Contents
- 1 What does REM stand for when sleeping?
- 2 How much REM sleep is normal?
- 3 Is 3 hours of REM sleep good?
- 4 Is 51 minutes of deep sleep enough?
- 5 Is 1 hour deep sleep enough?
- 6 How much sleep do you need by age?
- 7 Are 6 hours of sleep enough?
- 8 Is dreaming in REM or deep sleep?
- 9 Is 7.5 hours of sleep good?
- 10 Which is better REM or light sleep?
- 11 What is REM sleep vs light sleep?
- 12 What is the 5 stages of sleep?
What does REM stand for when sleeping?
What is REM sleep? – Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is the stage of sleep where most dreams happen. Its name comes from how your eyes move behind your eyelids while you’re dreaming. During REM sleep, your brain activity looks very similar to brain activity while you’re awake.
Is REM good or bad sleep?
Summary –
REM sleep is thought to be important for mood, memories and learning. During REM, brain activity is similar to that seen when we’re awake. Not getting enough REM sleep can affect our mood, memory and ability to learn. If you’re experiencing a sleep problem, your REM sleep may be affected. To take care of your REM sleep, you need to take care of your sleep as a whole.
How much REM sleep is normal?
How Much REM Sleep Do You Need? – You first enter REM sleep each usually within 90 minutes of falling asleep, and this period of REM only lasts about 10 minutes. On average you’ll go through 3-5 REM cycles per night, with each episode getting longer as the night progresses.
- The final one may last roughly an hour.
- For healthy adults, spending 20-25% of your time asleep in the REM stage is a good goal.
- If you get 7-8 hours of sleep, around 90 minutes of that should be REM.
- The normal amount of REM sleep also declines with age, beginning with infancy (when it may be greater than 50% of total sleep time) and extending all the way through adulthood.
Learn More: How Much REM Sleep Should You Get a Night? How Much Time Should You Spend in Each Stage of Sleep?
How much is too much REM sleep?
The takeaway. – Spending around 90 minutes in REM sleep each night is considered healthy for most adults, though it depends on the person. If you fear you’re spending too little or too much time asleep, it’s time to get your sleep hygiene in check,
Is REM the deepest sleep?
Your Sleep Cycle: About REM and The Stages of Sleep But to get to that point, we need to go through each of the sleep phases. We can break down the stages of sleep into two main categories: REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM sleep (non-rapid eye movement). This article explains the different sleep cycle stages, how they work, and why they matter.
NREM sleep, meanwhile, makes up about 75% of your total sleep time – and consists of progressively deeper stages of sleep. Once you’ve completed an entire sleep cycle, you’ll start again at stage one and repeat until you wake up 1, Here are the stages of sleep in a typical, full cycle:
The first stage of a natural sleep cycle lasts for five to 10 minutes. During this 1 :
Your body starts to slow down ready for sleep, decreasing your eye movement and muscle activity Your eyes stay closed You are easy to wake, but may feel as if you haven’t slept at all if you do wake up You may feel like you’re starting to fall – and then experience a sudden muscle contraction. Healthcare providers call this ‘hypnic myoclonic’ or ‘hypnic jerk’. It’s completely normal and not anything to be concerned about, as this occurrence is unlikely to cause any complications or side effects
The first two sleep phases are typically considered light sleep. You’ll spend around half the night in stage two. This acts as an extension of the first stage of your natural sleep cycle, and your breathing, eye movement, heartbeat and muscle activity will continue to slow down 3,
- Your body temperature will also start to fall during stage two sleep 3,
- During stage two, you may experience what’s known as ‘sleep spindles’.
- These are short bursts of brain activity that occur every three to six seconds and last just 0.5 seconds each time.
- They are thought to block out external stimuli which might otherwise cause you to wake up.
Like sleep spindles, K-Complexes are short, sudden peaks of brain activity that help block out triggers which would otherwise cause us to wake. By stage three, you’re starting to enter deeper sleep. This is where our brain activity slows down, and we become difficult to wake up.
Releasing growth hormones Tissue, muscle and bone repair Glucose regulation Immune system support Memory processing
REM is the fourth and final stage of the sleep cycle. You’ll typically enter REM sleep about an hour and a half after hitting your bed. The first round of REM in a night lasts about 10 minutes, with the stage getting longer and longer each time you enter REM in one night 1, It’s also the deepest stage of sleep, where you’ll experience 1 :
Quickened breathing Faster heart rate and blood pressure Rapid eye movement – hence the name!
Interestingly, we actually need different amounts of REM sleep at different stages in our lives. For example, people typically need 1 :
More REM sleep during infancy, and early childhood Less during adolescence, and young adulthood Even less as we reach retirement age
It was traditionally thought that REM was the only stage of sleep where we were able to dream 3, However, research has shown that we can dream at every stage 4, While the first two stages of the sleep-wake cycle are classed as light sleep, the third stage is much deeper 1,
Deep sleep is sometimes known as ‘slow-wave sleep’ because of the long, slow delta waves produced by our brains during these final two sleep stages 5, You’ll usually enter the third stage within an hour of falling asleep. If you wake up at this point, you’re more likely to feel groggy for around an hour afterwards 5,
By contrast, during light sleep stages we are much easier to wake up. Sleep cycles are an essential part of a healthy sleep pattern, and have many benefits. Some of these include:
Better mood – a lack of REM sleep can potentially lead to reduced concentration and excessive sleeplessness during the day, while getting the right amount can leave us feeling more well-adjusted 4 Regulate hormones – sleep plays a huge part in balancing the levels of melatonin, cortisol and essential growth hormones that keep our body functioning 6 Protects against illness – non-REM sleep helps boost and regulate our immune system, giving our bodies the strength to fight against infection and other illnesses 1 Memory consolidation – during REM, your brain can process new information and motor skills you’ve picked up during the day. It will then commit some of this to memory, work to maintain others, and decide which ones you no longer need 4
If you’re struggling to get the sleep you need, there are multiple, small changes you can make to your lifestyle that might help improve your resting hours. You should also talk to your doctor if you have any questions about your sleep. Make sure you go to sleep and get up around the same time every day – even on weekends and vacations.
- Try to clear your head of excessive thoughts before going to bed.
