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Sleep Cycles

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Now let's start talking about sleep cycles...

The body is a highly complex and dynamic organism. There are millions upon millions of individual and highly coordinated, systemic processes that take place every second that allow and give us the ability to breathe, walk, talk, sleep, or do anything else. Said simply, these things take place in a highly organized way and actually give us LIFE!

In the following web page, we are going to discuss some of the body's natural cycles or rhythms that can help us learn to work with our bodies instead of against them in our search for a better night's sleep.

"What the heck are Circadian Cycles!"

Circa is a Latin word meaning "around", "close to", or "near" and dies means "day". Basically, the circadian cycle is any biological cycle or rhythm that takes place over a 24-hour period of time. It can be identified in almost every process in the body, from cells to tissues to organs to systems as a whole. In the following page, we will be considering the circadian rhythms of sleep.

Also, the Sleep and Aging page will explain the average trends of the circadian rhythms throughout the aging process, so if you are interested in complimenting this information about how our sleep changes throughout our lives, give that page a look.

Here, we will be discussing the circadian cycles of sleep in terms of two different sleep processes: a neurological, clock-dependant alerting process and a homeostatic sleep drive. After that, we will explain the "lark" and "owl" phenomenon, so we might more easily understand our lazy, younger brother who stays up late at night and seems to sleep so much during the morning hours (inside family joke there)! Lastly, we give a few recommendations on how your can reset your own biological clock to help you get a better night's sleep.

Table of Contents:

1. Clock-Dependent Drive: Our Biological Clocks
2. Homeostatic Sleep Drive
3. "Larks" And "Owls"
4. Resetting Your Biological Clock

In the distant past, most observers of sleep believed our sleep cycles were primarily regulated by the setting sun and associated slow down of stimulation to our systems. Until the past few decades, many professionals believed our sleep behavior was primarily a social function or byproduct. So, what's the deal?

Like much of science throughout our history, there were those few who seemed to be on the right track, but unfortunately, very few paid them much attention. Fortunately though, subsequent scientific inquiries in our own times have found that our bodies are regulated primarily by factors other than the lack of stimulation, although stimulation of light and bodily activity do play a role. Let's find out more now.

Clock-Dependent Drive: Our Biological Clock

Studies have found that we have a biological clock regulating our sleep/awake cycles by two neural structures found near the center the brain, called "suprachiasmatic nuclei", located close to the optic nerve. Of the literally trillions of neurons in the brain, these clustered pin-head sized nerves make up about 10,000 nerve cells in total.

10,000 nerve cells…not much right? Well, here's the kicker… they affect other brain cells as well, about 10,000,000! Those nerves go on to effect trillions of other cells throughout the body. WOW! These structures are responsible for "alertness", hormone production, and body temperature, which all have a profound affect on our circadian sleep rhythms and the entire quality of our daily lives.

These nerves have been found to work independently and do not rely completely on outside light sources or electromagnetic forces of the earth. This clock-dependant alerting system allows us to maintain an alert wakefulness throughout a given day. Amazingly, scientists have found what seems to be a natural, intrinsic biological sleep/wakefulness cycle of about 25 hours and not the 24-hour earth day like most of us would think. Elaborate scientific experiments have led to this conclusion. Pretty wild stuff!

Along with another biological drive, the homeostatic sleep drive, we are going to find out that our bodies do not always agree with the 24-hour earth day. After that, we will spend a little time letting the late sleepers off the hook. And lastly, we will find out how we can help ourselves reset our own sleep cycles/clocks.

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Homeostatic Sleep Drive

Homeostatic is a term used to describe the yin/yang of the modern biosciences. The word Homeo is taken from the Greek lexicon meaning "sameness". It is combined with the word static, which means "standing still" or "balance". Like the word circadian, the word homeostasis can be applied to many of the body's natural states and processes. Think of homeostasis as an ability or tendency of the body to balance between two opposing forces, or to achieve equilibrium within its own environment.

Now that we have a better grasp of the word's meaning, it should make it a lot easier to understand what the homeostatic sleep drive actually is. First, let's identify the two opposing 'forces' or tendencies? In the context of 'sleep', we mean sleep and wakefulness. So, most of the time, we have both drives working at the same time along a continuum. We have the drive to stay awake and the drive to sleep.

The goal of this physiological mechanism is to help our bodies keep track of the amount of needed sleep our minds and bodies need to replenish our lost energy. As soon as we awaken, after our bodies have replenished our potential energy stores, theoretically, our sleep debt should be 'zero' and the drive to awaken should be strong. From this point, we start to build up a greater sleep debt, or need to sleep. We are able to stay mostly alert throughout the day and the need for sleep doesn't overpower or wakefulness due to our good friend, the biological clock or clock-dependent alerting system, mentioned in the first section.

(You can read more about Sleep Debt by clicking here. Another complimentary topic about which you might read is the Importance of Sleep.)

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"Larks" and "Owls"

Before we get into how you can help reset your own sleep cycles, let's show the different effects the circadian cycles (both the clock-dependent alerting and homeostatic mechanisms) can have on us at different stages of our lives. We will come then come to see what has led to the identification of the "Larks" vs. (and) the "Owls". It is time to let the night owls off the hook.

We probably know of those people who stay up late at night and sleep-in during the day. College students are a prime example. Some people actually look at an individual who displays these tendencies as "lazy" or "irresponsible". Although that might be the case, more than likely this person is at a phase in his or her life where he or she simply is displaying the characteristics of a "night owl", and this can be quite normal.

