REM Sleep is Necessary for Good Health

Adequate sleep is touted as one of the most important steps to good health.

More than just the amount of sleep, quality sleep is important to fend off many health issues and maintain a better quality of life.

Reaching the rapid eye movement, or REM, stage of sleep is important.

Is deep sleep enough? Is REM sleep deep sleep?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about a third of American adults sleep less than the recommended seven hours a night.

The lack of good sleep affects more than just physical health.

Cognitive function, memory, emotional wellbeing, and energy levels are all affected by the amount and quality of sleep achieved.

Every night, you turn the lights out before the evening news is over, hit your pillow, but still wake up the next morning tired and groggy.

Why does it feel like you barely closed your eyes?

The key may be in the stages of sleep you reach each night.

📎 The Importance of REM Sleep?
📎 Stages of Sleep
📎 Sleep Debt
📎 Common Sleep Disorders
📎REM Sleeping Behavior Disorder
📎Repaying Your Sleep Debt
📎Tips for Getting Good REM Sleep

Sleep stages are often divided into two categories: REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non rapid eye movement) stages.

The deep sleep stage is included in the NREM stage.

Deep sleep is not the same as REM sleep.

Sleep deprivation of any sort will result in negative effects on your day to day life and your long term health.

Studies have shown that the lack of REM sleep can impact your ability to learn new skills.

The benefits of REM sleep are thought to impact your problem-solving abilities.

Procedural memory benefits from adequate REM sleep.

Procedural memory involves learning new skills that require certain processes.

Learning to drive a stick shift car is an example of procedural learning.

As you move through the steps, your brain forms new connections that will enable you to recall the process when you attempt to perform the skill.

There is more to going to sleep than merely closing your eyes.

Good sleep progresses through the stages of sleep each night.

Stage 1 is the first part of light sleep.

This stage occurs when you are still somewhat aware of the sounds and events happening around you.

This is shallow sleep and it is not very restful.

Progress through this stage of sleep is fairly quick.

Stage 2 is the second part of the light sleep stage.

At this point your sleep is not shallow and many important things are happening to your physical and emotional health.

This stage is longer than the first stage.

You are likely to spend about half of your time asleep at this stage.

Stage 3 is considered deep sleep.

At this point, your body begins to relax.

Breath and heart rates slow.

You are not dreaming at this stage.

This is when the serious physical repair begins.

Your body begins the necessary work of cellular repair.

Your immune system is strengthened during this stage.

REM sleep comes next.

Is REM sleep deep sleep?

This stage is often confused with deep sleep.

The answer is simple.

REM sleep is different from the deep sleep stage.

At this point, your body is basically paralyzed but your brain is active.

Dreaming occurs in the REM stage.

Most importantly, this sleep stage affects brain health.

Sleep is not divided equally into these stages.

You will likely move through each stage several times in one night.

Moving through each stage is called a sleep cycle.

On the average, sleep cycles last about 90 minutes.

When you are unable to cycle through the stages of sleep, your physical and mental health will suffer for it.

A lack of REM sleep can raise the risk of major health issues.

Your body’s ability to fend off disease is also affected.

Depression and other mental disorders are also common.

Sleep debt occurs when you do not achieve the amount of sleep you need.

Sleep debt is the amount of sleep you missed.

Also called sleep deficit, adds up quickly.

As little as an hour less of sleep contributes to sleep debt.

Over time, you adjust to sleeping less.

You might not even feel overly tired.

Still, the effects of sleep debt matter.

When you build up sleep debt, your physical abilities begin to suffer.

Your mental performance is affected as well.

Without the right amount of sleep, it is difficult to reach the stages of sleep that repair the body affects brain health.

Sleep is one of the most important aspects of good health.

Medical researchers have linked a number of conditions to poor sleep.

In addition to these issues, a lack of sleep can lower your immune system, raise the risk of depression and other mood disorders, and increase the risk of work-related injuries.

Many common sleep disorders can prevent you from getting the sleep you need.

If you find yourself snoring loudly, feeling overly tired throughout the day, lacking the ability to concentrate, or feeling restlessness in your legs, you may have one of many common sleep disorders.

Insomnia affects a third of American adults.

Insomnia is simply the repeated inability to go to sleep and stay asleep.

Sleep apnea occurs when your breathing stops while you sleep.

After several seconds, you begin to breathe again.

These starts and stops can take you out of deep sleep and affect the overall quality of your sleep.

If you get enough time asleep but still find yourself groggy during the day, sleep apnea may be the culprit.

Sleepwalking occurs when you rise up out of bed and walk around as if you were wide awake.

In truth, you are fast asleep and will often have no memory of your nightly adventures.

Narcolepsy is another sleep disorder that causes sudden sleep.

Like other common sleep disorders, narcolepsy can result in daytime sleepiness.

Narcoleptics do not cycle through the normal stages of sleep.

Instead, they suddenly drop into deep sleep.

What happens when you do not go through the stages of sleep?

There are some very serious disorders than affect sleep, including REM sleeping behavior disorder.

About one-fourth of the sleep you get each night is REM sleep.

For about one percent of the population, this sleep stage is anything but restful.

REM sleep behavior disorder occurs when the individual punches, kicks, or otherwise physically moves and the brain experiences vivid dreams.

Yelling, shouting, or screaming are common as well.

During normal REM sleep, your physical body is still.

You are basically paralyzed and you dream.

Your brain is active and your blood pressure reaches normal levels.

REM sleep behavior disorder causes you to dream and react as if you were actually awake.

This disorder is more common after age 50.

Individuals with serious cognitive issues like Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and other neurological disorders.

Over time, REM sleep behavior disorder worsens.

In terms of repairing sleep problems, prevention is worth a pound of cure.

To avoid inadequate sleep, it is important to set up conditions for the best sleep possible.

Try to go to bed at the same time each night, even on the weekends.

Avoid alcohol and caffeine which may interfere with your body’s natural sleeping patterns.

In terms of repaying sleep debt, the best option may be a brief nap in the afternoon.

Sleeping long enough to reach the second stage of sleep, or light sleep, can provide enough rejuvenation to boost energy and fatigue.

Longer naps may work against you, however.

Sleeping long enough to reach the REM stage will further throw off your sleeping patterns.

After a hard work week it may seem like the weekend is the obvious time to catch up on missed sleep.

However, oversleeping can have the opposite effect.

While you may feel a little more rested, your sleeping patterns are still disrupted by sleeping in until noon on Sunday morning.

The better choice for long term sleep repair is to stick to your normal sleeping routine.

If you experience the symptoms of sleep disorders such as daytime grogginess and irritability, confusion and disorientation, lack of concentration, and physical fatigue, it may be time to speak to your doctor about possible sleeping issues.

You can enhance your ability to get good sleep by practicing good sleeping habits.

Limit caffeine intake.

It is now suggested that you stop caffeine intake ten hours before your planned bedtime.

Research has found that caffeine remains in the system after six hours.

As a stimulant, caffeine affects your body’s natural ability to wind down into normal sleep cycles.

Cut out alcohol.

Like caffeine, alcohol affects your sleeping patterns.

Stop drinking at least four hours before bedtime.

While alcohol is thought to relax you, as a depressant alcohol can also interrupt natural sleep patterns.

Get some exercise.

If possible, get outside in the sunshine during the day.

Regular exercise promotes healthy sleep patterns and helps replenish your body’s stores of Vitamin D.