- You could try meditating, or simply make a to-do list for the following day, so you have everything noted down and don’t have to worry about remembering everything.
- Aches and pains, especially in our or, can often stop us from getting a restful night’s sleep.
Over-the-counter medication like can help relieve minor aches and pains to help you get a better night’s sleep. If pain isn’t what’s keeping you awake at night, you can try, a non-habit forming medication that helps you rest easy. Are your pillows and mattress suitable for you? Making sure your bed is comfortable can be vital in helping you get a good night’s sleep.
You can also create a better sleep environment by getting the lighting and temperature right for you, and taking steps to keep out loud noises. Keeping active is a great way to bring on a good night’s sleep. Just avoid doing it too close to bedtime! Many of us turn to caffeine to help us get through a long day, but it’s not a good idea to drink caffeine close to bedtime – as it can keep us awake.
: Your Sleep Cycle: About REM and The Stages of Sleep
Should you wake up in REM sleep?
If you’ve reached the point where you hit snooze five times before begrudgingly falling out of bed, you’re not alone. Lots of us don’t get adequate sleep at night, despite an overload of information about its benefits. Sometimes, we hit the hay with the best intentions, but somehow still wake up hazy after what we thought was an early night.
What’s going on here? The problem is we’ve moved away from natural sleep cycles and into structured, scheduled lifestyles. Everything controls our time – from smartphones to our screaming children and bosses. While you can’t control a tantrum, you can schedule your sleep and wake times to align with your cycles.
Use your sleep cycles to wake up with more energy rather than swimming upstream. Sleep Cycles While sleep might pass in the blink of an eye, your body is quite active during the long night. Sleepers will experience four distinct cycles, including REM sleep, during which activity shifts in the brain.
Stage One : This is the stage where you’re just falling asleep. Sometimes you can still hear what’s going on in the room, but you’re also too groggy to interact. Your brain produces alpha and theta waves here for a brief 5-7 minute period. It’s light sleep, as an introduction to what’s coming for the rest of the night.
Stage Two : Similar to the first stage, you’re still sleeping lightly. The main difference is that sleep spindles start to appear in stage two. These are characterized by sharp, increased brain wave frequencies followed by a decline. Most 20-30 minute naps only reach stage two of sleep.
You’ll feel refreshed, but you won’t be knocked out. Stages Three/Four : Slow delta waves and an almost paralyzing muscle state greet you at these stages. Your body barely responds to any external stimuli, and the brain starts to dole out delta waves. Stage Four isn’t much different, so the differences between these two are hard to see.
However, there’s a gradual movement between the two into a more restorative state. It’s here where your body does most muscle repair, energy conservation, immune function, and growth and development. You need slow wave sleep to feel truly energized. REM Sleep : About 70-90 minutes into sleep, we reach the stage where dreaming occurs.
Your brain lights up with activity, eyes begin jerking around, and your heart and breath rate increase. Why does this all happen while we’re asleep? REM sleep function to codify memory and learning in order to process the information you obtained the previous day. It’s incredibly important to storing information and long-term memory, which is why your dreams can be so weird.
It’s just your brain trying to organize everything. The Trick to Sleeping Better – Multiples of 90 min Multiple studies have shown that lack of slow wave sleep contributes to daytime grogginess and poor mood. Additionally, waking up during REM cycles interrupts our flow of aggregating memory.
In order to make sure you wake up during light sleep, try and schedule your sleep in 90-minute multiples. For example, if you know you need to wake up at 6 AM to get to work on time, you’ll need to be asleep by midnight or 10:30 (or 9 PM, if you have that luxury). Note: that means be sleeping by that time, not in bed.
How long does it normally take you to fall asleep? 10 minutes? 30 minutes? An hour of scrolling through your phone? Make sure you take that into account as well. Tricks to Falling Asleep Make your sleep environment conducive to sleep! Turn off phones, computers, TV’s and such at least an hour before bed.
- Sleep in a cool, dark room in comfortable clothes, nice sheets, and a good mattress.
- If you’ve got all of these covered (get it?), then try some of these tricks as well.
- Melatonin Your body naturally produces melatonin when triggered by changes in light and temperature to produce sleep onset.
- If you’re struggling with falling asleep, taking extra melatonin can help kickstart things.
Start with around 3 mg a night, which is a normal pill from the pharmacy. Too much melatonin can make you wake up tired, however, so experiment with the right amount for your body. Carbs before bed Does your diet make you cut out carbs? That might be why you’re having a hard time sleeping.
Excess carbs, during the day, can make our energy levels drop. However, this is great for sleeping, As noted above, muscle repair also occurs during sleep, so the perfect time to feed those hungry muscles is before bed. Side note: you actually have to use these muscles in order for them to need a re-feed.
So make sure you’re staying active during the day. Ear Plugs, White Noise, Music, or a Sleep Podcast Maybe you just live in a noisy neighborhood. Or maybe your mind is racing and you can’t stop thinking. Try putting in earplugs or putting on some relaxing music to soothe you to sleep.
- They even make podcasts now specifically to bore you to fall asleep, much like the bedtime stories of your childhood.
- Take some deep breaths, take your mind off the day, and zone out.
- You spend a third of your life asleep, so make sure those hours actually promote a productive day.
- Schedule your sleep with your cycles and sleep on the right mattress to help yourself feel more energized.
Kimber Rozier, CSCS
Is 3 hours of REM sleep good?
How Much REM Sleep Do You Need? Rapid eye movement sleep, more commonly referred to as REM sleep, is one of 4 stages of sleep (also light, slow wave /deep, and wake) that your body spends time in each night. REM is the “mentally restorative” sleep stage during which your brain converts short-term memories made during the day into long-term ones.
Is 51 minutes of deep sleep enough?
Depending on their age, a person needs 7–17 hours sleep in every 24 hours. But, just sleeping is not enough. Deep sleep is essential for health and wellbeing. Most adults need around 1.5–2 hours of deep sleep per night. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise adults aged 18–60 years to aim for at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
People go through two types of sleep in each cycle:
one stage of rapid eye movement (REM) and three stages of non-rapid eye movement (NREM)
NREM is divided into three stages:
light (N1)deep (N2)deeper sleep (N3)
A person cycles through these stages 4–5 times every night.The stages cycle in this order: N1, N2, N3, N2, REM.Each cycle lasts around 90–110 minutes.The first REM stage is short, but as sleep progresses it gets longer compared with NREM.
