Whether you’re up early for a morning shift of work or up late at night trying desperately to finish your college project before it’s due the next morning, we all require sleep. Without it, our brains cannot properly function to give us the necessary motor skills and cognitive ability to go about our daily business. Learn more about sleep and the process that occurs.
This is usually referred to as “light sleep.” In this stage, you are not fully asleep but also not fully awake. Your body switches repeatedly in and out of sleep, making it easy to be awakened. During this stage, you muscle activity and eye movement begin to slow.
Eye movement stops completely and heart rate begins to slow down. Body temperature falls and the brain starts to produce rhythmic waves called “sleep spindles.”
The start of stage 3 initiates the transition between light sleep and deep sleep. During this stage, waves of activity in the brain begin to emerge called “delta waves.” The delta waves persist through stage 4, referred to as “deep sleep.” The average person typically spends about 30 minutes in this stage.
Commonly referred to as REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), stage 5 is characterized by an increase in brain activity. Eye movement begins again, the rate of respiration speeds up, and most muscles become paralyzed. Paralysis of the muscles is the body’s preventative measure for possible self harm. It is during this stage where dreams occur. For more detailed info, visit psychcentral.com
