Sleep session - part 3 -

Then it's gone for the third and last part of the workshop on sleep. Today, we will talk about the usefulness of sleep and how to lessen the frequency of nightmares.

Usefulness of sleep

The first function of sleep is to regain the energy needed for awakening activities. During the day, our organs do not work in the same way all the time. During sleep, the body disengages itself from the environment: it enters the diplometabolic mode. That is to say that it observes a decrease in its activities. The heart rate gets slower, the muscles relax and the activity of all systems decrease. This helps preserve our organs and allow them to not be saturated.

The second function is to allow long-term memorization. Certain memory traces (information retained) must remain in our memory, which consolidates some synapses, and others must disappear. What long-term memory retains is information considered relevant or having an affective value and learning done in full awareness. That explains why I have more ease to remember the details of Harry Potter without being able to memorize perfectly chemical equations ...

Nightmares

Nightmares are present during paradoxical sleep, so it is impossible to ensure that they do not appear. Nightmares appear to respond to a message from the subconscious. When they are recurrent, they can give anxiogenic value to sleeping : it is possible to develop a fear of sleep. There is a solution that reduces or eliminates a recurrent nightmare in the long term. You begin by writing the scenario of the nightmares as soon as you wake up, focusing on the emotions you felt. Then, you have to write an alternate scenario several times a day and tear the previous scenario. It takes time! About 1 month to 1 month and a half and works for recurring nightmares, not the nightmares that everyone else has (like losing your teeth or running without moving).

There you go! And to all those who are on break week, I wish you can catch up with your shows ;)

xoxo

Camille Élisabeth