Sleep phases - how do they affect the quality of sleep?
Good sleep is the main factor of our good mood and proper functioning throughout the day. In this aspect, not only the length of sleep itself is very important, but also, and maybe even above all its quality. This, in turn, depends largely on the course of sleep, i.e. on its phases. So how do the sleep phases affect the home rhythm and then on ourselves?
Sleep phases - what are they?
Sleep is definitely more complicated than we think at first glance. In a nutshell - we distinguish two main sleep phases - the phase of Nrem and Rem. They differ primarily in the degree of brain activity. Depending on which phase we are currently, it will be easier or more difficult for us to wake up and feel rested. Often it probably happened that we woke up in the morning and were ready to act, but dragging the nap by the next hour caused us to accept the sound of the alarm clock.
Sleep phase REM and NRE - what is it?
As we have already mentioned above, we divide sleep phases into the REM and NREM phase. The first of them is often called a paradoxical sleep. Its name comes from the English words "Rapid Eye Movement". Why yes? Well, she is accompanied by fast eye movements. In this phase, we also most often appear dreams, which, contrary to appearances, do not last many hours, as we often think, and just a few minutes. It is also a time when the heart pumps more blood and breath can be irregular. Interestingly, in this phase the brain is much more active, but the muscles and our whole body relaxes and rest.
The NREM phase is, in turn, a slow -wave dream that occurs first after falling asleep. The name of this phase comes from the English words "non -rapid eye move". During the nrem phase, our body regenerates, blood pressure decreases, the breath is even, the body temperature slightly decreases, the eyeballs move much slower, and intestinal work is also slowed down.
Sleep cycles
Sleep cycles consist of the previously mentioned phases of REM and NRE sleep, which appear alternately. The nrem sleep phase is the first, which lasts 1-2 hours. Then the REM phase enters the game, which is very short. After it, we can also say that we finished one full sleep cycle. Interestingly, the next phases are longer, and in some cases the Rem sleep phase can be extended 2-3 times. A healthy, adult man can, in turn, repeat sleep cycles 4-5 times. It looks slightly different in the case of the youngest children. These are most often undergoing shallow sleep, which is why newborns and babies just after falling asleep still react to sounds coming from the surroundings. Hence, their frequent waking up, which unfortunately is a bane for parents.
How to ensure adequate deep sleep length?
To make our dream comfortable and healthy, it is necessary to take care of a few aspects that will allow you to wake up in a good mood every morning. First of all, remember about a proper diet, proper irrigation of the body and systematic physical activity. Even a short walk can give a lot every day. Remember to ventilate the bedroom, especially before bedtime. Let's also limit the use of devices in the bedroom that emit blue light. Finally, we cannot fail to mention the mattress with an appropriate degree of hardness, profiled pillows or bedding, which will provide us with the expected comfort. These aspects are not only important to provide us with the right length of deep sleep, but also to keep our spine in health for many years.
How much deep sleep does a man need?
As we already know, man's dream is made of shallow and deep sleep. Our body needs much more, however. Much more, that is, how much? It is conditioned by many individual factors, such as age, level of physical activity or genetics. Nevertheless, it is assumed that an adult needs about 80% deep sleep from the time pool that we sleep. In the case of adults, it is therefore about 6 hours, in the case of preschool and school children 8 hours, and in infants up to 16-17!
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