The table below gives some details about the stages of sleep, In healthy adults, about 70% of sleep is deep sleep and around 25% of your sleeping time is your deepest sleep. So, if you sleep for 7–8 hours, the time spent in your deepest sleep should be around 105–120 minutes or one and three quarters to 2 hours.
relaxation of musclesincrease in blood supply to the musclesslowing of heart rate and breathingtissue growth and repair release of essential hormones
Without deep sleep, these functions cannot take place and you may start to experience the symptoms of sleep deprivation,
Does dreaming mean deep sleep?
Dreaming Sleep – Dreaming sleep is a deep stage of sleep with intense brain activity in the forebrain and midbrain. It is characterized by the ability of dreams to occur, along with the absence of motor function with the exception of the eye muscles and the diaphragm.
Is 2 hours of REM sleep a lot?
REM Sleep Revealed: Enhance Your Sleep Quality Key Takeaways
- Rapid eye movement or REM sleep is the fourth out of four total stages of sleep.
- REM sleep is characterized by relaxed muscles, quick eye movement, irregular breathing, elevated heart rate, and increased brain activity.
- Most adults need about two hours of REM sleep each night.
- REM sleep plays a role in memory consolidation, emotional processing, brain development, and dreaming.
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep goes by many names National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information., including active sleep, desynchronized sleep, paradoxical sleep, rhombencephalic sleep, and dream sleep.
Many people have been told REM sleep is the stage of sleep in which you dream, but REM is involved in a host of important functions, from brain development National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
to emotional processing. We explore the mysteries of REM sleep, why we need REM sleep, what happens when we don’t get enough REM sleep, and the sleep disorders associated with this stage of sleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a stage of sleep associated with dreaming and memory consolidation National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) NINDS aims to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.
- REM sleep was first discovered in the 1950s, when scientists studying sleeping infants noticed that there were distinct periods when their eyes moved rapidly from side to side.
- These rapid eye movements, or REMs, earned REM sleep its name.
- During REM sleep, your eyes move rapidly behind your closed eyes, your heart rate speeds up, and your breathing becomes irregular.
In contrast to other, in which your brain waves slow down, your brain is highly active during REM sleep, and your brain waves become more variable. During REM sleep, much of your body operates similarly to how it does when you’re awake, except your eyes are closed and you experience a temporary loss of muscle tone.
Researchers have hypothesized that this is a protective measure, meant to stop you from acting out your dreams and injuring yourself. However, now that scientists know we can experience dreams during non-REM sleep stages when our bodies are not paralyzed, this hypothesis is losing steam. Various land-based species National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
experience REM sleep, including humans and other mammals, reptiles like the Australian bearded dragon, and most birds. Although, REM sleep can look different depending on the species. For example, owls don’t experience actual rapid eye movements during REM sleep since they can’t move their eyes in their skulls.
- And, some birds only lose muscle tone in certain areas, like the neck, during REM sleep, so their head can rest while they keep standing on one foot.
- REM sleep is one of the most fascinating stages of sleep, in part because it’s so different from other stages of sleep.
- In non-REM sleep, your eyes don’t move, your brain waves are much slower, and you maintain some muscle tone.
Traits unique to REM sleep that differentiate it from non-REM sleep include:
- Brain wave activity that’s more similar to wakefulness than any other stage of sleep
- Complete loss of muscle tone vs. the partial muscle tone of non-REM sleep
- Irregular breathing vs. the steady, slower breathing of non-REM sleep
- A rise in heart rate vs. the slowdown experienced in non-REM sleep
- The ability to be awoken more easily than during non-REM sleep
You experience your first cycle of REM sleep about 60 to 90 minutes National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
After falling asleep. As part of a full night’s sleep, you cycle through four multiple times: three stages of non-REM sleep, followed by one stage of REM sleep National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
Each cycle through all the sleep stages takes 90 to 120 minutes to complete. With each new cycle, you spend increasing amounts of time in REM sleep, with most of your REM sleep taking place in the second half of the night.
Each stage of sleep is distinct:
- Stage 1 (Light Sleep): As your brain slows down, low-amplitude mixed-frequency (LAMF) activity replaces the alpha brain waves that took over as you became drowsy. Your body has some muscle tone, and your breathing is regular.
- Stage 2 (Light Sleep): Your heart rate and body temperature both decrease. and K-complexes, specific brain wave patterns, begin occurring as you continue transitioning toward deep sleep.
- Stage 3 (Deep Sleep): Your brain waves at this stage, called delta waves, are at their slowest of the night. Waking you is difficult, and those who are roused from this stage experience, a short period of fogginess and impaired cognitive performance. In deep sleep, your body physically repairs itself, boosting your immune system and restoring your bones, muscles, and tissue.
- Stage 4 (REM sleep): Your brain activity in this stage looks similar to how it looks when you are awake. You experience a loss of muscle tone, except for your eyes, which move rapidly. Your breathing becomes irregular and your heart rate rises.
All, but REM sleep in particular plays an important role in dreaming, memory, emotional processing, and healthy brain development.
- Dreaming: A majority of your dreams take place during REM sleep. However, REM is not the only stage in which dreams occur — that’s actually a, That said, the dreams you experience in REM sleep are usually more vivid than non-REM sleep dreams.
- Emotional Processing: Your brain processes emotions during REM sleep. Dreams, which are more vivid in REM sleep, may be involved in emotional processing. Also, your amygdala, the part of your brain that processes emotions, activates during REM sleep.
- Memory Consolidation: During REM sleep, your brain processes new learnings and motor skills from the day, committing some to memory, maintaining others, and deciding which ones to delete. Some memory consolidation also takes place in deep sleep National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information., a non-REM stage.
- Brain Development: Researchers hypothesize REM sleep promotes brain development, since newborns spend most of their sleep time in REM. Adding to the evidence is that animals born with less developed brains, such as humans and puppies, spend even more time in REM sleep during infancy than those that are born with more developed brains, like horses and birds.
