A regular sleep schedule is crucial for maintaining health and maximising daytime performance. As you lie down for the night and get some shut-eye, your body really goes through a series of different stages of sleep. All phases of sleep are vital and helpful, but REM sleep in particular is intriguing since it aids in memory consolidation, boosts neural activity, and produces dreams.
These are three fascinating aspects of your nightly REM (rapid eye movement) sleep periods, during which you replenish your body, dream, and relax.
What sets rapid eye movement (REM) sleep apart from other types of sleep?
Periodically during the night, you’ll transition between REM and non-REM sleep. When the first three phases of non-REM sleep have been finished, you will enter REM sleep.
The three phases of non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep are as follows:
The first stage of non-REM sleep is the period just before you fall asleep. You’ve finally achieved calm, but the next five to ten minutes might be a whirlwind of activity.
The physiological and psychological rejuvenation that occurs during second-stage sleep is greater than that which occurs during first-stage sleep. When you drift off into a light snooze, your heart rate and body temperature will naturally decrease.
Once you’ve entered this stage of sleep, you may find it difficult to awaken since your body is working hard to mend damaged tissues and bones and strengthen the immune system.
Sleeping R.E.M.
The term “rapid eye movement” is shortened to “REM.” When you go into the REM phase of sleep, you may experience rapid eye movement and fluttering as your eyes chase each other behind your closed eyelids. The periodic pattern of rapid eye movement is known as a REM cycle. Intense dreaming, a racing heart, and heightened brain activity are all hallmarks of REM sleep. After around 90 minutes of sleep, you’ll experience rapid eye movement (REM) sleep for the first time. A Look at REM Sleep and Its Value The average duration of a REM sleep cycle is roughly 10 minutes, although in the latter stages of sleep before waking, the duration of individual cycles may extend to well over an hour.
Whether you’re trying to learn something new or cement old memories in your head, you need the stimulation that comes during REM sleep. NINDS reports that suppressing REM sleep from rats drastically shortened their longevity, from two or three years down to only five weeks. The typical rat life span dropped from four months to three weeks when sleep deprivation was introduced. Important neuronal connections are formed and strengthened during REM sleep, which may explain why it is so crucial. Reasons like these are why REM sleep is so important.
Disorder in which abnormal behaviours occur during rapid eye movement sleep is described.
Those who suffer from REM Sleep Behavior Disorder, as described by the Mayo Clinic, enact their dreams while sleeping by making involuntary, and occasionally violent, movements of the arms and legs. This illness might appear out of nowhere and force you to get up many times throughout the night.
