Cannot sleep? Is your sleep cycle messed up? What to do now?
You often hear that we cannot live without food and water, but did you know studies show that humans can go as long as 21 days without food, but only just over a week and a half without any sleep!
Sleep is a basic function that you need for rest, recuperation, recovery, and growth. Adequate and proper sleep also helps to keep the body and mind healthy. You spend around one-third of your lives in slumber, but have you wondered what exactly goes on behind-the-scenes?
In a night’s sleep, you go through an average of 4-6 sleep cycles, and each cycle consists of 4 different stages. Sleep cycles, however, differ in duration throughout the night. They can also vary depending on factors such as age, health conditions, or other environmental factors.
The sleep cycle can be broken down into 4 stages: N1, N2, N3/SWS, and REM. The first 3 stages are also known as NREM (non-rapid eye motion) stages, while the final stage is the REM (rapid-eye motion stage).
Stage 1 NREM (N1) is the shortest stage and lasts around 1-5 minutes in the initial phase of “dozing off”, where people shift from wakefulness to sleep. Sleep in this stage is light.
Stage 2 NREM (N2) is the longest stage on average. It lasts around 10-60 minutes, depending on which cycle of the night it is. The body and brain activities slow down to a rest, muscles relax even more, and eye movement eventually stops.
Stage 3 NREM/SWS (slow-wave sleep), also known as deep sleep, lasts 20-40 minutes. Your heartbeat, breathing and brain activity reach their lowest levels here, and your muscles are the most relaxed. Sleep in this stage is critical for recovery and growth of the body, as well as mental acuity in areas such as creativity and memory. It is hardest to wake you up in this stage.
Stage 4, also known as the REM stage, concludes the cycle. It lasts 10-60 minutes, and the duration of this stage in the cycle extends as the night progresses. Heart and breathing rates increase, and brain activity increases almost to the level when you are awake. Your body experiences atonia – temporary paralysis of most muscles except those that control the eyes and breathing. Hence, there is rapid eye motion during this stage despite being closed. Most memorable dreams occur in this stage. REM sleep is important as it stimulates the areas of the brain responsible for cognitive functions.
Quality sleep is important, and a disrupted sleep cycle will affect your body’s recovery and growth in the night. Here are some common factors that influence sleep quality:
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Alcohol consumption disrupts sleep as it reduces the duration spent in deep sleep and REM sleep, though often helping people fall into light sleep (N1 and N2) more easily.
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Consumption of caffeine affects sleep by stimulating the brain, making it harder for an individual to get quality sleep.
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Certain medications such as antidepressants can result in shorter REM sleep.
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Sleep disorders such as Sleep Apnea and Restless Leg Syndrome may cause individuals to wake up repeatedly and disrupt the regular sleep cycle.
You can consider these steps to improve your sleep cycle: practicing good sleeping hygiene by sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, and reducing exposure to blue light right before bed are some simple ways that could enhance your sleep quality. The blue light from computer and mobile screens suppresses the production of melatonin, which is a sleep-inducing hormone naturally produced by the body.
If your sleep cycle is disrupted, take melatonin supplements to regulate the release of melatonin in your body. This helps to promote a healthy sleep cycle without being overly invasive, unlike medical solutions like sleeping pills which often come with side effects.
You often hear that we cannot live without food and water, but did you know studies show that humans can go as long as 21 days without food, but only just over a week and a half without any sleep!
Sleep is a basic function that you need for rest, recuperation, recovery, and growth. Adequate and proper sleep also helps to keep the body and mind healthy. You spend around one-third of your lives in slumber, but have you wondered what exactly goes on behind-the-scenes?
In a night’s sleep, you go through an average of 4-6 sleep cycles, and each cycle consists of 4 different stages. Sleep cycles, however, differ in duration throughout the night. They can also vary depending on factors such as age, health conditions, or other environmental factors.
The sleep cycle can be broken down into 4 stages: N1, N2, N3/SWS, and REM. The first 3 stages are also known as NREM (non-rapid eye motion) stages, while the final stage is the REM (rapid-eye motion stage).
Stage 1 NREM (N1) is the shortest stage and lasts around 1-5 minutes in the initial phase of “dozing off”, where people shift from wakefulness to sleep. Sleep in this stage is light.
Stage 2 NREM (N2) is the longest stage on average. It lasts around 10-60 minutes, depending on which cycle of the night it is. The body and brain activities slow down to a rest, muscles relax even more, and eye movement eventually stops.
Stage 3 NREM/SWS (slow-wave sleep), also known as deep sleep, lasts 20-40 minutes. Your heartbeat, breathing and brain activity reach their lowest levels here, and your muscles are the most relaxed. Sleep in this stage is critical for recovery and growth of the body, as well as mental acuity in areas such as creativity and memory. It is hardest to wake you up in this stage.
Stage 4, also known as the REM stage, concludes the cycle. It lasts 10-60 minutes, and the duration of this stage in the cycle extends as the night progresses. Heart and breathing rates increase, and brain activity increases almost to the level when you are awake. Your body experiences atonia – temporary paralysis of most muscles except those that control the eyes and breathing. Hence, there is rapid eye motion during this stage despite being closed. Most memorable dreams occur in this stage. REM sleep is important as it stimulates the areas of the brain responsible for cognitive functions.
Quality sleep is important, and a disrupted sleep cycle will affect your body’s recovery and growth in the night. Here are some common factors that influence sleep quality:
- Alcohol consumption disrupts sleep as it reduces the duration spent in deep sleep and REM sleep, though often helping people fall into light sleep (N1 and N2) more easily.
- Consumption of caffeine affects sleep by stimulating the brain, making it harder for an individual to get quality sleep.
- Certain medications such as antidepressants can result in shorter REM sleep.
- Sleep disorders such as Sleep Apnea and Restless Leg Syndrome may cause individuals to wake up repeatedly and disrupt the regular sleep cycle.
You can consider these steps to improve your sleep cycle: practicing good sleeping hygiene by sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, and reducing exposure to blue light right before bed are some simple ways that could enhance your sleep quality. The blue light from computer and mobile screens suppresses the production of melatonin, which is a sleep-inducing hormone naturally produced by the body.
If your sleep cycle is disrupted, take melatonin supplements to regulate the release of melatonin in your body. This helps to promote a healthy sleep cycle without being overly invasive, unlike medical solutions like sleeping pills which often come with side effects.