Sleep: How Much You Need and Its 4 Stages

Each cycle contains four individual stages: three that form non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and one rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. While ... Skiptocontent ClevelandClinic Menu PrimaryMenu AdvertisingPolicy Health&WellnessTips Fitness,healthandwellnesstipssenttoyouweekly Youhavesuccessfullysubscribedtoournewsletter. There’sareasonwetellourlovedonestogetagoodnight’ssleep.Formanyofus,thebenefitsofagoodnight’srestaresecondnature,aswetendtofeelbetteraboutourselvesandmorecompetenttotakeonresponsibilitywhenwe’rewellrested.Butformanyothers,westrugglewithgettingjusttherightamountofsleep.AccordingtotheNationalSleepFoundation,abouthalfofallAmericansfeelsleepyfromthreetosevendaysaweek—asuresignthatwecouldallusealittlemore. AdvertisingPolicy ClevelandClinicisanon-profitacademicmedicalcenter.Advertisingonoursitehelpssupportourmission.Wedonotendorsenon-ClevelandClinicproductsorservices. Policy Howmuchsleepdoyouneed? Theyoungeryouare,themoresleepyouneed.Babiesneedalotofsleep.Askidsgrow,theirsleepneedsdecrease.“Byadulthood,mosthealthypeopleneed7to8.5hours,”sayspsychologistandsleepdisorderspecialistMichelleDrerup,PsyD,DBSM.Here’showmuchkidsandadultsneed,onaverage accordingtotheCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention: AgeHoursofsleepneeded0-3months14-174-12months12-161-2years11-143-5years10-136-12years9-1213-18years8-1019-64years7-965+years7-8 Thoughsleepneedsvarydependingonyourgenetics,mostadultsfallintheseven-to-nine-hourrange.Ifyouthinkyouthriveonless,youmaywanttoreconsider. “Therearepeoplewhoareshortsleepers,butit’sprettyrare,”Dr.Drerupnotes.“We’renotverygoodjudgesofhowsleeplossaffectsus,andmostpeoplewhothinktheydowellonlittlesleepwouldprobablyfunctionbetterwithalittlemore.” Onecommonmisconceptionisthatolderadultsdon’tneedasmuchsleepastheydidinmiddleage.Olderadultsshouldstillaimforatleastsevenhours,Drerupsays. “Olderadultshavedifferentsleeppatterns.Theytendtosleepmorelightlyandmaywakeearlierinthemorning,”shesays.“Butyoustillneedthesameamountofsleepover24hours,soifyou’resleepinglessatnight,youmightneedanapduringtheday.” AdvertisingPolicy Benefitsofsleep Sleepisacatch-allthatbenefitsyourphysical,mentalandemotionalhealth.Whenyou’resleeping,yourbodyhasthechancetorestandrecover—andtheserestorativepropertiesevenoccuronacellularlevel.Somemajorbenefitsofsleepinclude: Boostingyourimmunesystem.Strengtheningyouremotionalprocessing.Improvingyourmoodanddecreasingstress.Improvingmemoryfunction.Improvingcellulargrowth.Repairingtissueandmusclerecovery.Increasingproductivity.Improvingexerciseperformance. Ofcourse,developingconsistentsleepingpatternstomaximizethesebenefitscanbeabattleallonitsown.Dr.Drerupoffersthesetipsforgettingthemostoutofyoursleepschedule: Winddown: Beforebedtime, winddown byturningoffelectronicdevices(aimforanhourbeforehand),turningdownlightsanddoingcalmingactivities(liketakingawarmbath,readingandrelaxation)thatwillhelpyourbodygetsleepy.Goslow: Ifyou’reusedtostayingupuntil2a.m.,youaren’tlikelytofallasleepat11p.m.Startby shiftingyourbedtimeback by15or20minutes.Afteracoupleofdays,turnitbackanother20.Beconsistent: Ifyoucutsleepshortduringtheweek,youwon’tbeabletofullymakeupthatsleepdebtonweekends.Instead,aimtogotobedandwakeupclosetothesametimeeachday. Beflexible: “Youwon’tbeperfectlyconsistenteverynight,”shesays.