Do you feel there is a bit more magic to your life after a good night’s sleep? Intrinsically we know that both body and mind benefit greatly from a good rest. In our busy world, we hardly find enough time for sleeping! However, when you find out what extraordinary things happen while you slumber, you might want to reconsider…

Every life form gets it’s dose of sleep-magic. Did you know that every living organism, even single-celled plankton, rests sometime during a 24 hour cycle?

As for us humans, our circadian rhythms follow the natural patterns of light and dark in their unique manner. During the day our brains are naturally awake. At night, however, our brains undergo an incredible transformation.

It is a shift in consciousness that affects us mentally, physically and emotionally during sleep. It is this shift which allows the magic of sleep to reflect in our daily lives.

Ancient Curiosity on Sleep

For thousands of years, humanity took the transformative powers of their slumbers for granted. The first record of any curiosity on the role of shut eye was in 350 BC by Aristotle. He philosophised the reasons for our slumbers in his essay ‘On Sleep And Sleeplessness’.

Therefater, extensive philosophical theorisation continued until 1924. Eventually, sleep research became a science when a German psychiatrist did the impossible and invented the electroencephalograph.

This device records electrical impulses in the brain. Consequently, since the German invention, there have been major leaps and bounds in the field of sleep science.

Modern Science on the Magic of Sleep

Nowadays, scientists know far more about the role of sleep means in humans. For one, when people close their eyes at night, the pineal gland is already producing melatonin. Furthermore, current researchers are aware of the intricate details pertaining to the 5 sleep schedules.

There are 5 stages of sleep and each has a specific role. Every stage adds its unique touch of enchantment to your life as a whole. Firstly, your brain slows down while you slip into, and then through, Stage 1. Stage 2 invloves spindles, which are electrical brusts of energy, for consolidating memories. Next come Stages 3 and 4, which are similar to a coma. Here your body carries out its physiological repairs. Thereafter, follows REM sleep. Perhaps the most mystical of all the stages.

“The Egyptians believed their gods showed themselves in dreams…

REM Sleep is Pure Magic

The Rapid Eye Movement Stage is phenomenal in many ways. What is astounding, is that during REM there is much that occurs in your mind. However, internal temperature hovers at its lowest, blood pressure is not regulated and breathing is uneven. Furthermore, your muscles are incapable of movement. The magic of REM sleep happens because Serotonin and Nor-epinephrine stop flowing. These chemicals allow for logical thinking. In the REM stage of sleep, you find yourself in the hands of the unfettered creative mind.

Consequently, here you can do, be and experience anything. REM is the time for the biggest flights of fancy such as flying or fighting dragons. Additionally, there is a magical impact that extends beyond REM, into your life. During REM your mind sub-consciously resolves challenges in your life. Oftentimes, you miraculously wake up with a solution to a problem you’ve been struggling with. REM sleep inspires unorthodox thinking without any effort on your part. This, once again, demonstrates the remarkable benefits of getting sufficient rest every night.

If you’d like to read more on the different stages of sleep, feel free to click here.

Sleep Illuminates Your Mind

Many famous inventions came to their founders whilst sleeping:

Chemist Makes History Because of a Dream

The periodic table came to Dmitri Mendeleev in a dream. Mendeleev formulated the Periodic Law, correcting the properties of some elements, and correctly predicting elements not yet discovered. He felt his waking brain would not have been capable of formulating it.

Navigating Neuroscience While Asleep

Otto Loewi a neuroscientist, as a result of dreaming, revealed how nerve cells communicate. His reward for this discovery was the Nobel Prize.

Creating Music and Tall Tales

Paul McCartney admits that his creations ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Let it be’, were thanks to his dreams. Moreover, the writer Mary Shelley received the content for her famous novel, Frankenstein, in her dreams.

Sleep Improves Fitness and Stamina

Steve Smith, is the CEO of health wellness and performance for the professional basketball team in Washington. He has vast experience in sport management. Smith states that the quality of an athlete’s sleep, is 100 percent evident in their performance during games.

In addition, he goes on to say that both in the short and long term, the quality and quantity of an athlete’s sleep makes all the difference. Smith sees evidence of that in the response time of the team members. In addition their level of alertness and overall performance reveals how much sleep they are getting.“

The Washington Mystic team’s point guard, Natasha Cloud agrees. She states that the adjustments to her sleep schedule certainly show during matches.

“This has been my best year yet, …I’ve established an early bedtime…”

Natasha Cloud

Dr Winter, a leader in sleep science, does intensive studies on this subject. The results that he and his research team get, prove that injury and illness drop when athletes get sufficient shut eye.

Conclusion

Not only do your slumbers provide crucial time for your physical body to recover, they facilitate and accelerate learning. By ensuring your memories go into long term memory banks, they auto-save your days’ work. In addition, shut eye allows you to experience emotional reconciliation through the creativity of your mind.

Moreover, even your success may depend upon the magic that sleep weaves. While deep in its embrace you might also uncover out-of-the box resolutions for everyday challenges which extensively impact your life. Finally, in dreaming, you are perhaps more free than at any other moment. Certainly a powerful motivational point in favour of cuddling up on the perfect mattress, and getting a super night’s sleep.

Good Night and Enjoy!

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