Sleep Cycles: A Healthy Sleeper Is A Productive Worker

By Author: Tia Arnold
Total Articles: 9
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Benjamin Franklin once said "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

That is just one of the quotes about sleep that stress its importance. We'll run into many sleep quotes in our life to tell us that this process is not only a luxury but an absolute necessity. Even though some quotes are funny, all of them tell us the same thing-- a good night's rest contributes to good health and well-being.

Numerous things rely on sleep--your efficiency, mental sharpness, emotional balance, energy as well as your weight. Being aware of what happens when you sleep will help you avoid staying up late and being susceptible to many illnesses brought on by sleep deprivation.

Learning the stages of Sleep Cycles

When you sleep, your brain doesn't just shut down. It actually stays active, undergoing a biological maintenance that helps you prepare for the coming day. As you sleep, your brain undergoes a sleep cycle involving many stages.

Listed below are the stages of the sleep cycle:

-Stage 1- This stage is also called the 'Dozing stage'. Here, you are mostly asleep but ...
... nonetheless easily woken. You are in this restful state and you feel all your senses slowing down. Your muscles, eye movement and breathing rate slow down. You sooner or later drift into a semiconscious state. As the sleep deepens, your brain waves slow down as well - even slower than while relaxing. This stage will not last very long, and it is where you feel the sensation of falling or jerking into wakefulness.

-Stage 2- This stage has deeper sleep in comparison to stage 1. It's typically at this stage where you're considered asleep and unconscious. Finally, your eyes stop moving. There will be periodic bursts of brain activity known as sleep spindles and instances where larger waves of amplitude called K complexes start activating. The dominating brain waves, called Theta waves, are found in the stage 2 sleep. Like the first stage, this stage does not last very long.

-Stage 3- In this stage, your brain will settle into a slow pattern. High amplitude called Delta waves start activating. Your sleep begins to deepen. In stage 3, half of the brain waves are Delta waves. You will see spikes of high activity in between the calmer intervals.

-Stage 4- this stage is also called 'very deep sleep stage'. Delta wave brain activity also dominates this stage. You'll have periodic bursts of high activity. It's for the duration of this stage that most cases of sleepwalking, nightmares and bed-wetting occur. It usually lasts until the early part of the night and slowly decreases as the night progresses.

-REM- The body will reverse the cycle and would get back to the 1st stage sleep before entering the REM sleep. You will see several changes in the body in this stage. Your breathing accelerates and becomes irregular and your eyes begin to move with a jerky motion. Your heart rate will become elevated also and your brain waves will be active, just like when you are awake. The body will produce a chemical that can paralyze your muscles when dreaming so that you won't wind up injuring yourself. If you ever suddenly get up during REM sleep, you're probably going to recall your dream in detail. Infants have 50% of their sleeping time in REM sleep while grownups have 20% of theirs.

Although children and adults have the same sleep cycles, you must take note that children require more sleep in order to function and develop properly.

Tia Arnold is a doctor who likes quotes about sleep and knows how various stages in sleep cycles affects us.