

During this stage, the body experiences temporary paralysis with the exception of the muscles that control breathing and eye movement. The first cycle begins about 90 minutes after we fall asleep (in most people), followed by a new cycle every 90 minutes throughout the night.ĭuring REM sleep, breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure rise to almost the level they are at when we are awake. This is the stage of sleep where most dreams occur. Bedtime and Wake Up times: Set when youd like to go to bed and wake up. Follow the onscreen prompts to establish: Sleep Goals: Set the number of hours youd like to spend asleep. There is also some evidence that creative thinking and memory consolidation occur during this phase ( 2 ). Tap Get Started under Set Up Sleep 1, then tap Next. Delta brain waves are common during this period, and this is part of what experts believe is restorative. During this stage, we consolidate our memories as well. This is the sleep stage where healing happens: tissue repair and growth occur, hormones are released and re-balanced, and cellular energy is restored. Stage 3: Deep Sleepĭuring this stage, our breathing, heartbeat, and body temperature are at their lowest levels during the night, when our muscles are completely relaxed. This stage lasts between 10 and 25 minutes in the first cycle and gets progressively longer during the night. Our body temperature drops, and there are often short bursts of brain activity that help us resist being woken by external stimuli. This is when our muscles relax, breathing and heartbeat slow, and we are moving towards a steadier sleep. It is easy to wake someone in this stage of sleep, but, if they are not disturbed, they will quickly move on to the next stage and then not return to this phase unless the sleep cycle is disturbed, such as the person waking up. This is the stage where we drift from awake to asleep and usually lasts between one and five minutes. However, the length of these stages can vary, with the first often being the shortest.
LIGHT VS DEEP SLEEP FULL
We usually complete three to five 90-120 minute full sleep cycles per night, rotating between the NREM and REM stages.

Stages 1-4 are NREM, or "non-rapid eye movement." REM is "rapid eye movement," when we tend to dream-though we do dream in light and deep sleep stages as well. We have 5 stages of sleep that are usually numbered 1-4 and REM ( 1 ). » Looking for alternative sleep therapy? Discover the benefits of CBD and medicinal mushrooms for sleep The 5 Sleep Stages Read on to learn more about the differences and similarities between light and deep sleep and why you need to know. Making sure that you get adequate deep sleep is especially important as these are the stages that impact cognitive, physical, and mental health. 7-9 hours of sleep is considered the best, and most experts consider this a necessity, rather than a recommendation. These impact why some of us tend to be deep sleepers and others tend to be light sleepers. So many factors influence how much sleep we need and what type of sleepers we are: genetics, lifestyle, health, and sleep disorders.
