The Key to Getting a Good Night’s Sleep and Benefiting from It, 0117 COBJ, Vol. 46 No. 1 Pg. 63
| Author | Sandra Thébaud, J. |
Wellness: Your Job, Your Career, Your Life
Sandra Thébaud, J.
Sleep is so vial and insurmountable that even when our ancestors were living in caves and vulnerable to predators, we slept. We spend one-third of our lives asleep. Why?
The
field of biology is still unable to answer this question. We
believe that sleep is restorative. What, then, does sleep
restore? Some studies suggest that there is a depletion of
glycogen (one of the sources of fuel for your brain) that
gets replenished while sleeping
But sleep affects more than just your brain: It affects your entire physiology. Anyone who finds it difficult to get seven to eight hours of sleep on a regular basis, has trouble falling asleep, or consistently wakes up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep understands the critical role that sleep plays in keeping us mentally, physically, and emotionally sound. Lawyers, who are among the most sleep deprived of all professionals, certainly know this.2 Most attorneys start a pattern of sleep deprivation even before practicing law, pulling all-nighters in law school and stressing about the bar exam Once the practice of law begins, the stress continues as attorneys worry about cases, are pressured to meet deadlines, and stay up at night strategizing and planning The practice of law demands a high level of mental focus and emotional resiliency to stress, thus making sleep especially important for attorneys.
What Is Sleep Anyway?
Sleep is more complicated than a state that is the opposite of being awake. Sleep has a well-organized structure to it and occurs in a cyclical pattern Sleep is defined by electroencephalographic (EEG) measures and is divided into two types. The first type is called NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. It is a non-dreaming state. The second type is called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. It is characterized, as its name suggests, by rapid movements of the eyes under the eyelids and usually indicates that the sleeper is currently dreaming.
NREM contains four stages that can be characterized by specific changes in brain wave activity. Here’s how it w orks: After feeling sleepy and going to bed, you enter stage one (as defined by EEG brain wave activity). This is a very light sleep that lasts only a few minutes. Next is stage two, which most people would recognize as being “asleep.” After several minutes, you move into stages three and four. These stages are distinguished from stages one and two by specific EEG brainwaves. As far as you’re concerned, it’s still sleep.
By now, you’ve been asleep for approximately 90 minutes and are about to enter your first REM period. This will be the shortest REM period of the night, lasting approximately five to 15 minutes. REM periods get longer and longer after every 90-minute cycle. Unless someone wakes you right now, it’s unlikely you’ll remember this dream After this REM period, you’ll start the...
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