- Wakefulness Preparation: REM sleep, through its activation of our central nervous system, might help us get ready to wake back up. This may explain why we spend increasing amounts of time in REM sleep as the night progresses and why we are easier to wake up during this stage.
We need the most REM sleep as infants and children, when our brains are still developing. Newborn babies spend eight hours in REM sleep each day. By adulthood, we only need an average of two hours of REM sleep each night. Different species require different amounts of REM sleep.
- Some mammals, like horses and elephants, can get by with little to no REM sleep, while cats, platypuses, and ferrets may spend up to eight hours each day in REM sleep.
- Like humans, most mammals also spend a greater proportion of their sleep time in REM sleep when they are infants than they do as adults.
Your body alters your sleep duration both over the course of your life and from day-to-day according to your biological and energetic needs. Similarly, how much time you spend in the specific stages of sleep, including REM, can vary from night to night based on what your body needs.
For example, both animal and human studies have documented increased REM sleep National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. after learning. In a study of rats, those who learned a new maze spent more time in REM sleep for nearly a week afterward.
Another study monitored the impacts of sleep on the working memory National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
of healthy college students. Each day, the students were given two tests, with one group taking a nap between the tests and the other group staying awake. The group that napped had higher accuracy, and, the more time they spent in REM sleep during their nap, the higher their accuracy. Multiple studies of both humans and animals suggest that being deprived of REM sleep interferes with memory formation.
However, memory problems associated with a loss of REM sleep could be due to overall sleep disruption, since those often occur together. Also, studies of the few rare individuals who do not experience REM sleep show that they do not experience problems with memory or learning.
That said, REM sleep deprivation disrupts the brain’s ability to generate new cells. More research is needed to better understand the effects of REM sleep deprivation. In general, missing out on sleep isn’t recommended. Sleep affects various aspects of your overall health, from your mood to your immune system.
When you don’t get enough sleep, you experience sleep deprivation. Signs of sleep deprivation can include:
- Difficulty concentrating during the day
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Forgetfulness or poor memory
Over time, chronic sleep deprivation is linked to health conditions like diabetes, depression, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Without adequate sleep, your cognitive performance will decline. You may find yourself forgetting things more often, as working memory is highly affected by sleep deprivation.
- In fact, short sleepers, who regularly sleep fewer than six hours per night, can experience the same impairments to their working memory as people who haven’t slept for two nights in a row.
- Since you get most of your REM sleep in the second half of the night, short sleepers spend less time in REM National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
Certain medications, such as those commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, may also suppress REM sleep. Certain sleep disorders are associated with abnormal REM sleep. These include REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), narcolepsy, and nightmare disorder National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
- REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD): People with RBD don’t always experience muscle paralysis during REM sleep, so sometimes they act out their dreams. They may shout, punch, kick, or jerk in their sleep, which can lead to them injuring themselves or their sleep partner. RBD may be caused by a breakdown in the area of the brainstem responsible for regulating REM sleep. RBD often precedes the development of a neurodegenerative disease.
- Narcolepsy: When they’re awake, people with narcolepsy can experience episodes of cataplexy. Cataplexy involves a sudden loss of muscle tone and is thought to occur because a person falls into REM sleep instantly, from wakefulness. Other symptoms of narcolepsy include excessive daytime sleepiness, disrupted REM sleep, and hypnagogia, or dream-like hallucinations that occur right before falling asleep. Narcolepsy appears to be caused by a loss of orexin neurons in the hypothalamus.
- Nightmare Disorder: Nightmares usually occur during REM sleep. A person with nightmare disorder regularly experiences intense and distressing nightmares. Nightmare disorder can be brought on by stress, childhood trauma, and other frightening experiences.
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Central Sleep Apnea (CSA): Although do not only occur during the REM sleep stages, they do affect the amount of REM sleep a person obtains. In sleep apnea, a person experiences lapses in breathing as they sleep. When these lapses occur during REM, they often move to a lighter sleep cycle in order to continue breathing. As a result, people with sleep apnea tend to spend less time in REM sleep than others and experience excessive daytime sleepiness.
If you notice symptoms of sleep deprivation, or believe you might have a sleep disorder like REM sleep behavior disorder or nightmare disorder, talk to your doctor. They can help you determine the cause of your sleep issues and develop a treatment strategy to improve your sleep.
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: REM Sleep Revealed: Enhance Your Sleep Quality
What is the ideal sleep cycle?
Stages of sleep – An average sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes. Ideally, you need four to six cycles of sleep every 24 hours to feel fresh and rested. Each cycle contains four individual stages: three that form non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and one rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
Is 12 REM sleep enough?
REM sleep – REM sleep is the last sleep stage before the cycle starts over. Your first REM cycle of the night begins about 90 minutes after you fall asleep and recurs every 90 minutes. Dissimilar to stages 3 and 4, your breathing, heart rate and blood pressure resemble the same levels you typically experience while awake.
- This stage is when you are most likely to dream.
- Your arms and legs become temporarily paralyzed during this stage to prevent you from physically acting out your dreams.
- REM sleep is believed to be essential to cognitive functions such as memory, learning, and creativity.
- While deep sleep tends to dominate the first half of your sleep, REM sleep tends to take over the latter half, getting longer as you sleep.
While the first REM stage may last only a few minutes, later stages can last for around an hour. In total, you should spend about 20-25% of your sleep in REM.
Is 1 hour deep sleep enough?
How Many Hours Of Deep Sleep Do You Need? – In adults, 20% of total sleep time is spent in deep sleep (stage 3). Going with the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep each night, that means the average adult needs 84-108 minutes or 1.4-1.8 hours of deep sleep each night.
How much sleep do you need by age?
How Much Sleep Do I Need? How much sleep you need changes as you age.
