Light sleep is usually the default stage, one that is nearly impossible to avoid if you are asleep at all. How much light sleep do you need?Īlthough sleep scientists believe that light sleep is good for you, there is no minimum to strive for. But don’t go making sudden changes in your sleep habits - it is not clear which is the cause and which is the effect. One recent study suggested that higher amounts of REM sleep may be associated with depression. However, sleep research is raising some interesting questions. Experts believe that dreaming helps you process emotions and solidify certain memories.įor most adults, REM takes up about 20 to 25 percent of sleep, and this seems to be healthy during average sleep cycles. How much REM sleep should you getĪlthough there’s no official consensus on how much REM sleep you should get, dreaming is most common during this stage. On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be any such thing as too much deep sleep. Without deep sleep, these functions cannot take place and the symptoms of sleep deprivation kick in. blood sugar levels and metabolism balance out.However, as you get older you require less deep sleep.ĭuring deep sleep, a variety of functions take place in the mind and body: So if you sleep for 8 hours a night, that’s roughly 62 to 110 minutes. In healthy adults, about 13 to 23 percent of your sleep is deep sleep. Your arms and legs become temporarily paralyzed during this stage to prevent you from physically acting out your dreams. REM sleep, often referred to as stage 5, is when you are most likely to dream. Your breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure rise to near-waking levels. Your eyes move around quickly behind your eyelids and your brainwaves look similar to those of someone who is awake. Your first REM cycle of the night begins about 90 minutes after you fall asleep and recurs every 90 minutes. Stage 4 is known as the healing stage, when tissue growth and repair take place, important hormones are released to do their jobs, and cellular energy is restored. ![]() Your muscles are extremely relaxed, and you are most difficult to rouse. During deep sleep, your breathing, heartbeat, body temperature, and brain waves reach their lowest levels. In stage 3, you enter deep sleep, and stage 4 is the deepest sleep stage. Your body temperature decreases, and your brain waves are less active. Your breathing and heartbeat slow down, and your muscles relax. Stage 2 of the sleep cycle is still a light sleep, but you are drifting into a steadier sleep. ![]() You may start to relax and dream, but may also twitch as you transition into stage 2. This is a light, NREM sleep that doesn’t last very long. Stage 1ĭuring stage 1, you drift from being awake to being asleep. Sleep stages 1, 2, and REM consist of light sleep, while 3 and 4 comprise deep sleep.
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