Sleep disorders are probably among the most common affections we suffer from in our modern world, and the causes and medical explanations for the matter are manifold. However, little do we understand from the mechanism that lie behind the health-sleep cycle: why do we need quality sleep? We actually spend almost half of our lives sleeping; at first glance this may look like a great waste of time, as we could work or do something useful with that much time.

Well, without sleep, life is not possible: our body is a complex mechanism that periodically needs “repairs“, “reconditioning” or “recharging“.

A correct health sleep relationship means that the body gets to recover all the energetic imbalances created during the day through physical and intellectual activities and under the impact of external factors, aggressive or not. All the physical functions are slowed down: heart beat, breathing rate, body temperature and so on, the only one that stays permanently “on” is the brain, which is actually in charge of the health-sleep pattern. It is during sleep that all of the health problems should be solved: to give you just a very simple example, think how sleepy one feels when he or she gets a cold. This is the body’s natural reaction to an infection: sleep is the best state to heal or recover.

People who don’t respect such a health sleep routine are more exposed to infections, since their immune system is a lot weaker due to the inefficient night’s rest. In order to induce sleep, the brain triggers the secretion of some chemicals that allow the body to slowly pass into a trance; this is the actually explanation of the way sleeping pills act at the level of the central nervous system. Therefore, if you want to develop a good health-sleep pattern, it is advisable that you create some routine: going to bed and getting up at approximately the same hours should ensure the programming of both body and mind.

Other useful tips for the development of a good health sleep pattern include an active life. You should by no means ignore the importance of outdoor activities or sport in general for the way you spend your nights; a healthy body eliminates lots of tension, stress and negative energy during intense physical activity.

This allows you to go to bed relieved from all the anxiety and the burden accumulated during the day from various sources. Nevertheless, we have to mention the fact that exercising before going to bed is detrimental to your health and actually triggers insomnia. The explanation is very simple: during physical activity certain hormones are released in the body and all the system is in a “hyper-state“, which means that only after complete relaxation is sleep possible.