Age Group | Recommended Hours of Sleep Per Day | |
---|---|---|
Newborn | 0–3 months | 14–17 hours (National Sleep Foundation) 1 No recommendation (American Academy of Sleep Medicine) 2 |
Infant | 4–12 months | 12–16 hours per 24 hours (including naps) 2 |
Toddler | 1–2 years | 11–14 hours per 24 hours (including naps) 2 |
Preschool | 3–5 years | 10–13 hours per 24 hours (including naps) 2 |
School Age | 6–12 years | 9–12 hours per 24 hours 2 |
Teen | 13–18 years | 8–10 hours per 24 hours 2 |
Adult | 18–60 years | 7 or more hours per night 3 |
61–64 years | 7–9 hours 1 | |
65 years and older | 7–8 hours 1 |
Although the amount of sleep you get each day is important, other aspects of your sleep also contribute to your health and well-being. Good sleep quality is also essential. Signs of poor sleep quality include not feeling rested even after getting enough sleep, repeatedly waking up during the night, and experiencing symptoms of (such as snoring or gasping for air).
Are 6 hours of sleep enough?
Getting six hours of sleep a night and feeling great the next day may sound like the dream. Think of all the extra time you’d have for work, for hobbies, or just for Netflix in the evening. But, unfortunately, six hours simply isn’t enough sleep for most people.
It might not feel too far off the often recommended seven to nine hours of sleep, but even a small amount of sleep deprivation can have huge impacts on your energy, productivity, and health. Below, we’ll dive into whether six hours of sleep is enough, the impacts of only getting six hours of sleep, and how you can use the RISE app to find out how much sleep you need.
What are the 5 stages of sleep?
Mechanism – Sleep occurs in five stages: wake, N1, N2, N3, and REM. Stages N1 to N3 are considered non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, with each stage a progressively deeper sleep. Approximately 75% of sleep is spent in the NREM stages, with the majority spent in the N2 stage. A typical night’s sleep consists of 4 to 5 sleep cycles, with the progression of sleep stages in the following order: N1, N2, N3, N2, REM. A complete sleep cycle takes roughly 90 to 110 minutes. The first REM period is short, and, as the night progresses, longer periods of REM and decreased time in deep sleep (NREM) occur. Wake/Alert EEG recording: beta waves – highest frequency, lowest amplitude (alpha waves are seen during quiet/relaxed wakefulness) The first stage is the wake stage or stage W, which further depends on whether the eyes are open or closed. During eye-open wakefulness, beta waves predominate. As individuals become drowsy and close their eyes, alpha waves become the predominant pattern. N1 (Stage 1) – Light Sleep (5%) EEG recording: theta waves – low voltage This is the lightest stage of sleep and begins when more than 50% of the alpha waves are replaced with low-amplitude mixed-frequency (LAMF) activity. Muscle tone is present in the skeletal muscle, and breathing tends to occur at a regular rate. This stage lasts around 1 to 5 minutes, consisting of 5% of total sleep time. N2 (Stage 2) – Deeper Sleep (45%) EEG recording: sleep spindles and K complexes This stage represents deeper sleep as your heart rate and body temperate drop. It is characterized by the presence of sleep spindles, K-complexes, or both. Sleep spindles are brief, powerful bursts of neuronal firing in the superior temporal gyri, anterior cingulate, insular cortices, and thalamus, inducing calcium influx into cortical pyramidal cells. This mechanism is believed to be integral to synaptic plasticity. Numerous studies suggest that sleep spindles play an important role in memory consolidation, specifically procedural and declarative memory. K-complexes are long delta waves that last for approximately one second and are known to be the longest and most distinct of all brain waves. K-complexes have been shown to function in maintaining sleep and memory consolidation. Stage 2 sleep lasts around 25 minutes in the first cycle and lengthens with each successive cycle, eventually consisting of about 45% of total sleep. This stage of sleep is when bruxism (teeth grinding) occurs. N3 (Stage 3) – Deepest Non-REM Sleep (25%) EEG recording: delta waves – lowest frequency, highest amplitude N3 is also known as slow-wave sleep (SWS). This is considered the deepest stage of sleep and is characterized by signals with much lower frequencies and higher amplitudes, known as delta waves. This stage is the most difficult to awaken from, and, for some people, even loud noises (> 100 decibels) will not awaken them. As people age, they tend to spend less time in this slow, delta wave sleep and more time in stage N2 sleep. Although this stage has the greatest arousal threshold, if someone is awoken during this stage, they will have a transient phase of mental fogginess, known as sleep inertia. Cognitive testing shows that individuals awakened during this stage tend to have moderately impaired mental performance for 30 minutes to an hour. This is the stage when the body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle and strengthens the immune system. This is also the stage when sleepwalking, night terrors, and bedwetting occurs. REM (25%) EEG recording: beta waves – similar to brain waves during wakefulness REM is associated with dreaming and is not considered a restful sleep stage. While the EEG is similar to an awake individual, the skeletal muscles are atonic and without movement, except for the eyes and diaphragmatic breathing muscles, which remain active. However, the breathing rate becomes more erratic and irregular. This stage usually starts 90 minutes after you fall asleep, with each of your REM cycles getting longer throughout the night. The first period typically lasts 10 minutes, with the final one lasting up to an hour. REM is when dreaming, nightmares, and penile/clitoral tumescence occur. Important characteristics of REM:
Associated with dreaming and irregular muscle movements as well as rapid movements of the eyes A person is more difficult to arouse by sensory stimuli than during SWS People tend to awaken spontaneously in the morning during an episode of REM sleep Loss of motor tone, increased brain O2 use, increased and variable pulse and blood pressure Increased levels of ACh The brain is highly active throughout REM sleep, increasing brain metabolism by up to 20%
Is dreaming in REM or deep sleep?
Medically Reviewed by Jennifer Robinson, MD on November 16, 2022 2 min read A lot happens in your body while you sleep. When you get your ZZZs, you cycle between REM and non-REM sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement, During REM sleep, your eyes move around rapidly in a range of directions, but don’t send any visual information to your brain.That doesn’t happen during non-REM sleep.
- First comes non-REM sleep, followed by a shorter period of REM sleep, and then the cycle starts over again.
- Dreams typically happen during REM sleep.
- There are three phases of non-REM sleep.
- Each stage can last from 5 to 15 minutes.
- You go through all three phases before reaching REM sleep.
- Stage 1: Your eyes are closed, but it’s easy to wake you up.
This phase may last for 5 to 10 minutes. Stage 2: You are in light sleep. Your heart rate slows and your body temperature drops. Your body is getting ready for deep sleep. This can last for 10-25 minutes. Stages 3: This is the deep sleep stage. It’s harder to rouse you during this stage, and if someone woke you up, you would feel disoriented for a few minutes.
