Sleep Cycle

Ever wonder just what transpires on those nights when you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to conquer your day, as opposed to wanting to hit that snooze button indefinitely? Well, here are the phases of sleep that you cycle through! Delve into that interesting journey your brain embarks on every night:

NREM Stage 1 (Light Sleep): This is where you drift! It actually represents "going off" and lasts just a couple of minutes. At this point, your body begins to relax and it's easily awakened from this sleep phase.

NREM Stage 2 (Slightly Deeper Sleep): In this stage, your body begins gearing up to transit into the deep sleep mode. Your heartbeats come down, body temperature lowers, and your awareness to the surrounding environment goes down.

NREM Stage 3 (Deep Sleep): This stage is important for physical restoration, immune function, and release of growth hormone. It is more difficult to wake a person during this period.

REM Sleep (Dream Stage): About 90 minutes after falling asleep, you enter REM sleep, during which dreams occur. Your brain is active, helping with learning, memory, and emotional processing.

Your body cycles through each of these stages 4-6 times during an average night's sleep. Any disturbances in any one of the phases can affect your health, mood, and cognition. Good sleep hygiene, therefore, means a victorious journey through all the stages to the morning wake-up.

Know more about sleep, the sleep cycle, and sleep disorders.