Suppose you are sitting with your legs crossed. After a while, you realize that you can’t feel your leg. Because the blood flow in your immobile leg is not progressing in its normal course. However, why doesn’t the same feeling of drowsiness occur during an uninterrupted sleep of 7-8 hours?
The drowsiness felt during sleep is mostly the feeling that occurs when we lie on our arm. Let alone lethargy, we wake up as relaxed as a baby. So, does our body know that we are asleep and how does it not react like this?
The fact that the blood clotting mechanism is activated makes us feel this way.
The heart is the most important part of the circulatory system. From the heart, blood enters the arterial system. The veins of this system, which is related to the arteries, are thicker than normal veins because they consist of thick muscles and flexible fibrous layers.
The thickness of the vessels of the arterial system ensures that they are resistant to the pressure of the blood flowing in them, while their flexibility serves to push the blood. Thus, the blood flows in a fluent way in our body.
From the arterial system, the blood reaches the capillaries and the venous system, from there to the lungs and finally back to the heart.
There are loose structures between the veins of the venous system, but because there are valves inside, the blood cannot flow backwards. There is a thin tourniquet inside these veins, and with the help of our skeletal muscles, blood can move against gravity to reach the heart again.
While we are sitting, the blood in our veins slows down under the influence of gravity as it moves towards the lungs and heart. This can trigger the coagulation mechanisms in our body and coagulation occurs.
How does blood flow when we sleep?
When we go to sleep, the blood in our veins flows more comfortably than when we are sitting, without having to struggle with gravity. But of course, this does not mean that blood circulation will flow easily if we lie down all the time.
While sleeping between 8-15 hours is considered normal, when this period exceeds 20 hours, some problems begin to arise. This is why the coagulation effects of hospitalization are considered in the treatment of bedridden patients.
So how do the dynamics change when we sit down?
Being exposed to sitting for long hours while sitting at home or during a trip reduces our muscle activity a lot. As we do not move while sitting, our knees are also in a bent position.
Sitting for a long time in this way also reduces the upward flow of blood. This can lead to the coagulation problem we mentioned. If a clot travels through the veins and reaches the lungs, it can even cause a dangerous type of atherosclerosis called pulmonary embolism.
This is exactly why it is recommended to get up frequently on long journeys, and to move as much as possible for those who work at desk jobs.
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