- During the deep stages of NREM sleep, the body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle, and strengthens the immune system.
- As you get older, you sleep more lightly and get less deep sleep.
- Aging is also linked to shorter time spans of sleep, although studies show you still need as much sleep as when you were younger.
Usually, REM sleep happens 90 minutes after you fall asleep. The first period of REM typically lasts 10 minutes. Each of your later REM stages gets longer, and the final one may last up to an hour. Your heart rate and breathing quickens. You can have intense dreams during REM sleep, since your brain is more active.
What happens if you don’t get REM sleep?
Introduction – REM sleep is an integral part of sleep-wakefulness physiology, though its precise mechanism of generation, function and mechanism of action are unknown. Evidence suggests that it is an essential physiological phenomenon to the extent that prolonged REM sleep deprivation may be fatal.
- REM deprivation increases basal arousal and enhances drive-related behaviors like hyperphagia.1 – 3 It also affects physiological, psychological process as well as neurotransmitter levels.4 The mechanisms behind these changes are not fully understood.
- Reimund 5 hypothesized that free radicals or reactive oxygen species produced during wakefulness are removed during sleep, i.e., sleep has an antioxidative function.
Maintenance of steady state concentration of free radicals is essential for adequate functioning of aerobic organism.6 REM sleep deprivation alters membrane bound ATPases, membrane fluidity, calcium ion concentration and gene expression.7 Alterations in these are potentially capable of inducing changes in cellular physiology including generation of free radicals.
Is 7.5 hours of sleep good?
Skip to content Having trouble getting that ideal 8 hours of sleep? So is everyone else. But there’s some good news — you may only need 7 hours of it. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRS) have issued a new recommendation, saying seven is the magic sleep number for most healthy adults.
In an article with the Seattle Times, incoming AASM president Dr. Nathaniel F. Watson says 7 hours is the lower limit for how much sleep a healthy adult should get per night. A 15-member panel spent a year reviewing research materials that led the AASM and SRS to this conclusion. “More than a third of the population is not getting enough sleep, so the focus needs to be on achieving the recommended minimum hours of nightly sleep,” Watson said in a press release from the AASM,
The study didn’t place a limit on the amount of sleep you should get. People who are recovering from sleep debt or battling sleep illnesses and younger adults probably need closer to 9 hours a night. Part of the problem with how we approach sleep, according to Watson, is our busy lifestyles.
The cycle never ends. Work gets us up early in the morning, and on occasion, keeps us up late at night. When it’s not work, it’s family or projects or children. The regular stressors of life are always going to be there. But allotting time in your schedule for at least 7 hours of sleep can keep you more alert during the day.
That way you will have the energy to enjoy all the things that are keeping you busy. Quit fighting your snooze button. Make time for at least 7 hours.
Why do I wake up every 90 minutes at night?
As a psychologist specializing in sleep disorders, I hear this complaint the most from new patients: “I fall asleep okay, but I wake up during the night.” Everyone wakes up a few times per night. Cycling out of sleep roughly every 90 minutes to two hours is normal.
- But frequent wakings can affect physical, emotional and mental functioning.
- We fail to get adequate quantities of the deepest stages of sleep, and react to disruptions with metabolic, inflammatory and stress responses.
- Obstructive sleep apnea, periodic limb movements (leg jerks), iron deficiency, hyperthyroidism, gastroesophageal reflux, pain, allergies, asthma, hormonal changes, anxiety, depression and certain medications are some of the main contributors to fragmented sleep.
A related problem for many of my patients is that once their sleep is disrupted — especially if they are startled awake or have a lot on their minds or have already had most of their night’s sleep — they lie awake for long stretches. While I teach methods for returning to sleep, it is always better to prevent unnecessary wakings and full wakefulness.
- One of my patients complained of frequent wakings to use the bathroom.
- After awakening for the last time, she would use the bathroom, and then toss and turn,
- She would read on her phone for a couple of hours until she had to get up to start her day.
- She had been diagnosed with apnea, and had a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine, but found the mask uncomfortable and would remove it early in the night.
Consequently, she was tired during the day and struggled to stay awake in the evenings. My patient did not appear to be a candidate for simple behavioral interventions such as compressing her sleep hours, limiting late-day alcohol (whose wearing off precipitates light sleep and wakings), minimizing environmental disturbances (such as snoring spouses and clamorous pets ), avoiding lengthy or late naps, facing problems long before bedtime, not eating or exercising late at night, winding down in the pre-bed hours until peaceful, and getting morning sunshine.
Other interventions such as these three less well-known solutions for light sleep and wakings seemed more likely to help. My patient benefited significantly from the first two approaches. There are many reasons for excessive nighttime urination, such as diabetes, apnea, an enlarged prostate, caffeine and Pavlovian conditioning.
But there is another potential culprit: circadian rhythm, We secrete antidiuretic hormone (vasopressin) throughout the 24-hour cycle, but especially at night, and even more so toward the end of our sleep. This keeps the body hydrated and reduces the need to urinate at night.
- If your biological clock is misaligned with your intended sleep schedule — for example, if you are an early bird or night owl trying to sleep on a normal schedule — you may not be secreting enough of the hormone at the appropriate times, causing the need to go to the bathroom.
- And ironically, turning on the light each time you have to go may reinforce the circadian issue that is causing the need to go in the first place.
Light exposure in the middle of the night sends a “sunlight” signal to the biological clock, which is highly sensitive at that time. And light has an especially potent effect if your eyes are dark-adapted, as they are if you have been asleep. Strive for darkness at night, or if you need a light for safety, use a dim and reddish (long-wavelength) light in the bathroom.
This preserves production of melatonin, a hormone that helps with the timing of sleep. The short-wavelength component of many lights — even when they don’t look blue — suppresses the synthesis and secretion of melatonin. To help my patient not fall asleep and wake too early, I suggested exposure to abundant environmental light during the 7 p.m.
hour. This would suppress premature secretion of melatonin, which tends to begin two to three hours before natural sleep onset, and would provide a “sunlight” signal. I also asked her to avoid the light from her phone if she woke up early because it was sending that signal prematurely.
