As you age, sleep can become more elusive—to the point that you long for the days when sleep seemed simple. Sleep is, in fact, a complicated series of processes that your brain and body go through every night. Even when you gave it little thought, sleep was anything but simple.

What Are the Stages of Sleep and Why Are They Important for Your Health?

There is a pattern to your sleep made up of four sleep stages that your body cycles through every 90 minutes or so. If you sleep the recommended 7-9 hours, you cycle through these stages 4-6 times per night. The first three sleep stages are categorized as non-REM sleep, and the fourth and final sleep stage is Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep,” according to the National Sleep Foundation. Each stage lasts a different amount of time, and each is important for a different reason.

1.   Stage 1 Is Falling into Light Sleep

Your heartbeat and breathing slow and your muscles begin to relax during this initial phase of sleep. You can be awakened easily during this stage, which lasts about 7 minutes.

2.   Stage 2 Is Light Sleep

In the second stage, there are brief bursts of brain activity before the brain waves begin to slow down. “Experts think those bursts are your brain organizing memories and information from the time you spent awake,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. Your heart rate and breathing continue to slow and your body temperature drops. You’re still in a light sleep but not awakened as easily. This stage lasts around 25 minutes.

3.   Stage 3 Is the Deepest Sleep

In the deep sleep of the third stage, there’s no eye movement or muscle activity. This is the deep sleep during which “your body repairs muscle and tissue, encourages growth and development, and improves immune function.” It’s difficult to awaken you from this stage. The average adult needs a total of 1-2 hours of sleep at this stage to awake feeling “restored and healthy.”

4.   Stage 4 is REM Sleep

At this stage, your eyes move back and forth under your lids giving this stage its name of “rapid eye movement.” Your brain is very active. It’s in this stage that you have your most vivid dreams. Although your breathing may quicken and your heart rate increase, your arms and legs are temporarily paralyzed to prevent you from acting out your dreams. REM sleep can last from 10 minutes in the first cycle up to an hour during the final cycle.

“This sleep stage is critical for learning, memory, daytime concentration, and your mood.”  Your “brain prioritizes memories—shoring up the more important ones while marking the less useful ones for deletion.” This stage is when “you process and consolidate new information you’ve learned,” according to Harvard Health Publishing. The new information is merged with existing information, a process necessary for problem solving. That’s why people recommend you “sleep on it” when trying to decide upon a solution to a problem.

After REM sleep, the cycle begins again with a light sleep stage. According to the National Sleep Foundation, “you may feel more refreshed and rested if you wake up at the end of a cycle, instead of in the middle of a cycle when you might be in a deep sleep.”

Give yourself sufficient time to cycle through all the stages of sleep so that you wake refreshed and ready for the day.

-Team at down etc

Read more:

Is Snoring Affecting Your Sleep?

5 Benefits of Hugging a Pillow

Can Dreams Inspire Creativity?

About down etc

For over twenty years, down etc has worked with hoteliers and professional housekeepers in hotels around the world to provide pillows and bedding that will offer hotel guests memorably great sleep. Through our retail website, we seek to provide products that will result in the same quality sleep for our customers at home. We believe in the restorative power of a great night’s sleep, whether at home or away.

DISCLAIMER: You should not rely on any of the foregoing as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical or health and wellness advice, diagnosis, or treatment by a healthcare professional. If you have specific concerns or a situation in which you require professional or medical advice, you should consult with an appropriately trained and qualified specialist, such as a licensed physician, psychologist, or other health professional. Never disregard the medical advice of a physician, psychologist, or other health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of the information or content offered or provided on the Site. The use of the Site and all information and content contained thereon is solely at your own risk.