How Sleep Works

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Sleep is a period of rest that alternates with wakefulness. You have internal body clocks that control when you are awake and when your body is ready for sleep. These clocks have cycles of approximately 24 hours. The clocks are regulated by multiple factors, including light, darkness, and sleep schedules. Once asleep, you cycle through the stages of sleep throughout the night in a predictable pattern.

Sleep is important because it affects many of your body’s systems. Not getting enough sleep or enough quality sleep raises your risk for heart and respiratory problems and affects your metabolism and ability to think clearly and focus on tasks.

Your Sleep/Wake Cycle - How Sleep Works

Many factors play a role in preparing your body to fall asleep and wake up. Your body has several internal clocks, called circadian clocks. These typically follow a 24-hour repeating rhythm, called the circadian rhythm. This rhythm affects every cell, tissue, and organ in your body and how they work. Learn more in our Circadian Rhythms Disorders Health Topic.

Your central circadian clock, located in your brain, tells you when it is time for sleep. Other circadian clocks are located in organs throughout your body. Your body’s internal clocks are in sync with certain cues in the environment. Light, darkness, and other cues help determine when you feel awake and when you feel drowsy. Artificial light and caffeine can disrupt this process by giving your body false wakefulness cues.

Sleep Phases and Stages - How Sleep Works

When you sleep, you cycle through two phases of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep. The cycle starts over every 80 to 100 minutes. Usually there are four to six cycles per night. You may wake up briefly between cycles. Sleep studies use sensors to record eye movements and brain activity, which are used to classify sleep phases and stages.

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World’s ‘best’ vaccines could soon come to poor countries

Health World’s ‘best’ vaccines could soon come to poor countries -By Vishnu /11/5/21 In the 6 months since Covid vaccines became available, those based on mRNA technology have scored top marks. So far, there are only two – made by Pfizer and Moderna – and both show 95% efficacy. Other types of vaccines are usually 80% or less efficacious. This difference affects not only the protection you get as an individual but also the protection available to the ‘herd’ or society. With a better vaccine a country can reach ‘herd immunity’ faster by vaccinating fewer people. But mRNA vaccines are still confined to the rich world. This is partly because supply is limited and those countries placed their orders first. Another reason is these vaccines get spoilt if they are not stored at extremely cold temperatures. The Pfizer shot initially required storage at -80°C. Poor countries couldn’t afford to buy specialised freezers for it in bulk. A fragile molecule Why do mRNA vaccines need ultra-cold stora

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Health info / news/

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How sleep works