How long should a nap be?
How Long Should a Nap Be? – In general, the best nap length for adults is about 20 minutes and no longer than 30 minutes. Sleeping for 20 minutes allows the napper to get a bit of light sleep to boost alertness without entering into deep sleep. Waking up from deep sleep can cause grogginess and actually worsen sleepiness.
In some cases, a longer nap of around an hour and a half may also be beneficial. This length of time allows the body to cycle through the stages of sleep and avoids interrupting deep sleep. This type of longer nap may be especially helpful for emergency workers and shift workers who are trying to avoid fatigue.
Napping may be too much if it interferes with sleep at night, Sometimes a nap of 90 minutes or so can be refreshing, but it may be problematic if it happens too late in the day. Dependency on naps, rather than consistent nighttime sleep, can contribute to fragmented sleep or sleep disorders such as insomnia,
Which is better REM or light sleep?
Deep vs. Light Sleep – What Amount is Really Needed? Deep vs. Light Sleep: What Amount is Really Needed? The coffee business in America is booming, with sales topping over $46 billion last year alone. Many sleepy Americans are fueled by this jolt of caffeine to start their day and to keep them going throughout—often because of a poor night’s sleep.
- So, grab a cup of coffee, and let’s discuss sleep quality.
- Most experts advise a daily sleep recommendation of seven to nine hours for optimal health.
- But aims to identify not only the total number of hours of sleep that one needs but also the amount of each stage of sleep throughout the night that is needed.
To get a quality and restorative rest, smoothly progressing through the sleep stages multiple times throughout the night is critical. Four different stages make up a single sleep cycle: three stages are non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) and one stage of rapid eye movement (REM).
During the REM stage, our eyes dart and move rapidly in different directions. Many people associate dreams with REM sleep because this is the stage where most dreams occur. Over the course of the night, we cycle through the four stages of sleep multiple times—the first three non-REM stages, followed by short REM sleep.
Then the cycle begins over. Each stage lasts around 10-15 minutes, and a complete cycle takes about 90 to 110 minutes. Light sleep happens in the first two stages, and deep sleep occurs in the latter. Most adults complete 4 to 5 sleep cycles during an entire night of rest.
Each stage plays a critical role in health and recovery to meet one’s overall sleep needs. Is Light Sleep Healthy? For optimal physical and mental health, every stage of sleep is vital. While much emphasis is placed on deep sleep, we should not overlook the importance of light sleep. Because we cycle through our stages of sleep each night, light sleep makes up about half of a full night of sleep.
Light sleep is the default stage because it is impossible to avoid if one is asleep at all. It is the stage of the sleep cycle where the body prepares for deep sleep. During light sleep, heart and breathing rates are lower, but the body is still sensitive to noise, touch, temperature, and movement.
During this shallow sleep, one is aware of their surroundings and can be woken easily. If a person wakes up in this stage, they may feel like they were not even asleep. But after a whole night of sleep, waking during light sleep is ideal because a person will feel refreshed, rested, and ready to start the day.
Over the course of a person’s life, sleep patterns will evolve. As we get older, we spend more time in the light sleep stages. As we age restlessness and changes in sleep patterns may contribute to finding it harder to fall asleep, waking up more often during the night, and waking up earlier in the morning.
Older adults often complain that the transition between sleep and wakefulness is abrupt, and they feel deprived of sleep even if the total number of sleep hours has not changed. For healthy aging, it is important to get a good night’s sleep and to reach stages of deep sleep throughout the night. Small steps can help, like avoiding caffeine, exercising regularly, keeping the bedroom temperature cool, creating a nightly bedtime routine, and finding a,
How Much Deep Sleep Should You Get? For an average adult, experts recommend that a restful night’s sleep include 50% light non-REM sleep, approximately 20-25% deep non-REM sleep, and the remaining 20-25% full REM sleep. Also referred to as slow wave sleep, deep sleep is vital to perform essential functions like organ detoxification, wound healing, tissue repair, cell regeneration, boosting the immune system, and building energy for the next day.
Slower heart rate Slower breathing rate Muscles relax Brain waves slow down Brain activity reduces Less response to outside stimuli Body temperature falls Active dreaming occurs
Deep sleep is the hardest sleep to wake up from and when our bodies are most relaxed, which is why we can sleep through a thunderstorm or fireworks. If one’s sleep is disrupted during deep sleep, many of us wake up disoriented, groggy, or grumpy, and it will take a few minutes to shake that tired feeling.
- Many people toss and turn all night and may suffer from chronic sleep deprivation.
- According to the, chronic sleep deprivation, also known as insufficient sleep syndrome, is curtailed sleep that persists for three months or longer.
- It is associated with some of the most serious potential health problems, from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure, to depression, obesity, weight gain, and weakened immunity.
Without adequate sleep, some find it difficult to process new information, suffer from poor judgment, trouble concentrating, and are prone to accidents. Some of the reasons for sleep deprivation include:
Sleep Disorders: insomnia, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea Mental or Physical Health Problems: depression, schizophrenia, chronic pain, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease Change in Schedule or Lifestyle: A new baby, stress, work schedule Aging: Seniors commonly experience disruptive sleep
One of the telling signs of sleep deprivation is feeling drowsy during waking hours. Even if a task might be tedious, one should be able to stay alert if they are not sleep-deprived. Another sign that a person is getting little to no sleep is falling asleep minutes after hitting the pillow.
Also, people with sleep deprivation may take “microsleeps” where they briefly nap during the day, which they may not even be aware that they are doing. Don’t let sleep issues linger. If you are waking up tired on a regular basis, it’s a good idea to speak with your healthcare provider. Any effort to ensure you get a good night’s sleep is a valuable investment in your overall wellbeing.
At Dawn House, our gives older adults, and people with changing needs, a great night’s sleep in a luxury-level bed with health monitoring sensors and innovative safety features for restful and restorative sleep. : Deep vs. Light Sleep – What Amount is Really Needed?
What is REM sleep vs light sleep?
Rapid Eye Movement REM Sleep – In REM, like in Light sleep, our brainwaves are similar to when we are awake. Our dreams in REM often form stories that we remember in the morning, as opposed to the fleeting images or memories that characterize Light sleep dreams.
