What Are The Stages Of Sleep & What Does Each Stage Do?

There are five stages of sleep: wake, relaxed wakefulness, light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep. Delve deeper in this definitive guide. ShopNow MeetTheCommunity ThePulseBlog Ring&App Health Research&Validation CommunityStories Collections Terms&Conditions PrivacyPolicy Accessibility MeetTheCommunity ThePulseBlog ShopNow BlogHome Ring&AppHealthResearch&ValidationCommunityStoriesCollections ShopNow × FeaturedArticles LockeHughes August15,2022 LockeHughes August9,2022 oura-admin August4,2022 LockeHughes July28,2022 Health Author:OuraTeam February18,2020 Eachnightyoutakearollercoasterridethroughthedifferentphasesofsleep.Thoughyou’reunawareofwhatgoesonwhileyou’resnoozing,yourbrainandbodyareinanactivestate. Eachstageofsleepplaysadifferentroleinhowyoufeelthenextday.Readontolearnwhichstagehelpsyourbrain,whichrestoresyourbody,andifyou’restrikingagoodbalancebetweenthestageseachnight. WhatAreTheStagesofSleep? Sleephasbeentraditionallydividedinto4categories:awake,light,deep,andREMsleep. Eachoneplaysanessentialroleinmaintainingyourmentalandphysicalhealth. Note:Asyou’rereadingaboutsleep,youmayalsoseetheterms“NREM”or“Stages1-4.”Thesearesimplyothertermsforthephasesofsleep. REMsleepstandsfor“rapideyemovement”andcanalsobecalled“stageR” Lightanddeepsleepcanbegroupedtogetheras“NREM –non-rapideyemovement”sleeporreferredtoas“stages1-4” WhatDoesEachStageDo? Eachstageofsleepplaysadifferentroleinpreparingyourbodyforthenextday. WhatDoesANormalNightLookLike? Theamountofeachphaseofsleepcanvarysignificantlybetweennightsandindividuals.Duringanidealnight’ssleep,yourbodyhasenoughtimetogothroughfourtofive90-minutecyclesthatsampledifferentphasesofsleepasthenightprogresses. Ingeneral,eachcyclemovessequentiallythrougheachstageofsleep:wake,lightsleep,deepsleep,REM,andrepeat. CyclesearlierinthenighttendtohavemoredeepsleepwhilelatercycleshaveahigherproportionofREM.Bythefinalcycle,yourbodymayevenchoosetoskipdeepsleepaltogether. Overall,yourbodyspendsthemajorityofthenightinlightsleep.HowmuchtimeyouspendinREMordeepcanvarywidelybyindividualbutbelowaretheaveragesyoucanexpectforeachstageinasinglenight. TipsforImprovedSleep Allstagesofsleepareimportantandyourbodynaturallyregulatesyoursleepcyclestomakesureyougetwhatyouneed. ToolsliketheOuraRingcanhelpyoumonitoryoursleeppatternsandgenerateaSleepScoreeachnighttohelpyouimproveyoursleep. Checkoutthesepatternstoseeifyoursleepisbeingdisrupted: Increaseindeepsleepafterahardworkout:Exercisecanincreaseyourbody’sprioritizationofdeepsleepthenightafteranintensiveworkout.1 HigherREMreboundaftersleepdeprivation:Whenyourecoverfromaperiodofsleepdeprivation,yourbodyprioritizesdeepsleepforthefirstfewnightstorepairyourbodyandprepareforaction.Afterseveralnightsofsufficientdeepsleep,REMsleeprebounds tofocusonyourbrain. Interruptedsleepcyclesaftercaffeine:Caffeinecanincreasethetimeittakesforyoutofallasleep,cuttingyoursleepperiodshort.ShortersleepperiodsdisproportionatelycutdownonyourtotalREMsleep,asREMcyclesaremorelikelytooccurinlatersleepcycles. Weallhavethosedayswhenwe“justneedourcoffee.”However,takingalookatyournightlypatterns(e.g.heartrate,bodytemperature)andactingonyourdesiretoimproveyoursleepcanhelpyoufacethosedayswellrested.     References Stutz,Jan,RemoEiholzer,andChristinaM.Spengler.“Effectsofeveningexerciseonsleepinhealthyparticipants:Asystematicreviewandmeta-analysis.”SportsMedicine49,no.2(2019):269-287. oura-admin February18,2020 FeaturedArticles LockeHughes August15,2022 LockeHughes August9,2022 oura-admin August4,2022 LockeHughes July28,2022 RecentPosts It’sBack-to-SchoolSeason:5TipstoHelpYourFamilySleepBetter TheOuraQ&A:ProfessionalSwimmer&OlympianKatieLedecky OuraHelpedCyclistHannahP.RealizetheValueofAllowingHerBodytoHeal NewResearchSuggestsNearly3in4AmericansFallShortofRestorativeSleep  Harnessyourpotentialwithclearandactionableinsights SeeHow