I am back again with yet another post on sleep. But, it’s not my fault, sleeping is indeed important and we need to keep discussing it again and again. 🤷‍♂️

Today, I will take you a little closer to the discussion about types of sleep, and how sleeping sufficiently can determine various things.

Let’s dive in:

Types of sleep

Sleep is of 2 types, Non Rapid eye movement (NREM) and Rapid eye movement (REM).

Both these types are essential and together they make 1 complete cycle.

Both of these types are essential and our body goes into these types in an order.

NREM

NREM is further divided into 3 stages:

Stage 1 (N1): Light sleep, where you drift in and out of sleep. Muscle activity slows, and you might experience sudden muscle contractions preceded by a sensation of falling.

This prepares the body for deeper sleep. Duration:- 1-5 mins

Stage 2 (N2): This is a deeper sleep where your heart rate slows, body temperature drops, and your body prepares for deep sleep. Brain waves slow with occasional bursts of rapid activity known as sleep spindles.

Duration:- 10-25 mins

Stage 3 (N3): Also known as deep sleep or slow-wave sleep, this stage is crucial for restorative processes. During N3, blood pressure drops, breathing slows, and muscles relax. The body repairs tissue, builds bone and muscle, and strengthens the immune system.

Duration:- 20-40 mins.

NREM sleep is essential for physical restoration. Growth hormone is released during this time, which helps with tissue growth and repair.

Deep sleep in Stage 3 is particularly important for feeling refreshed and alert the next day

Then the body goes to REM

REM

REM sleep is crucial for cognitive functions like memory consolidation, learning, and emotional processing. Your brain processes experiences, emotions, and information, which helps improve memory and problem-solving skills.

In this body goes into temporary paralysis, except for breathing and eye movement. This stage involves the clearing of toxins and the charging of the brain.

This stage remains for 10-60 mins, it occurs majorly after 90 mins of sleeping.

And this was 1 cycle. The body goes back to NREM and the same process. We go through 4-6 cycles while we are asleep.

But, what happens if this cycle is disturbed or somehow we are not able to sleep? We will find that in the next section.

What happens if we miss any sleep stage?

Various reasons can disrupt our sleep. And that can have adverse effects on the body.

> Irregular sleep can disrupt the natural sleep cycle. That makes going into REM harder.

> If you wake up between the cycles, your sleep will be less restorative. You’ll be more tired and may even have headaches.

> Frequent awakening can impact deep sleep. That could affect muscle growth and repair.

> REM is responsible for memory, and if you are not getting sufficient sleep, then it will affect your memory, mood, and concentration.

> Overall there’s higher chances of heart disease, stroke, and other diseases. Getting sick is just a minor thing in this.

How does the sleep cycle get disturbed?

Well, humans created so many ways that can ruin their sleep. We can talk about them on and on. But here are some things that could disturb your sleep cycle.

• Irregular sleep cycle- It can make it difficult to sleep
• Sleep apnea and insomnia- Can disrupt the sleep cycle
• Stress and anxiety- can reduce the duration of sleep stages
• Caffeine- can make you alert, kill the sleep
• Alcohol and smoking- Disrupt the sleep cycle
• Heavy meals at night can disturb sleep
• UPFs- Research suggests that it affects the deep sleep
• Light exposure- Reducses REM
• Noise- can disturb the sleep
• Exercising too close to bedtime- Can sometimes interfere with the sleep cycle
• Mattress- Can affect the way you sleep
• Drinking too much liquid- Could lead to frequent urination and less restorative sleep

But, what to do? We humans will scroll the phone at night or we will eat UPFs because we love them.

Lucky for you, I’ve talked about this topic before and have articles that can help you (I’ll share the link below).

In the end

We’ve learned the importance of sleep and how different types influence a lot.

You may or may not need sleeping aid. But you need good sleeping hygiene.

We need proper 7-8 hours of sleep for a healthy recovery. It doesn’t matter if you are the lifes finest blogger or someone else, sleep is non-negotiable.

Sleep well

Keep smiling