To most of us, sleep comes naturally. One minute we close our eyes, and before we know it, it’s time to wake up again. It may feel as if there is only one stage to sleep: sleep and wake up. But there are different stages to our sleep cycle too.
The first stage of our slumber begins when we are just about to go to sleep. This is the stage where we relax our body and our muscles, and our movements and mobility is reduced to the minimum. This is the transitional stage of our sleep. There may also be instances where we experience involuntary muscle movements like jerks while some may experience light hallucinations like seeing shadows and hearing light whispers.
Then we move on to the second stage of our sleep. This period of our slumber may lasts from 15 to 20 minutes. During this stage, our breathing and heart rate will slowly become regular and the temperature of our body will decrease too. Some sleepers may also experience infrequent eye movements.
In the third stage, we will be burrowing into a deep sleep, although we are not quite there yet.
This is the stage where we move from a light sleep to a deeper slumber. Our blood pressure will start to drop and our breathing will get slower. The slow delta wave will begin its cycle in our brain. There will only be very minimal movement of the muscles because our body will begin to ‘shut down’ for any process of healing and rejuvenation.
Our body will then proceed to ‘shut down’ completely during the fourth stage and it will be rendered almost completely paralyzed. This will usually last for about 30 minutes. This stage of sleep is also known as the delta sleep because of the delta waves that occur in our brain during this period. Stage three and stage four of a sleeping cycle are very similar with the exception that the delta waves in the fourth stage is usually 50% more than the third stage. It is fairly difficult to wake someone who is in their fourth stage of their sleep.
The fifth stage of our sleep usually leads to dreams. This is where our REM sleep occurs. During our REM sleep, there will be active activities in our brain and also a lot of rapid eye movements. Our body will still be immobile but our brain will be functioning as if we are awake. Our REM sleep is important as it directly affects our daily performance.
A regular sleeping cycle will consist of all these stages and each one is important because it helps to ensure that our body experiences the rest it needs to be rejuvenated the next day. To ensure that you get the best sleep, read mattress reviews to help you decide on your next comfortable bed purchase.