Get to know 4 stages of sleep: from chicken sleep to deep sleep

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Medical Video: 8 Hour Deep Sleep Music: Delta Waves, Relaxing Music Sleep, Sleeping Music, Sleep Meditation, ☯159

You may have heard that while sleeping, you go through a series of stages of sleep. But, what do you mean? Instead of sleeping only ... sleep? Eits, wait a minute. In fact, there are still many things passing through your brain when you fall asleep. Why so?

We now know that the brain is very active during sleep. Sleep is not just an inactive and passive part of our entire daily life cycle, as people believe decades ago thanks to electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings of Nathaniel Kleitman and Eugene Aserinksy that show that sleep actually consists of different stages that occur in the sequence of characteristics . The normal cycle of sleep and wakefulness implies that there are many nervous systems activated, while others are turned off. Research also shows that chemicals called adenosine accumulate in our blood when we are awake and cause drowsiness. These chemical compounds will then break by themselves gradually when we sleep.

During sleep, we usually pass four stages of sleep: stages 1,2,3 of Non-REM sleep (NREM) and REM sleep, aka Rapid Eye Movement. The sleep cycle starts from NREM stage 1 to REM sleep, then returns to stage 1. We spend almost 50 percent of our total sleep time in NREM sleep stage 2, about 20 percent in REM sleep, and the remaining 30 percent in other stages. Babies, on the other hand, spend about half of their sleep in REM sleep.

Get to know the four stages of sleep

There are three stages of Non-REM sleep. Each stage can last from five to 15 minutes. You will pass a total of four years before finally reaching the REM sleep phase. Dreams usually occur during REM sleep.

Stage 1 NREM: Sleeping chicken

During the first stages of sleep, namely light sleep, body, mental, and your mind is on the verge of reality and the subconscious - half conscious, half (almost) asleep. The brain produces what is known as beta waves, which are small and fast. Your eyes are closed, but you can still be awakened or awakened easily. Movement of the eye at this stage is very slow, so is muscle activity.

As the brain begins to relax and its performance slows down, the brain also produces slow waves which are called alpha waves. During this period of sleep, you may experience a strange sensation that feels very real, known as hypnagogic hallucinations. Common examples of this phenomenon include feeling like falling or hearing someone calling your name. Familiar, isn't it?

Another event that is very common during this period is known as myoclonic jolt. If you have been surprised suddenly without any reason, it means you experience this phenomenon. It may seem alarming, but myoclonic jerks are actually quite common.

Then, the brain produces high amplitude theta waves, which are very slow brain waves. People who wake up from stage 1 sleep often remember fragments of visual image memory. If you wake someone up during this stage, they might report that they don't really fall asleep.

Stage 2 NREM: Welcome to sleep soundly

Heart rate and breathing slow down, become more regular, and body temperature decreases. You will also become less aware of the environment. If there is a sound heard at this stage, you cannot understand what the content is.

When entering the second stage of sleep, the motion of the eye stops and brain waves slow down, in the presence of occasional rapid wave bursts, called sleep spindles. In addition, stage 2 NREM sleep is also characterized by the presence of K-complex, which is a short negative high voltage peak. Both of these phenomena work together to protect sleep and suppress the response to external stimulation, also to help incorporate sleep-based memory and information processing. Our bodies get ready to sleep well.

Because you can skip this stage several times throughout the night, there is more time spent in the second stage of sleep than the other stages, and usually covers 45-50% of total sleep time for adults, even young adults.

Stage 3 NREM: Sleep well

The third stage of sleep is what is called deep sleep. At this stage, the brain releases delta waves, which are initially interspersed with smaller and faster waves, then will be exclusively dominated by delta waves. During this stage, you become less responsive and voice and activity in the environment may fail to produce a response. There is no eye movement or muscle activity. The third stage also acts as a transition period between light sleep and deep sleep.

It would be very difficult to wake someone who was sound asleep. Usually, if it wakes up, it cannot adjust to changes as soon as possible and often feel nervous and confused for several minutes after waking up. Some children experience bedwetting, night terror, or sleepwalking during the deep sleep stages.

During the deep sleep stage, the body begins repair and growth of the tissue again, builds bone and muscle strength, increases blood supply to the muscles, increases and strengthens the immune system. Energy is also restored and growth hormone - important for growth and development, including muscle development.

REM sleep: sleep dreaming

When we turn to REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, breathing becomes faster, irregular, and superficial; the eye moves in all directions very quickly, like anxiety; brain activity increases; and, heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, and, for men, develops an erection. Most dreams begin at this stage

The American Sleep Foundation that people spend about 20 percent of their total sleep at this stage. REM sleep is also often referred to as the sleep paradox, because while the brain and other body systems are actively working, the muscles become more relaxed. Dreams occur as a result of increased brain activity, but muscles experience involuntary temporary paralysis.

The first REM sleep period usually occurs around 70 to 90 minutes after we fall asleep. A complete sleep cycle takes 90 to 110 minutes on average. After about 10 minutes in REM sleep, the brain usually cycles back through non-REM sleep stages. On average, four additional periods of REM sleep occur, each of which has a longer duration.

The first sleep cycle every night contains a relatively short REM period and a period of deep sleep. As the night progresses, the period of REM sleep increases in duration, while sleeplessness decreases. In the morning, people spend almost all of their time sleeping in stages 1, 2, and REM.

You will lose some ability to regulate body temperature while under REM sleep, so that hot or cold temperatures that beg forgiveness in the sleeping environment can disturb your sleep.

It is also important to understand that you do not go through these stages of sleep in sequence. Sleep begins in stage 1 and progresses to stage 2, and then 3. After the stage of sleep 3, stage 2 sleep is repeated before entering REM sleep. After REM sleep ends, the body usually returns to stage 2. If REM sleep is disrupted, our body does not keep up with the normal sleep cycle, the next moment we fall asleep. Instead, we often slip directly into the stages of REM sleep and experience an extended REM period until we "catch up" at this stage of sleep.

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Get to know 4 stages of sleep: from chicken sleep to deep sleep
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