Why Does Reading Make Us Sleepy
Have you ever thought that some people feel sleepy while reading? Do you know the reason? Let us think about it today.
- Reading helps us mentally slow down
- Relax physically, and put ourselves at ease.
If you concentrate intensely on reading, it will create corresponding images and intense thoughts in your brain. That is an exclusion of all other thinking and stimuli around you.
Is there any narrowing of attention when you read a book? If yes, then understand that reading has a hypnotic effect.
What happens when we sleep:
- Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity.
- It is a highly conserved behavior across animal evolution,[4] likely dating back hundreds of millions of years. [5]
- Alters consciousness.
- Sleep inhibits sensory activity to a certain extent.
- There is a decrease in muscle activity and interactions with the surrounding environment.
- Most of the body's systems are in an anabolic state.
- Helping to restore the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems[2].
- Maintain mood, memory, and cognitive function.
- Sleep plays a significant role in the function of the endocrine and immune systems. [3]
Sleep occurs in repeating periods, during which the body alternates between two distinct modes: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM sleep (NREM). Although REM stands for rapid eye movement. [1] Dreams are a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.
NREM sleep is characteristic of dreamer-initiated friendliness. REM sleep is more aggressive. NREM is in charge of simulating friendly interactions.[12-16] The mental activity in NREM and REM sleep is due to two different mind generators, which also explain the differences in mental activity. In addition, there is parasympathetic dominance during NREM. The reported differences between the REM and NREM activity arise from differences in the memory stages that occur during the two types of sleep. [17-18]
The internal circadian clock promotes sleep daily at night.
Do you know how this circadian clock works?
Circadian clock
Sleep timing depends greatly on hormonal signals from the circadian clock, or Process C, a complex neurochemical system- that uses signals from an organism's environment to recreate an internal day-night rhythm. Process C counteracts the homeostatic drive for sleep during the day (in diurnal animals) and augments it at night. [27][22] The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a brain area directly above the optic chiasm, is considered the most important nexus for this process.
A circadian clock exhibits a regular rhythm corresponding to outside signals. An entrained rhythm persists even if the outside signals suddenly disappear. Imagine an entrained human in isolation, in light or darkness. He will continue to experience rhythmic increases and decreases in body temperature and melatonin for a period slightly exceeding 24 hours. Scientists refer to such conditions as free-running of the circadian rhythm. Under natural conditions, light signals adjust this period downward to correspond better with the exact 24 hours of an Earth day. [21][28][29]
The circadian clock exerts an influence on the body, affecting the sinusoidal oscillation of body temperature between roughly 36.2 °C and 37.2 °C.[29][30] The suprachiasmatic nucleus shows conspicuous oscillation activity, which intensifies during subjective day (i.e., the part of the rhythm corresponding with daytime, whether accurately or not) and drops to almost nothing during subjective night. [31] The circadian pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus has a direct neural connection to the pineal gland, which releases the hormone melatonin at night. [32] Cortisol levels typically rise throughout the night, peak in the awakening hours, and diminish during the day. [11][33] Circadian prolactin secretion begins in the late afternoon, especially in women, and reaches the peak in the middle of the night. Circadian rhythm exerts some influence on the nighttime secretion of growth hormone. [11]
The circadian rhythm influences the ideal timing of a restorative sleep episode. [21][33] Sleepiness increases during the night. REM sleep occurs more during body temperature minimum within the circadian cycle, whereas slow-wave sleep can occur more independently of circadian time. [31][32]
Exposure to even small amounts of light during night hours can suppress melatonin secretion and increase body temperature and wakefulness. Short pulses of light at the right moment in the circadian cycle can significantly reset the internal clock. [32]
Modern humans often find themselves desynchronized from their internal circadian clock due to the work schedule (especially night shifts), long-distance travel, and the influence of universal indoor lighting. [31] Even if they have sleep debt or feel sleepy, people can have difficulty staying asleep at the peak of their circadian cycle. Conversely, they can have difficulty waking up in the trough cycle. [22] A healthy young adult entrained to the sun will (during most of the year) fall asleep a few hours after sunset, experience a body temperature minimum at 6 a.m., and wake up a few hours after sunrise.[31]
Reading causes drowsiness.
- When we read a book, it calms our mind. I think this is the number one reason we fall asleep.
- Your eyes follow the words across the page.
- It also requires brain power.
- You interpret the letters you see and form them into words, sentences, and paragraphs.
- As your brain works hard and your eye muscles tire.
- Your body becomes passive.
- You become less alert and start feeling sleepy.
- Naturally, they need rest, causing your eyes to close as sleep takes over.
Reading isn’t bad for your eyes. We can only keep our eyes open for so long each day before we need to let them rest.
You usually read by sitting in a cozy place, such as your bed or a favorite chair. When most of your body gets into a resting, and you’re in a comfortable position, the other muscles often follow, and a nap can happen.
Reading can reduce stress.
Did you know that reading just six pages of a book can reduce stress by up to 68 percent?
An older study suggested that reading has an impact on stress reduction.
Listening to music and drinking a hot cup of tea also influence stress reduction. Since the average reading speed is one page per minute, you don’t have to read for long to enjoy the stress-relief benefits. If you’ve ever had trouble sleeping due to anxious, racing thoughts, cracking open a book could be a game-changer.
When we engage in good reading, we have the following benefits.
- We can switch off our minds from daily stressors.
- Reduces cortisol, the stress hormone
- Increase dopamine and serotonin levels.
