut short, only the most basic bodily repair is accomplished. The brain and nervous system are shortchanged, leading to cumulative distress and disorder. That leaves us susceptible to disease. If we are serious about our health, much less performing at our potential, we must build on a solid foundation of restorative and regenerative sleep.
In this episode, Dr. Royer explains how our sleep is organized and how we can optimize it through lifestyle changes and discipline.
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