Sleep Cycles: A healthy sleeper is an effective worker
Benjamin Franklin once said “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
That is only one of the quotes about sleep that stress its importance. We’ll come across many sleep quotes in our life to tell us that this process isn’t only a luxury but a necessity. While some quotes might be funny, they all tell us the same thing– a good night’s rest plays a part in good health and well-being.
Several things depend on sleep–your efficiency, mental sharpness, emotional balance, energy and also your weight. Understanding what happens when you sleep can help you avoid staying up late and being susceptible to a variety of illnesses brought on by sleep deprivation.
Learning the stages of Sleep Cycles
When you sleep, your brain doesn’t just turn off. It actually remains busy, undergoing a biological maintenance that will help you prepare for the coming day. While you sleep, your brain undergoes a sleep cycle involving a variety of stages.
Listed below are the phases of the sleep cycle:
-Stage 1- This stage is also called the ‘Dozing stage’. Here, you’re mainly asleep but nevertheless easily woken. You’re in this restful state and you feel all your senses slowing down. Your muscles, eye movement and breathing rate slow down. You ultimately go into a semiconscious state. As your sleep deepens, your brain waves slow down as well – even slower than while relaxing. This stage would not last very long, and it is where you experience the sensation of falling or jerking into wakefulness.
-Stage 2- This stage has deeper sleep compared to stage 1. It’s also at this stage where you are thought to be asleep and unconscious. Finally, your eyes stop moving. There’ll be occasional bursts of brain activity known as sleep spindles and instances where larger waves of amplitude called K complexes start activating. The dominating brain waves, called Theta waves, are found in the stage 2 sleep. Much like the first stage, this stage isn’t going to last very long.
-Stage 3- In this stage, your brain will settle into a slow pattern. High amplitude called Delta waves start activating. Your sleep starts to deepen. In stage 3, half of the brain waves are Delta waves. You will see spikes of high activity in between the calmer periods.
-Stage 4- this stage is usually called ‘very deep sleep stage’. Delta wave brain activity also dominates this stage. You’ll have occasional bursts of high activity. It is in the course of this stage that a lot of cases of sleepwalking, nightmares and bed-wetting occur. It will last until the early part of the night and slowly decreases as the night progresses.
-REM- The body will reverse the cycle and would return to the 1st stage sleep prior to entering the REM sleep. You will see many changes in the body during this stage. Your breathing quickens and gets irregular plus your eyes start to move with a jerky motion. Your heart rate becomes elevated too and your brain waves would be active, just like while you’re awake. Your body will produce a chemical which can paralyze your muscles while dreaming so that you won’t wind up injuring yourself. If you ever suddenly awaken during REM sleep, you’re probably going to recall your dream in detail. Infants spend 50% of their sleeping time in REM sleep whilst grownups spend 20% of theirs.
Although children and adults have the same sleep cycles, you must take note that kids require more sleep to be able to function and grow properly.
Tia Arnold is a doctor who likes quotes about sleep and understands how various stages in sleep cycles affects us.
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