Sleep is very important for your overall wellbeing because it gives your body time to repair muscles, balance the hormones, grow bones and sort memories. Every night, when you sleep, your brain displays a variety of patterns that marks these different sleep stages. There for stages of sleep in which different brain wave patterns are displayed. These consist in both rapid eye movement (REM) sleep or paradoxical sleep and non-rapid eye movement (NREM).
In this article, we will explore these stages, discuss all the common sleep disorders from snoring to insomnia and narcolepsy and give you tips for improving your sleep patterns.
Stages of sleep
In the beginnings of sleep when your brain produces small and fast beta waves you are relatively awake. When the brain begins to relax, slower alpha waves are being produced. Now you are quite asleep and you can even experience vivid sensations like hearing someone calling your name. They are called hypnagogic hallucinations.
NON-REM SLEEP
Stage 1
The lightest stage of sleep or the transition period from being awake to sleep is the first stage. This stage of non-REM sleep happens when you begin to fall asleep and generally lasts only a few minutes. During this stage your muscles begin to relax, your breathing and heartbeat are slowing down and your brain begins to produce theta and alpha brain waves.
Stage 2
Just before you enter deep sleep, the second stage of non-REM occurs and it lasts for about 25 minutes. Now you are less aware of your surroundings, no eye movements recorded, your body’s temperature begins to drop as your heart rate and breathing begin to slow and become more regular. Your brain will produce some rhythmic waves that spike up and down, activity known as sleep spindles. Most people spend half of their entire sleep in this stage.
Stages 3 & 4
In the deepest sleep stages, 3 and 4, people become less responsive to the environment noise and usually they don’t generate a response. In this stage, your brain produces slow, delta waves that help your body perform various health-promoting tasks. In the delta sleep your breathing rate drops together with your blood pressure and your body is fully relaxed. Arousal from sleep is quite difficult during this stage and now is the perfect time for cell regeneration and tissue repair and growth. Your immune system will become stronger and you might even experience sleep walk during this stage.
REM sleep
During REM sleep your brain and other body systems become more active and dreams may occur. Now, your eyes are moving fast, your brain activity increases and your respiration rate as well. Although your brain activity is increased, your voluntary muscles are immobilized. This stage occurs about 90 minutes after you fall asleep and it usually lasts for about an hour. People spend 20% of their total sleep in this stage.
Your sleep will not progress through these stages by following these exact sequence. Sleep beings in stage 1 and after it reaches stage 3, stage 2 is repeated before entering REM sleep. When REM is over, the body returns to stage 2 and the whole cycle repeats 4-5 times a night.
Facts about sleep
Although it is very important for our overall well-being there are a lot of things we don’t know about sleep.
- People spend 1/3 of their lives sleeping while cats can sleep 2/3 of their lives and bats up to 22 hours a day
- Newborn babies need 14 to 17 sleep hours a day, while teenagers don’t require more than 8 hours each night.
- Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep.
- Sleep deprivation can lead to all sorts of health problems from mood swings to altered perception.
- Our energy levels usually dip around 2:00 and 2:00 pm, reason why we experience that post-lunch fatigue.
- Some people dream in colors while others in greyscale and it seems that television has an impact on the color of our dreams.
- Your sleep patterns can worsen on a higher altitude, because your brain will produce less slow waves.
- Sleep is crucial as important for your health as nutrition and sport is.
Sleep disturbances
According to the American Sleep Association, there are about 50 to 70 million adults that have a sleep disorder in the United States. As we were mentioning before, left untreated, they can lead to all sorts of chronic diseases. But let’s see the most common sleep problems.
Insomnia
One of the most well-known sleep conditions, insomnia is characterized by having trouble falling asleep or not being able to stay asleep. It usually leads to daytime sleepiness and fatigue. You can treat insomnia with sleep medications and cognitive behavioral therapy. Improving your sleep hygiene might help as well.
Sleep apnea
Sometimes your body will stop breathing while you sleep. This is caused by obstructive sleep apnea that occurs when your airways become too narrow for the air to flow. Just like insomnia, this disorder can affect your sleep quality thus your health. To treat this condition, you can use a CPAP- continuous positive airway pressure machine that creates enough airflow in your throat for you to breath properly while sleeping. If this doesn’t help there is also the bilevel positive airway pressure machine or surgery for the more severe cases.
Restless leg syndrome
This neurological disorder can affect your sleep as well but if you take some anticonvulsants you might be able to aid those uncomfortable feelings in the leg and make it easier to fall asleep.
Shift work disorder
People who work in different shifts can suffer from an imbalance in their natural circadian rhythm and have an increased risk of developing daytime fatigue and sleepiness and other associated health issues. To treat this disorder, you must reduce the number of hours worked, avoid taking stimulants and add more naps to your routine. If you can’t fall asleep during the day, use light-blocking curtains or glasses.
Narcolepsy
Characterized by sleep attacks and daytime drowsiness, this nervous system disorder that can lead to cataplexy or make your body collapse. Basically, you are losing your muscles control and end up in a sudden bout of sleep. This disorder can produce extreme disruptions to your life but with stimulants and SSRIs medication these symptoms are treatable. Some lifestyle changes like exercising regularly and avoiding certain activities may promote healthful sleep and help you limit injuries.
