Sleep Cycles Explained

By Lorna Finlay

If slumber doesn't come easy for you knowing how you rest or knowing the mechanism behind what produces a healthy night's rest could help you solve the issue of what is keeping you up. Understanding sleep is not so simple because you are not of necessity up or asleep. There are many sleep processes that take place once your head falls on to the pillow and you close your eyes that defines how well you will rest.

Feeling utterly dopey is the first phase of sleep and at this time your muscles will go limp, you will feel yourself get weary, and your eyes may be heavy enough to close on their own. This is the fastest developing phase, usually around ten minutes. The next stage is light stage often called stage two and in this stage both breathing rate plus temperature retreat. The heart rate may also slow down as well during this part of sleep.

Stages three and four are easily classified as deep sleeps and are where it should be hard to wake up. You will possibly feel very dazed and incoherent but this stage allows the brain to rest and as a result blood flow actually decreases, at which time the nutrient rich blood nourishes your body. There is also a heightened level of immune functions during these vital stages of your good night's rest.

The most fascinating stage is called stage five or REM sleep and is generally considered the dreaming period of a good night's rest. Drifting in and out of stage five happens often so you might have anywhere from three to five 70-90 minute long sessions within the REM. This intricate stage of sleeping is determined by some physical breathing conditions both shallow and deep. You could also show signs of a rise in heart rate and blood pressure.

This particular portion of the entire sleep cycle is good for helping your mind process heavy emotions, stress reduction and giving the person a truly good night's sleep. People who sleep lightly are stuck in the early sleep stages and hardly ever make it to phases three and four where the best benefits of sleep reside. Those who can't wake up so easily probably hanging around too long in deep sleep and awake suddenly rather than come awake through the various stages of sleep.

Sleep stages can become random based upon the time you have spent in each sleep stage through the previous week, so if you spend too much time in a heavy sleep one night you will likely sleep lightly the following evening. It really balances out over time and you'll likely spend equal amounts of time in each part of sleep, hopefully resulting in good sleep patterns. This is one of the reasons why it is stated that it is impossible to get caught up on sleep but you can always make up on lost rest.

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