“Butifyou’rewithinanhourofyouridealsleeptarget,that’sagoodgoal.” Symptomsandsideeffectsofsleepdeprivation Evenlosingoutononeortwohoursofsleepcanimpactyourmoodandoverallhealth.Sohowdoyouknowifyou’renotgettingenoughsleeporifyourgrogginessfromthenightbeforeisaone-timefluke?Herearesomecommonsignsandsymptomsofsleepdeprivationyoushouldlookoutfor: Strugglingtostayawakewheninactive(likewhenwatchingTV).Difficultyconcentrating.Forgetfulness.Slownessinrespondingtoothers.Lossofmotivation.Increaseinmoodinessortemper.Yawningconstantly.Day-longperiodsofdrowsiness.Needingmultiplepowernaps(sleepinginshortperiods).You’retiredallthetime. It’simportanttokeepaneyeonthesesymptoms,especiallyiftheyoccurdailyorweekly,asshortchangingyoursleeplong-termcanleadtoahostoflong-termproblems,including: Diabetes.Depression.Heartproblems.Highbloodpressure.Loweredimmunity.Obesity. Stagesofsleep Anaveragesleepcyclelastsabout90minutes.Ideally,youneedfourtosixcyclesofsleepevery24hourstofeelfreshandrested.Eachcyclecontainsfourindividualstages:threethatformnon-rapideyemovement(NREM)sleepandonerapideyemovement(REM)sleep.Whilethetimespentineachstagevariesthelongeryou’reasleep,andyoumightbouncebetweenstageseachnight,eachindividualstageremainslargelythesame. AdvertisingPolicy NREMStageOne Thisstageoflightsleepinglastsfiveto10minutes.Duringthisstageyou’re“dozingoff,”asyourbodyandbrainactivitybeginstoslowdown.Ifyou’rewokenduringthisstage,youmayfeelasifyouhaven’tfallenasleepatall. NREMStageTwo Duringthisstageoflightsleeping,yourmusclesbegintorelaxasyourbodytemperaturedropsandyourheartrateandbreathingslowdown.Duringthisstage,youreyemovementstopsandyourbrainwavesslow.Thereareoccasionalburstsofbrainwavescalledsleepspindlesthatarebelievedtoassistwithstoringyourmemoriesandshuttingdownyoursensessoyoursleepwon’tbeinterrupted.Thisstagepreparesyoutoenterintodeepsleepandmaylastupto25minutes. NREMStageThree Thisstageisknownasdeepsleep,inwhichyoureyesandmusclesarefullyatrest.Duringthisstage,yourbodyisrepairingitselfbyregrowingtissue,strengtheningyourimmunesystemandbuildingbonesandmuscle.Itisincreasinglydifficulttowakeyouupduringthisstage,andifyouarewoken,youmayexperienceaperiodofdisorientationandbrainfogforupto30minutesoranhour.Duringearliersleepcycles,thisstagecouldlast20to40minutesandgetsincreasinglyshorterassleepcyclesprogress.Asyougetolder,youspendlesstimeinthisstageandmoretimeinStageTwo. REMSleep Youdreamduringthisstage.Yourbrainactivitygreatlyincreasesandcanevenmatchorexceedyourusualbrainactivitywhenyouareawake.Yourmusclesenterastateoftemporaryparalysis,exceptforyoureyes(whichmoverapidlyduringthisstage)andthemusclesyouneedtobreathe.Yourbreathinggetsfaster,andyourheartrateandbloodpressureincrease.Usually,thefirstperiodofREMsleepoccursaround90minutesintoyoursleepcycleandlastsabout10minutes.EachofyourlaterREMstagesgetslongerthemorehoursyouremainasleep. Troublesleeping?Whentoseeadoctor About70millionpeopleintheU.S.experiencesleepdisorders,rangingfrominsomniatosleepapnea,restlesslegssyndrome,narcolepsyandmore.Ifyou’reconcernedaboutyoursleeppatternsorifyou’reexperiencingsomeofthesedisorders,scheduleanappointmentwithyourfamilydoctororasleepclinic,asyoumayneedtoparticipateinasleepstudy. AdvertisingPolicy AdvertisingPolicy ClevelandClinicisanon-profitacademicmedicalcenter.Advertisingonoursitehelpssupportourmission.Wedonotendorsenon-ClevelandClinicproductsorservices. Policy AdvertisingPolicy AdvertisingPolicy AdvertisingPolicy AdvertisingPolicy AdvertisingPolicy RelatedArticles July22,2022 /Sleep July22,2022 /Sleep ShouldYouTryPolyphasicSleep? May28,2020 /Sleep May28,2020 /Sleep IfYou’reHavingTroubleSleeping,Here’sWhatToDo February14,2022 /Diet,Food&Fitness February14,2022 /Diet,Food&Fitness 9WaysToStayAwakeWithoutCaffeine March1,2021 /Sleep March1,2021 /Sleep 22FactsAboutSleepThatWillSurpriseYou March17,2022 /Sleep March17,2022 /Sleep HowLongShouldYouNap? March25,2022 /Sleep March25,2022 /Sleep Here’sWhatHappensWhenYouDon’tGetEnoughSleep(andHowMuchYouReallyNeedaNight) TrendingTopics 1 IsItHealthyToDrinkWaterBeforeBed? 2 HowToFallAsleepFast 3 TheBestDietsforEczema Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Pinterest Snapchat 1/1 LeftArrow Previous RightArrow Next Sleep:HowMuchYouNeedandIts4Stages Whenyousleep,yourbodyrests,recoversandrebuildsitselfthroughfourstages.Here’showmuchsleepyouneedtofeelrested. 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