It is currently postulated by sleep professionals that the internal biological clock or clock-dependant alerting process from the neurological structures (described above) help us stay awake and alert throughout the day. Unlike the homeostatic sleep drive, which increases with our sleep debt, this process is not always 'turned on' or functioning. So, we get troughs (or lows) in our alertness and degree of wakefulness throughout any given day. As the clock-dependant alerting mechanism turns 'back on', we regain an awake and alert state. Quite fascinating actually.

For the younger folks, like high school and college students, the clock-dependent alerting and homeostatic sleep mechanisms are strong. As we age, these mechanisms become 'weaker' or not as strong, which apparently is one of the primary reasons for the changes experienced in our sleep patterns as we age. When we are young, the quality of our sleep is deeper and sounder, as the strong homeostatic mechanism working to help us replenish our sleep debt is 'on' and the strong clock-dependent alerting mechanism is turned off as we sleep. We end up sleeping like babies, because of the strong boost of energy we get throughout the day from our strong biological clock. At night the clock-dependent alerting mechanism turns off, which allows us to get a deep, uninterrupted sleep.

As we age though, we find the homeostatic and the clock-dependent alerting mechanisms act differently, and we find that the times of alerting are shifted to different hours, which change our habits to falling asleep and awakening at different times of the 24-hour earth day.

In addition to all of the different changes that take place, including the social changes of our youth or coming-of-age years, we have a tendency to have a greater boost of energy in the evenings with tendencies to then sleep later into the mornings. There is nothing wrong with these tendencies, and it is time for some of us to let the young adults off the hook and realize it isn't laziness, but a normal phase of one's life. It may not be the case for all of young people, but it seems to be the biological and behavioral norm of most.

What should be more important for all of us is that we get a proper amount of quality sleep regardless of the times we actually sleep. Ok, you young adults owe us one!

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Resetting Your Biological Clock

Wouldn't it be nice if we could simply press or click a button and reset our biological clocks? In the following section, we will discuss possible ways of resetting your biological clock. Although we can not simply click a button, there are many things one can do to help achieve a better night's sleep, which includes having an incredibly anatomically correct pillow like the Stasis Sleep™ Pillow. We will be more specific in this section and give you ways to help you reset your biological clock.

When you order your own Stasis Sleep™ Pillows, we will provide you with the knowledge of the pillow's proper uses and the information on the topic of sleep, including your own sleep diary and self-evaluation sleep diagnosis tools. How's that for an integral view of getting a better night's sleep? But, please remember though, this will be ONLY IF you select the book as your gift when checking out.

Although it seems like common sense, science has come to understand quantitatively that bright light is one of the powerful time cues, or Zeitgeber. When we say "bright light" we are talking about light like that which is emitted by the sun during hours between approximately one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset.

Why is this important to us? Well, because one of the ways to help someone reset their biological sleep/wake clock is to use natural sunlight, it is called phototherapy.

Let's take look at an example of how we can use this type of "therapy" to help with a fast or advanced time clock. If you are tired during the day, which signifies sleep debt or possibly an advanced time clock, then simply go outside and get a nice dose of sunlight, which should signal the ancient biological clock to kick on and thereby delay sleepiness. Take a walk, read a book, or even do some exercise. Remember not to wear sunglasses or hang out in the shade though. This technique is a lot more efficacious in the summer season then in the winter months, as the light is a lot stronger in the summer.

Or, if you get sleepy after dinner, do the same thing. Go outside and get some fresh air and more importantly and to the point, get some sunlight. This should help reset the biological clock, and in the evening time you should be able to fall asleep a little earlier, as the delayed clock-dependent alerting system has been reset and will turn off at a more appropriate time in the evenings.

If you are tired in the mornings, make it a point to go outside for an hour or so and get the body going with a nice burst of sunlight. If you would like to, you can reset your waking hours by adjusting to waking up an hour earlier the next day and doing the same thing. Get up and go outside for some sun. This bright sunlight will signify to your system that the old biological time clock should get you up and going. Slowly over time, a few days, you should find it a lot easier to get up a specified time and your system will ready to get up and get going!

In the winter months, it will be a little harder to use this method, as the light is not as bright in those months for many people and sets and rises at inconvenient times, depending on where you live. Down here in Texas, where Innovative Sleep Solutions Inc. is located, our winters are mild and it allows many of us the opportunity to use the natural sunlight to help adjust our biological sleep clocks a little more easily. But, for others, the weather can be a hindrance in the winter months. If you would like, there are artificial lights on the market that will work just as well as the natural sunlight, and you can purchase these lights for about $250-$500. Simply make sure these boxes can put out 10,000 lux. A "lux" is about the amount of light output of one candle. Make sure you sit close to the light and it will have the same effects as the sun on your biological clock.

If none of these techniques work with about one hour exposure to the sun, you can prolong your exposure to a couple of hours to see if that will help. If it doesn't, you might consider there are other reasons for your sleepiness or inability to get to sleep on time or wake up on time in the mornings. Please…please…please, we hope you do not stress it, because this can really hinder you in achieving your goal of a better night's sleep.

Phototherapy is great way to help, but there are many other ways. We described this method here as it is directly associated to the biological clock. There are more ways you will soon see. See the Sleep Tips section of the web site for more help. Also, please remember the book we can send with enough information to help you achieve a better night's rest.

If you have any question or comments, please us. Hope some of the information you have found on this page helpful, and please look around for some more helpful information embedded throughout this site. There's a ton of it! If you choose to get the sleep book with your purchase though, you will receive most of the information on this site, plus some added bonus material only found in the Stasis Sleep™ Pillow Companion Guide© (while supplies last).

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