Additionally, waking up during REM cycles interrupts our flow of aggregating memory. Multiple studies have shown that lack of slow wave sleep contributes to daytime grogginess and poor mood. The Trick to Sleeping Better - Multiples of 90 min It’s just your brain trying to organize everything. It’s incredibly important to storing information and long-term memory, which is why your dreams can be so weird. Why does this all happen while we’re asleep? REM sleep function to codify memory and learning in order to process the information you obtained the previous day. Your brain lights up with activity, eyes begin jerking around, and your heart and breath rate increase.

You need slow wave sleep to feel truly energized.Ībout 70-90 minutes into sleep, we reach the stage where dreaming occurs. It’s here where your body does most muscle repair, energy conservation, immune function, and growth and development. However, there’s a gradual movement between the two into a more restorative state. Stage Four isn’t much different, so the differences between these two are hard to see. Your body barely responds to any external stimuli, and the brain starts to dole out delta waves. Slow delta waves and an almost paralyzing muscle state greet you at these stages. You’ll feel refreshed, but you won’t be knocked out. Most 20-30 minute naps only reach stage two of sleep. These are characterized by sharp, increased brain wave frequencies followed by a decline. The main difference is that sleep spindles start to appear in stage two. Similar to the first stage, you’re still sleeping lightly.

It’s light sleep, as an introduction to what’s coming for the rest of the night. Your brain produces alpha and theta waves here for a brief 5-7 minute period. Sometimes you can still hear what’s going on in the room, but you’re also too groggy to interact. This is the stage where you’re just falling asleep. Sleepers will experience four distinct cycles, including REM sleep, during which activity shifts in the brain. While sleep might pass in the blink of an eye, your body is quite active during the long night.

Whats keeping me from deep sleep