Staying up late

These days of staying up late at night, I find myself looking more closely at the mirror. There are a lot of people who have taken immaculate care of their skin all their lives, and others at the opposite end of the spectrum who have never bothered and never will. For me, I've always fell under the first category. My close friends would know, I go through tedious steps and procedures of applying different kind of creams before I turn in every night. Throughout the day, my skin is always protected by a layer of sunscreen, to prevent the harmful UV rays from the scorching sun. In my context, good skin is important. I counted, I've only an average of 6 hours of sleep per day? Awkwardly, my body is tuning to this kind of horrible sleeping habit. Nocturnal I would say, bad and unhealthy in addition.

From the internet:
Some believe that sleep gives the body a chance to recuperate from the day's activities but in reality, the amount of energy saved by sleeping for even eight hours is miniscule - about 50 kCal, the same amount of energy in a piece of toast. We have to sleep because it is essential to maintaining normal levels of cognitive skills such as speech, memory, innovative and flexible thinking. In other words, sleep plays a significant role in brain development.

Non-REM sleep

Stage one: Light Sleep

During the first stage of sleep, we're half awake and half asleep. Our muscle activity slows down and slight twitching may occur. This is a period of light sleep, meaning we can be awakened easily at this stage.

Stage two: True Sleep

Within ten minutes of light sleep, we enter stage two, which lasts around 20 minutes. The breathing pattern and heart rate start to slow down. This period accounts for the largest part of human sleep.

Stages three and four: Deep Sleep

During stage three, the brain begins to produce delta waves, a type of wave that is large (high amplitude) and slow (low frequency). Breathing and heart rate are at their lowest levels.

Stage four is characterised by rhythmic breathing and limited muscle activity. If we are awakened during deep sleep we do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes after waking up. Some children experience bed-wetting, night terrors, or sleepwalking during this stage.

REM sleep

The first rapid eye movement (REM) period usually begins about 70 to 90 minutes after we fall asleep. We have around three to five REM episodes a night.

Although we are not conscious, the brain is very active - often more so than when we are awake. This is the period when most dreams occur. Our eyes dart around (hence the name), our breathing rate and blood pressure rise. However, our bodies are effectively paralysed, said to be nature's way of preventing us from acting out our dreams.

After REM sleep, the whole cycle begins again.

Note to self: try to sleep early every day