Do you know how sleep comes to us and what happens to our body during sleep? According to scientific facts, there is a very complex area in the brain called "sleep centre". Calcium ions present in the blood, control this centre. When an optimum quantity of calcium is received by the "sleep centre", we get sleep. It has been observed from experiments on animals that they start sleeping when calcium is injected directly into the sleep centre. But if calcium is injected into the blood stream, this does not happen. So it seems that the sleep centre must first be "sensitized" by certain chemical substances, produced when we are tired, before it would react to calcium and put us to sleep. During sleep, the sleep, the sleep centre does two things. Firstly, it blocks off the brain so that we have no will-power or consciousness and secondly, it blocks all nerves leading from the brain so that our internal organs and limbs fall asleep.
In sleep, our body does many types of movements. A man on an average changes his sides 20 to 40 times during sleep in one night. Blood circulation continues during sleep. Heart beat slows down a little bit. The digestive system works normally. Liver and kidneys perform their functions. The effect of sound, liht, heat, smell etc. in sleep are the same on every sleeping person. During sleep, the body temperature is lowered by about one degree centigrade. During sleep the body cells are quietly engaged in getting rid of waste materials that have accumulated during the active part of the day.
How many hours a healthy person should sleep? The number of hours needed varies with individuals. the average adult needs from 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Boys and girls of 15 years of age need about 10 hours sleep each night. It is wise to form the habit of going to bed at the same time each night. If you have trouble in getting sleep. you should not take sleeping pills unless prescribed by the physician or medical practitioner.
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