Everyone experiences 5 stages of sleep during the night. When you understand these 5 stages of sleep, you may find it easier to fall asleep at night and wake up feeling refreshed each morning.
When you don’t get enough sleep at night, you don’t progress through these 5 stages of sleep, which will negatively affect sleep quality, duration, and onset. When this happens, many people develop difficulty sleeping. If these sleep challenges are not addressed, they can negatively affect personal health and relationships. It’s very difficult to find your way to optimal health when you’re not getting a good night’s sleep.
Human sleep consists of a succession of five recurring stages: four non-REM stages and the REM stage. (REM=Rapid Eye Movement) Many discussions of the stages of sleep include “waking” as a sixth stage.
The five stages of sleep, including its repetition, occur cyclically during the night. The first cycle lasts about 90-100 minutes and ends after the completion of the first REM stage and. Each REM stage usually lasts longer, so each cycle lasts longer. A person who has no trouble sleeping can complete up to five cycles in a normal night’s sleep.
The quality of sleep changes with each transition from one of the 5 stages of sleep to another. Each stage is part of a predictable cycle whose intervals are observable and independent of one another and marked by subtle changes in bodily function.
wake or relaxed wakefulness, is actually the phase in which a person falls asleep. This is the stage when the body prepares for sleep. When a person first lies in bed, he has tense muscles and his eyes move erratically. As a person becomes more relaxed and sleepy, the body begins to slow down, muscles relax, and eye movement slows.
–Tip to help you fall asleep: Using relaxation techniques to help you fall asleep can speed up this process and help a person fall asleep faster.
Level 1 sleep or drowsiness is considered first in the sequence when wakefulness is not included. There is a 50% reduction in activity between wakefulness and stage 1 sleep. The eyes are closed during Stage 1 sleep and it lasts five to 10 minutes.
Stage 2 it is a period of light sleep during which intermittent peaks and troughs, or positive and negative waves, are observed in the brain. The heart rate slows down and the body temperature drops. (Note: You will not fall asleep until there is a drop in body temperature.)
–Tip to help you fall asleep: Taking a warm bath or shower before bed makes it easier for your body to cool down and will help you fall asleep faster. When your temperature drops, the body is now ready to go into a deep sleep.
There are two stages of deep sleep. Stage 3 is less intense than Stage 4. These stages are known as slow wave or delta sleep. During slow-wave sleep, especially during Stage 4, the body exhibits high-amplitude slow waves, indicating a deep sleep pattern and rhythmic continuity.
Non-REM sleep (NREM) is made up of Stages 1-4. Each stage lasts from 5 to 15 minutes. REM sleep typically occurs 90 to 120 minutes after one enters Stage 1. Surprisingly, Stages 2 and 3 repeat in reverse before REM sleep is reached. So a normal sleep cycle has this pattern: wakefulness, stage 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM.
Stage 5 is known as rapid eye movement (RAPID EYE MOVEMENT) To sleep. Each recurrent REM stage lasts longer than the previous one. The first period of REM usually lasts 10 minutes and the last one usually lasts an hour. It is distinguished from NREM sleep by changes in physiological states, including characteristic rapid eye movements, rapid breathing, muscle relaxation, and increased brain activity. REM sleep is the time when people dream. Vivid dreams occur during REM sleep as a result of increased brain activity. Often when we experience dreams, our face, fingers, and legs may twitch. Think of watching a dog while he sleeps and seeing his body move as if he were chasing something.
The sleep cycle is varied and is influenced by many factors. Sleep cycles that follow the first of a night’s sleep typically feature less slow-wave sleep. Deep slow-wave sleep is longest at the beginning of nocturnal sleep.
Insomnia often inhibits REM sleep stages and decreases the ability to dream. Depression and other psychological conditions can shorten the duration of rapid eye movement.
Sleep deprivation, frequent change in sleep schedule, stress and environment all affect sleep cycle progression.
Treatment of many health problems can affect sleep, often leading to a change in sleep habits. Check with your doctor if you have trouble sleeping after adding a new treatment for any health issues you may be trying to resolve.
Using a sleep diary to track your nightly sleep patterns can help determine if you’re getting enough sleep at night or if you’re having trouble sleeping through the night. If you wake up frequently, chances are you’re not enjoying the full benefits of the 5 stages of sleep, and you’ll want to determine if there are natural ways to help you sleep soundly through the night.