Why do you sometimes wake up feeling energized and other times feeling exhausted? Well, this mystery lies in the different stages of sleep and its impact on your health. Understanding the various stages of the sleep cycle, such as deep sleep and REM sleep, can help you feel more energized after your sleep.
So, How Many Hours Of Deep Sleep Do You Need?
Let's discover how much deep sleep is optimal for our health.
But before we jump right in, what is deep sleep? Deep sleep is also known as slow-wave sleep. It occurs in the first half of the night and usually starts after half an hour or an hour after you fall asleep. Deep sleep is stages 3 and 4 in the NREM sleep cycle. It plays an important role in growth, immunity and physical recovery.
During deep sleep, your body goes through some important restorative processes. In this stage, your heart rate and blood pressure decrease to allow your body to recover. Most adults should aim to get at least 1 to 2 hours of deep sleep every night. Moreover, it's essential to make sure that the deep sleep hours in the first half of the night are uninterrupted for a better quality sleep cycle.
What Is REM sleep?
REM sleep is a unique stage of the sleep cycle which happens several times during sleep. In a good night's sleep, a person typically experiences 4 to 6 REM periods, which last around 10 to 30 minutes each. Ideally, an adult should have 1.5 to 2 hours of REM sleep during one sleep cycle.
So, what happens during REM sleep? Do you dream in REM sleep? Well, yes. In the REM stage, a person experiences rapid eye movements, vivid dreaming and an increase in the overall brain activity. And here's a fun fact about REM sleep: your brain is almost as active in the REM stage as when you are awake. That's why the REM stage is crucial for learning, memory retention and emotional management.
No more restless nights
Why Each Sleep Stage Is Essential?
Now that we know what exactly each sleep stage entails, let's talk about why each sleep stage is important for quality sleep.
Although both sleep stages are important for restorative sleep, the way they impact your health differs. Starting with deep sleep, there are plenty of restorative benefits of deep sleep. Deep sleep is vital for your body to heal and repair muscles, tissues and bones. This stage is also significant for metabolism and development as it promotes the release of growth hormones.
Not only this, deep sleep also helps in strengthening one's immune system, making you stronger to fend off illnesses. Lastly, it helps you to restore your energy levels, keeping you fresh and alert throughout the day.
On the other hand, the benefits of REM sleep are more mental. For example, it helps in emotional regulation which then aids in managing mood and stress effectively. Moreover, REM sleep enhances memory improvement to make it easier to recall memories and aids in learning. Furthermore, the dreams in REM sleep can help in identifying one’s thoughts and feelings, promoting self-awareness. Lastly, REM sleep is also linked to resulting in higher levels of creativity and problem-solving skills. This would surely be of great help in daily life functions.
Core Sleep Vs. REM Sleep: How Much REM Sleep Should You Get?
Core sleep includes both deep and REM sleep, vital for overall health. Therefore, core sleep is essential for your overall health and well-being.
The ideal amount of REM sleep (stages 3 and 4) is typically 1.5 to 2 hours, while deep sleep (stages 1 and 2) lasts about 1 to 2 hours. For a good deep slumber of 7-9 hours, adults also go through a light sleep stage first. This is stages 1 and 2 of the sleep cycle and is the longest stage. This is also called a transition phase.
The Final Verdict: Deep Sleep Vs. REM Sleep
To sum up, an ideal sleep consists of all 5 sleep stages including light sleep (stages 1 and 2), deep sleep (stages 3 and 4) and REM sleep (stage 5). To attain this 7 to 9 hours of sleep, you can drink chamomile tea at night, switch off your phone 2 hours before bed or use a digital sleep app that helps you to sleep well.