- Reading allows our brains to practice mindfulness and cultivate a greater sense of calm.
Dopamine and serotonin are two feel-good neurotransmitters involved in the sleep-wake cycle.
Physiology:
The most pronounced physiological changes during sleep occur in the brain.[6] The brain uses significantly less energy during sleep than when awake, especially during non-REM sleep. In areas with reduced activity, the brain restores the distribution of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). [7] When not sleeping, the brain is responsible for 20% of the body's energy use. This reduction has a noticeable effect on overall energy consumption. [8]
- Sleep increases the sensory threshold but can generally respond to loud noises and other salient sensory events. [8][6]
- During slow-wave sleep, humans secrete bursts of growth hormone.
Awakening means the end of sleep or simply a moment to survey the environment and readjust body position before falling back asleep. Sleepers typically awaken soon after the end of a REM phase or sometimes in the middle of REM. [12] Awakening involves heightened electrical activation in the brain, beginning with the thalamus and spreading throughout the cortex. [12]
Various sleep studies found that females are awake for 0-1% during their nightly sleep while males are awake for 0-2% during that time. In adults, wakefulness increases, especially in later cycles. One study found 3% awake time in the first ninety-minute sleep cycle, 8% in the second, 10% in the third, 12% in the fourth, and 13–14% in the fifth. Most of this awake time occurred shortly after REM sleep. [13]
Today, many humans wake up with an alarm clock;[13] however, people can also reliably wake themselves up at a specific time without an alarm. [13] Many sleep differently on workdays versus days off, a pattern that can lead to chronic circadian desynchronization. [14][13] Many people regularly look at television and other screens before going to bed, a factor that may exacerbate the disruption of the circadian cycle. [15][16] Scientific studies on sleep have shown that the sleep stage at awakening is an important factor in amplifying sleep inertia. [17]
Determinants of alertness after waking up include quantity/quality of sleep, physical activity the day prior, a carbohydrate-rich breakfast, and a low blood glucose response. [18-20]
Brainwaves in sleep.
The electrical activity seen on an EEG represents brain waves. The amplitude of EEG waves at a particular frequency corresponds to various points in the sleep-wake cycle, such as being asleep, awake, or falling asleep. [9]
Alpha, beta, theta, gamma, and delta waves are all seen in the different stages of sleep.
Each waveform maintains a different frequency and amplitude.
Alpha waves are observable when a person is at rest but is still fully conscious.
Their eyes may be closed.
Their body is at rest and relatively still, where the body is starting to slow down.
Beta waves take over alpha waves when a person is at attention, as they might be completing a task or concentrating on something.
Beta waves consist of high frequencies and low amplitudes and occur when a person is alert.
Gamma waves are observable when a person is highly focused on a task or using all their concentration.
Theta waves occur during a person's waking, and they continue to transition into Stage 1 of sleep and in Stage 2.
Delta waves are seen in stages 3 and 4 of sleep when a person is in their deepest sleep. [10]
References:
1. ^ Nelson, Ryan (20 June 2021). "The Dichotomy Of Sleep: REM And Non-REM Stages, And Their Impact On Human Health". Quantify Sleep. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
2. ^ Krueger JM, Frank MG, Wisor JP, Roy S (August 2016). "Sleep function: Toward elucidating an enigma". Sleep Medicine Reviews. 28: 46–54. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2015.08.005. PMC 4769986. PMID 26447948.
3. ^ "Sleep-wake cycle: its physiology and impact on health" (PDF). National Sleep Foundation. 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
4. ^ ^ Keene, Alex C & Duboue, Erik R. (12 June 2018). "The origins and evolution of sleep". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 221 (11). doi:10.1242/jeb.159533. PMC 6515771. PMID 29895581. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
5. ^ Randall DK (19 September 2012). "Book excerpt: How the lightbulb disrupted our sleeping patterns and Changed the world". National Post. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2016. "... the sudden introduction of bright nights during hours when it should be dark threw a wrench into a finely choreographed system of life.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c Van Cauter E, Spiegel K (1999). "Circadian and Sleep Control of Hormonal Secretions". In Zee PC, Turek FW (eds.). Regulation of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms. pp. 397–425.
7 ^ ^ Jump up to a b c d Peraita-Adrados R (2005). "Electroencephalography, Polysomnography, and Other Sleep Recording Systems". The Physiologic Nature of Sleep. pp. 103–122. doi:10.1142/9781860947186_0005. ISBN 978-1-86094-557-1.
8 ^ Borbély AA, Daan S, Wirz-Justice A, Deboer T (14 January 2016), "The two-process model of sleep regulation: a reappraisal" (PDF), J Sleep Res, 25 (2): 131–43, doi:10.1111/jsr.12371, PMID 26762182, S2CID 206156163
9 ^ Posada-Quintero HF, Reljin N, Bolkhovsky JB, Orjuela-Cañón AD, Chon KH (19 September 2019), "Brain Activity Correlates With Cognitive Performance Deterioration During Sleep Deprivation.", Front. Neurosci., 13: 1001, doi:10.3389/fnins.2019.01001, PMC 6761229, PMID 31607847
10 Wikipedia
11 Van Cauter E, Spiegel K (1999). "Circadian and Sleep Control of Hormonal Secretions". In Zee PC, Turek FW (eds.). Regulation of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms. pp. 397–425.\
... significant homeostatic and circadian modulation of sleep structure, with the highest sleep efficiency occurring in sleep episodes bracketing the melatonin maximum and core body temperature minimum
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