During REM our bodies are actually paralyzed, meaning that we are completely motionless except for our eyes. If you see a sleeping person staying very still while their eyes move underneath their eyelids, they’re probably in REM. When we are in REM, our bodies lose thermoregulation, which means that our bodies cannot regulate our temperatures.
In effect, our bodies behave like cold-blooded animals, since our bodies change temperature based on how hot or cold our sleep environment is. Below is a graph of changes in sleep stages throughout the human life-cycle from age 5-85.
How long is a REM cycle?
Medically Reviewed by Jennifer Robinson, MD on November 16, 2022 2 min read A lot happens in your body while you sleep. When you get your ZZZs, you cycle between REM and non-REM sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement, During REM sleep, your eyes move around rapidly in a range of directions, but don’t send any visual information to your brain.That doesn’t happen during non-REM sleep.
- First comes non-REM sleep, followed by a shorter period of REM sleep, and then the cycle starts over again.
- Dreams typically happen during REM sleep.
- There are three phases of non-REM sleep.
- Each stage can last from 5 to 15 minutes.
- You go through all three phases before reaching REM sleep.
- Stage 1: Your eyes are closed, but it’s easy to wake you up.
This phase may last for 5 to 10 minutes. Stage 2: You are in light sleep. Your heart rate slows and your body temperature drops. Your body is getting ready for deep sleep. This can last for 10-25 minutes. Stages 3: This is the deep sleep stage. It’s harder to rouse you during this stage, and if someone woke you up, you would feel disoriented for a few minutes.
During the deep stages of NREM sleep, the body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle, and strengthens the immune system. As you get older, you sleep more lightly and get less deep sleep. Aging is also linked to shorter time spans of sleep, although studies show you still need as much sleep as when you were younger.
Usually, REM sleep happens 90 minutes after you fall asleep. The first period of REM typically lasts 10 minutes. Each of your later REM stages gets longer, and the final one may last up to an hour. Your heart rate and breathing quickens. You can have intense dreams during REM sleep, since your brain is more active.
What is the 5 stages of sleep?
Mechanism – Sleep occurs in five stages: wake, N1, N2, N3, and REM. Stages N1 to N3 are considered non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, with each stage a progressively deeper sleep. Approximately 75% of sleep is spent in the NREM stages, with the majority spent in the N2 stage. A typical night’s sleep consists of 4 to 5 sleep cycles, with the progression of sleep stages in the following order: N1, N2, N3, N2, REM. A complete sleep cycle takes roughly 90 to 110 minutes. The first REM period is short, and, as the night progresses, longer periods of REM and decreased time in deep sleep (NREM) occur. Wake/Alert EEG recording: beta waves – highest frequency, lowest amplitude (alpha waves are seen during quiet/relaxed wakefulness) The first stage is the wake stage or stage W, which further depends on whether the eyes are open or closed. During eye-open wakefulness, beta waves predominate. As individuals become drowsy and close their eyes, alpha waves become the predominant pattern. N1 (Stage 1) – Light Sleep (5%) EEG recording: theta waves – low voltage This is the lightest stage of sleep and begins when more than 50% of the alpha waves are replaced with low-amplitude mixed-frequency (LAMF) activity. Muscle tone is present in the skeletal muscle, and breathing tends to occur at a regular rate. This stage lasts around 1 to 5 minutes, consisting of 5% of total sleep time. N2 (Stage 2) – Deeper Sleep (45%) EEG recording: sleep spindles and K complexes This stage represents deeper sleep as your heart rate and body temperate drop. It is characterized by the presence of sleep spindles, K-complexes, or both. Sleep spindles are brief, powerful bursts of neuronal firing in the superior temporal gyri, anterior cingulate, insular cortices, and thalamus, inducing calcium influx into cortical pyramidal cells. This mechanism is believed to be integral to synaptic plasticity. Numerous studies suggest that sleep spindles play an important role in memory consolidation, specifically procedural and declarative memory. K-complexes are long delta waves that last for approximately one second and are known to be the longest and most distinct of all brain waves. K-complexes have been shown to function in maintaining sleep and memory consolidation. Stage 2 sleep lasts around 25 minutes in the first cycle and lengthens with each successive cycle, eventually consisting of about 45% of total sleep. This stage of sleep is when bruxism (teeth grinding) occurs. N3 (Stage 3) – Deepest Non-REM Sleep (25%) EEG recording: delta waves – lowest frequency, highest amplitude N3 is also known as slow-wave sleep (SWS). This is considered the deepest stage of sleep and is characterized by signals with much lower frequencies and higher amplitudes, known as delta waves. This stage is the most difficult to awaken from, and, for some people, even loud noises (> 100 decibels) will not awaken them. As people age, they tend to spend less time in this slow, delta wave sleep and more time in stage N2 sleep. Although this stage has the greatest arousal threshold, if someone is awoken during this stage, they will have a transient phase of mental fogginess, known as sleep inertia. Cognitive testing shows that individuals awakened during this stage tend to have moderately impaired mental performance for 30 minutes to an hour. This is the stage when the body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle and strengthens the immune system. This is also the stage when sleepwalking, night terrors, and bedwetting occurs. REM (25%) EEG recording: beta waves – similar to brain waves during wakefulness REM is associated with dreaming and is not considered a restful sleep stage. While the EEG is similar to an awake individual, the skeletal muscles are atonic and without movement, except for the eyes and diaphragmatic breathing muscles, which remain active. However, the breathing rate becomes more erratic and irregular. This stage usually starts 90 minutes after you fall asleep, with each of your REM cycles getting longer throughout the night. The first period typically lasts 10 minutes, with the final one lasting up to an hour. REM is when dreaming, nightmares, and penile/clitoral tumescence occur. Important characteristics of REM:
Associated with dreaming and irregular muscle movements as well as rapid movements of the eyes A person is more difficult to arouse by sensory stimuli than during SWS People tend to awaken spontaneously in the morning during an episode of REM sleep Loss of motor tone, increased brain O2 use, increased and variable pulse and blood pressure Increased levels of ACh The brain is highly active throughout REM sleep, increasing brain metabolism by up to 20%