Sleep, along with diet and exercise, is one of the three main pillars of health. For a long time, the scientific community has paid close attention to the deterioration of the quality of sleep in people living in developed countries, especially in large cities.
In European countries in 2002, chronic insomnia occurred in 6% of adults. However, recent data show an increase in cases of insomnia up to 10%. This means that one in ten people suffers from poor quality or insufficient sleep, which is necessary for normal functioning.
While insomnia and too few sleep hours are still the focus of attention, as research on the topic develops, circadian rhythms and their changes throughout life are becoming increasingly important for sleep quality. In the case of sleep disturbance, as with any other disturbance, it is important to make a correct diagnosis - to distinguish between insomnia and disturbances in the circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, which, unfortunately, are often difficult to separate and coexist with depressive disorders.
CIRCULAR RHYTHM
Simply put, circadian rhythms regulate most of the physiological processes in the human body and make it function effectively in general. Their importance for good health cannot be overemphasized. A strong circadian rhythm is a sleep-wake rhythm that indicates which time of day is the best time to sleep and which is the most active. In addition to sleep, circadian rhythms also determine physical performance, periods of best intellectual activity, and many other bodily functions.
The structure responsible for the regulation and synchronization of circadian rhythms, systems, organs, tissues and even individual cells of the body is the suprachiasmatic nuclei located in the hypothalamus, called the biological clock. Their functioning is closely related to external signals of light and darkness. For daytime organisms, the active phase should be during the day, when it is most light, and the sleep phase should be at night, when it is darkest.
Unfortunately, the complex genetic regulation of human circadian rhythm is subject to disruption. This can happen as a result of poor lifestyle choices that are incompatible with the principles of sleep hygiene, as well as as a result of medical disorders.
There are two main categories of disturbances in the primary circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness - endogenous and exogenous.
An endogenous disorder is that sleep sometimes corresponds to the internal, but disturbed rhythm of a person's biological clock. Then sleep occurs at unwanted or socially unacceptable times. In other words, a person who complains of insomnia at a time when sleep should occur, causing sleep and excessive sleepiness at a time when most people are actively active, is more likely to suffer from disturbances in the circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, rather than from insomnia or sleep disturbances from the hypersomnia group.
POSTPONED REME OF SLEEP AND HOURS
In this article, we will focus on advanced sleep-wake phase disorder (ASWPD), which is common in older adults and, unfortunately, is often misdiagnosed as insomnia with sleep maintenance disorders.
A person with ASWPD will feel sleepy in the early evening, causing them to go to bed too early. Traditionally, it is believed that going to bed is too early to begin a rest period more than two hours earlier than most people do. Morning awakening occurs while most people are still asleep.
Thus, the sleep rhythm of a person with ASWPD is inconsistent with the sleep rhythm of most society. We can say that this is an extreme type of "morning bird", that is, a person who prefers an active lifestyle in the morning. It is generally accepted that early birds are meticulous, hardworking and well-organized people, but getting up early is not always a sign of health and harmony in life.
THE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK
Light is the main factor that regulates the biological clock, which systematizes many functions of the body, including the endocrine system, the immune system, metabolism, body temperature and blood pressure, as well as other physiological parameters depending on the activity of the autonomic nervous system.
However, light is not the only time determinant for a person - factors such as social and mental activity (regulating brain function), physical effort (regulating muscle function) and food availability are also important to maintain the correct rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, adequate to environmental conditions. ... and the rhythm of food intake (regulating the functioning of the digestive system).
A very important tip is also the determinants of civilization time, such as clocks and alarms, which allow you to define fixed times for certain activities - they allow you to consolidate your work schedule and social activity.
Most people automatically try to change the lifestyle of their internal biological clock. For example, people who feel good in the morning might choose an activity that requires them to start working at dawn. Likewise, people who prefer evening hours can opt for events that require activity until late at night. Therefore, if a person can adapt his lifestyle to his own sleep rhythm, it is possible that the disturbance will not occur at all.
However, people with ASWPD who get up early may have difficulty when social functioning requires activity in the evening. These people may miss many of the social activities that usually take place during the day and evening.
For young people, the inability to participate in society can be enough motivation to try to make changes in their rhythm with other people's schedules. Unfortunately, older people pay less attention to the rhythm of activity, often paying attention only to the quality and duration of sleep.
Additional factors that are not conducive to maintaining good quality sleep are decreased physical activity, exercise avoidance, and limited social activity. There is also often disruption to the daily routine due to the decision to retire or receive a disability pension and thus abandon professional activities.
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