Stages of Sleep

Do you ever notice when you drift off into sleep? Because some nights I stay up lying in my bed trying to fall asleep, I wanted to know the steps taken to fall into sleep. I found out that there are 4 primary stages that must be taken plus Rapid Eye Movement, or REM for short. Scientist have found these stages through the use of brain waves. And every time we sleep, we go through the same cycle until we wake up.

Stage 1:

This stage is when you are half awake, half asleep, and first start feeling sleepy. Usually, people would not call this sleeping but dozing off instead. Stage 1 is normally around 5-10 minutes long and is very easy to be waken up from, since you are still aware of your surroundings(easily startled by touch or sound and eyes are moving).

Stage 2:

The second stage is still in light sleep mode, but now your eyes have stopped moving altogether. Your heart rate and body temperature both decreases. This stage also lasts about 5-10 minutes.

Stage 3:

Third stage is when deep sleep begins; very few people can crawl out of stage 3 to wake up. Unless a person is very strong, hears their name, or a baby's cry for some example, the majority of humans are fast asleep. About 10 minutes(or 7%), of your sleep is spent on this stage. 

Stage 4:

On the fourth stage, the deepest non-REM sleep is achieved. This is usually when it is the most difficult to wake someone and also when your body restores itself. 15-20%, or 35-40 minutes, of your sleep is done in stage 4 in the average adult.

REM:

Finally, we have reached the last stage in the sleep cycle. REM is when people normally dream the most and are in the deepest of sleep. The body is completely relaxed while energy is being restored to your body. This is the part of sleep that effects how you perform during the day. Your eyes are constantly moving back and forth, since your mind is alive and bursting with thoughts. Around 25% of our, sleep is in REM. 

Every time we reach the end of the cycle(the end of REM), we start over from the beginning of the cycle as deep sleep shortens and REM lengthens. Each cycle is about 90 minutes long. It was interesting learning about the different steps of sleep. But thinking about dreams, I realized that I want to know why I don't seem to remember any of my dreams while it feels like everyone else can. Check out my next blog to find out more.

"The Different Kinds of Sleep." BrainFacts.org. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/sleep/articles/2012/the-different-kinds-of-sleep/>.

"What Happens When You Sleep?" - National Sleep Foundation. N.p., 2012. Web. 07 May 2016. https://sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/what-happens-when-you-sleep.