What happens when you sleep
Sleep Basics
Sleep is an important part of our lives. It improves physical and mental health. Sleep happens in stages, including REM sleep and non-REM sleep. Many factors affect your sleep quality, including food and room temperature. If you think you may have a sleep problem, talk to a healthcare provider. Many treatments are available for sleep disorders.
What is sleep?
You may think nothing is happening when you sleep. But parts of your brain are quite active during sleep. And enough sleep (or lack of it) affects your physical and mental health. When you sleep, your body has a chance to rest and restore energy. A good night’s sleep can help you cope with stress, solve problems or recover from illness. Not getting enough sleep can lead to many health concerns, affecting how you think and feel.
During the night, you cycle through two types of sleep: non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Your brain and body act differently during these different phases.
Why do we need sleep?
Sleep helps us in many ways. We need it for:
-
Growth: In children and young adults, deep sleep (sleep that’s harder to wake from) supports development. The body releases growth hormones during this type of sleep. The body also increases the production of proteins, which we need for cell growth and to repair the damage.
-
Nervous system function: A lack of sleep affects our memory, performance and ability to think clearly. If a person is severely sleep-deprived, they may experience neurological problems such as mood swings and hallucinations. Sleep also helps our nerve cells. They can repair themselves, so they function at their best. And certain nerve connections get a chance to turn on, strengthening our brain and thinking ability.
-
Survival: Researchers don’t fully understand why sleep is so essential. But animal studies have shown that getting deprived of REM sleep can shorten lifespans. Lack of sleep may harm the immune system, which protects us from infections.
-
Well-being: People who don’t get enough sleep are at higher risk for developing various health conditions including obesity, diabetes and heart problems.
Stages of sleep [NREM and REM]
Throughout your time asleep, your brain will cycle repeatedly through two different types of sleep: REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep.
​
The first part of the cycle is non-REM sleep, which is composed of four stages. The first stage comes between being awake and falling asleep. The second is light sleep when heart rate and breathing regulate and body temperature drops. The third and fourth stages are deep sleep. Though REM sleep was previously believed to be the most important sleep phase for learning and memory, newer data suggests that non-REM sleep is more important for these tasks, as well as being the more restful and restorative phase of sleep.
​
As you cycle into REM sleep, the eyes move rapidly behind closed lids, and brain waves are similar to those during wakefulness. Breath rate increases and the body becomes temporarily paralyzed as we dream.
The cycle then repeats itself, but with each cycle, you spend less time in the deeper stages three and four of sleep and more time in REM sleep. On a typical night, you’ll cycle through four or five times.
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.