Natural Insomnia Remedies

What are the 5 Stages of Sleep?

The National Sleep Foundation claims that sleep is essential for a person's health. There are five stages of sleep. In an average of 1 to 2 hours a person goes through all five stages of sleep.

Sleep starts out with stage one. This is when a person is easily awakened. Sometimes people will feel their muscles contract and then they feel a sensation as if they are falling. Eyes may move slowly, and muscle activity slow.

During stage two, eye movement ceases, and brain waves slow down with an occasional burst of quick brain waves. The rapid brain wave activities are also referred to as "sleep spindles". The average time a person is in stage two, is about twenty minutes. The body's temperature will actually start to go down, as the heart rate also slows down.

In stage three, delta waves (slow brain waves) start to emerge. The slow waves mixed in with small, fast waves. This is the part of sleep that people go through where it transitions from the light sleep to a deep sleep. This is usually known as the transitional stage of sleep. Even though this stage is considered the transitional stage, it may also be considered the deep sleep stage.

The next stage is a deeper sleep. Often this stage of sleep can be referred to as the delta sleep, because the brain waves are very slow. Only delta waves during this stage, and not mixed in with the fast waves that were in stage three. Stage four is considered real deep sleep, and tough time to wake someone up during this time. They have no eye movement during this period, and no muscle movement. A child during this period may experience bedwetting, night terrors, or sleep walking. They are so deep in sleep that they have no control or have no idea they are doing anything other than sleeping. This stage often lasts for an average of thirty minutes.

The fifth and final stage of sleeping is called REM. REM sleep stands for rapid eye movement. During this stage the eyes start to move, the brain activity starts to increase, and the respiration rate starts to go up. They eyes jerk rapidly but the muscles are in a paralyzed state. As the heart rate rises so does the blood pressure. The body loses its ability during this phase to regulate its temperature. This is when the mind wanders, and dreams start. If a person is woken up during REM sleep, they can usually remember their dreams. REM sleep typically occurs about ninety minutes after falling asleep. On average, most people experience REM sleep three to five times through the night. The first cycle of REM sleep might only last a short span of time, but each time we return to REM sleep it usually lasts longer. We can experience as much as an hour of time in REM stage.

Sleep is very important to stay healthy, and keeping our bodies functioning correctly. Organs are actually related to our sleep cycles, so it's very important to get the correct amount of sleep. When we close our eyes a lot happens in that time, until we reopen our eyes.

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