Here are the different phases of sleep and what happens in each phase.
PHASES OF SLEEP – Each stage in a sleep cycle plays a significant role in our sleep quality and here are it’s five (5) phases.
They say dreams most likely happen during REM sleep or the Rapid Eye Movement sleep. In one night of sleep, a sleep cycle happens and in each cycle, something happens. There are five phases of sleep in a sleep cycle.
In a sleep, it is normal for us to focus on how many hours we get to sleep as the duration is undeniably important, however, this is not the only thing that is important. Quality is one of the most important things and understanding how the sleep cycle works will give you an overview and an idea on how to achieve this.
Sleep cycle
The five phases are:
Stage 1: This is the phase that takes up 4 to 5 percent of total sleep where light sleep, slow eye movement, and reduced muscle activity happens.
Stage 2: This is the stage where the eye movement stops and brain waves become slower. There will occasional burst of sleep spindle and this stage takes up the 45 to 55 percent of total sleep.
Stage 3: Delta waves or extremely slow brain waves starts to happen which accounts to 4 to 6 percent of total sleep.
Stage 4: This is the stage where delta waves occurs and it would be difficult for someone to wake up the sleeping person who is already in this phase. Stages 3 and 4 are the “deep sleep” stages – no eye movement and muscle activity at all. If waken up, the person will have disorientation as they cannot adjust immediately in waking up from a deep sleep. This makes up the 12 to 15 percent of total sleep.
Stage 5: This is the REM or the Rapid Eye Movement sleep. What happens in this stage include rapid, irregular, and shallow breathing, eyes jerking in various directions, temporary paralyzation of the limb muscles, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. This is the 20 to 25 percent of total sleep time and people waking up from this phase often tell bizarre tales. There are explanations about the REM sleep as likely the cause of dreaming.
Most of the time, we tend to forget what happens in a dream but here are some tips on how to remember the dreams you’ve had.
We don’t usually remember most of our dreams but the details are sure strange and mind-altering. There are also some causes behind forgetting it like stress, sleep disorders, lack of REM sleep, waking up outside REM phase, brain chemistry, changing sleep patterns due to old age, and lack of attention to the dream itself.
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