#Sleepytime junction series

( 5) Here’s a rough range of how much sleep we need depending on what stage of life we’re in, so you can use the sleep calculator based on age: (6) When to Wake Up: How Our Sleep Needs ChangeĪs we journey through our own cycle of life, our bodies change, and we need different amounts of slumber. The difference between six hours and six hours 30 minutes can be huge you don’t want to wake up in the middle of a cycle. Rather, the key factor is the number of sleep cycles we complete. ( 4) This is why the length of sleep is not what causes us to feel refreshed when we wake up.

( 3) Many scientists recommend going through 4-6 of these waves, which would provide six to nine hours of shut-eye (remember, each cycle is roughly 90-minutes long). Instead, we move from being awake, to stage one, two, three, four, and then three, two, one, before going into REM sleep! This cycle, which we like to think of as more of a “wave,” repeats over the course of the night. Which brings us to how we actually move through the sleep cycle! It’s important to note that each cycle isn’t, well, cyclical. It’s important to remember that we don’t go from being awake to being in REM sleep rather, we must pass through all the stages of NREM first.

Even though this stage is the most similar to being awake, it’s the furthest point from wakefulness in terms of the sleep cycle.

Blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing all begin to increase This is when, as the name suggests, our eyes dart up and down and all around, and is most likely when dreaming occurs. REM sleep: At the end of our cycle, we actually enter a light stage of sleep. Your blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing are all very low.

Stage 4 is “deep sleep,” a stage that doesn’t want to be disrupted.

Stage 3 is “slow wave sleep.” Here, blood pressure drops, heart rate further slows, and our breathing becomes slower and more rhythmic.

Stage 2 is the “light phase,” which is when our heart rate slows down and our core body temperature decreases.

Stage 1 is considered the “transitional phase,” when we’re drifting in and out of consciousness.( 2) Here’s a little bit more about each stage: By stage 4, it will be really hard to wake someone up. Across them, the body moves from really light sleep (Stage 1) to a super deep sleep (Stage 4). These four stages are building up intensity towards our REM sleep. However, the name does hint at the importance of NREM. NREM sleep: This is more than just our eyes staying still. Let’s look a little bit more closely at each one. The first four stages comprise our non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, while the fifth stage is when we move into rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. There are five cycles in total, each lasting around 90 minutes.

#Sleepytime junction series

Instead, our bodies go through a series of waves, called sleep cycles. It turns out we don’t just fall asleep and wake up eight hours later, with no critical happenings charging through our system (how we wish it were that simple). Let’s take a step back to explain what a sleep cycle actually is, along with what happens when our heads hit the hay at night. Instead, it’s characterized by length, quality, and timing, along with the absence of disturbances and disorders. While getting a certain number of hours of shut-eye is indeed important, normal sleep goes far beyond just clocking in and out. “Get 7-8 hours of sleep per night!” This recommendation is pounded into our heads day after day, night after night. If you know what time you are falling asleep, and want to know the best time to wake up, look no further! Simply add your bedtime into the wake calculator, and it will give you several options for a wake up time and tell you how many sleep cycles you will achieve. Wake Calculator: What Time Should I Wake Up?