The average person spends about a third of their life sleeping, but don’t be fooled into thinking this time is wasted. Sleeping is an absolutely necessary part of your life, so take a few minutes to understand what is happening between when you close your eyes and wake in the morning.
The brain goes through cycles while you are asleep, each consisting of five stages. You go through each stage in sequence before repeating the whole thing over again.
The first stage is a very light form of half-sleep. You are still vaguely aware of your surroundings and might twitch and jerk a little before progressing to stage two in a few minutes.
Now you are truly asleep and are no longer aware of what is going on around you. Breathing, heart rate and brain waves all slow down. This stage lasts about 10-20 minutes.
Stage three and four represent the deepest levels of sleep where the body is almost totally inactive. This is called slow wave sleep and is the most restful and rejuvenating phase of sleep. These phases can last a long time and are generally longer in women.
Men, on the other hand, are more prone to spending extended periods of time in the final sleep stage. This is called rapid eye movement (REM). It is only during REM sleep that you dream and your eyes shift rapidly behind your lids.
Every 90 minutes or so the entire cycles repeats itself in order to produce a good night’s sleep. Disrupting the cycle results in tiredness in the morning and can lead to sleep deprivation, which decreases the overall quality and function in your life.
If you have a mattress or pillow that is disrupting your sleep cycle consider visiting the sleep experts at Mattress Miracle. Give them a call at 519-770-0001 for more information.