Chapter 1 - Components of normal human sleep

Abstract

Sleep, a modifiable health behavior and an essential physiologic state, is a fundamental human need for overall health and survival. Sleep health has emerged as a broad concept to refer to healthy sleep. Sleep health involves several measurable dimensions including satisfaction, alertness, timing, efficiency, and duration. Sleep disorders and sleep deficiency (short sleep duration or poor sleep quality) are highly prevalent. Sleep disorders are often undiagnosed and untreated, which creates a public health burden. Epidemiologic research has shown that insufficient sleep and sleep disorders are associated with a host of adverse physical and mental health outcomes as well as mortality. Also, sleep deficiency can result in excessive daytime sleepiness, which can cause occupational as well as motor vehicle injuries. There are serious consequences of sleep deficiency; thus there is an immediate public health need to advance the field of sleep health and safety and train public health professionals in sleep health promotion. In this chapter we will discuss the components of normal human sleep. We begin the chapter with a brief discussion of the public health importance of sleep, followed by a description of sleep architecture and wake–sleep regulation.