Sleep Cycles – knowing what occurs when you sleep

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 will find many sleep quotes in our life to tell us that this process is not just a luxury but an absolute necessity. Although some quotes can be funny, each of them tell us the same thing– a good night’s rest contributes to good health and well-being.

Numerous things depend on sleep–your efficiency, mental sharpness, emotional balance, energy and even your weight. Understanding what happens while you sleep will help you avoid staying up late and being prone to many illnesses caused by sleep deprivation.

Comprehending the stages of Sleep Cycles

When you sleep, your brain doesn’t just shut down. It actually stays active, having a biological maintenance that will help you prepare for the coming day. While you sleep, your brain goes through 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 are mostly asleep but still 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 sooner or later drift into a semiconscious state. As your sleep deepens, your brain waves slow down as well – even slower than while relaxing. This stage will not last very long, and it’s where you experience the sensation of falling or jerking into wakefulness.

-Stage 2- This stage has deeper sleep than in stage 1. It is also at this stage where you’re considered asleep and unconscious. Finally, the eyes stop moving. There’ll be occasional bursts of brain activity called 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. Like the first stage, this stage does not 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 begins to deepen. In stage 3, half of your brain waves are Delta waves. You will have spikes of high activity in between the calmer periods.

-Stage 4- this stage is usually referred to as ‘very deep sleep stage’. Delta wave brain activity also dominates this stage. You’ll have occasional bursts of high activity. It’s during this stage that many cases of sleepwalking, nightmares and bed-wetting occur. It lasts until the early part of the night and progressively decreases as the night progresses.

-REM- The body will reverse the cycle and will get back to the 1st stage sleep prior to getting into the REM sleep. There’ll be quite a few changes in the body during this stage. Your breathing quickens and becomes irregular plus your eyes start to move with a jerky motion. Your heart rate will become elevated as well and your brain waves would be active, just like when you’re awake. The body will produce a chemical that will paralyze your muscles when dreaming so you won’t end up injuring yourself. Should you suddenly awaken during REM sleep, you are most likely to remember your dream in detail. Infants spend 50% of their sleeping time in REM sleep whilst adults have 20% of theirs.

Although adults and children have the same sleep cycles, you should take note that children need more sleep in order to function and develop properly.

The author is a physician who knows about sleep quotes along with bed bug bites symptoms.