Posts Tagged ‘Circulatory System’

Solutions To Sleep Apnea

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Solutions To Sleep Apnea

If you are having a difficult time getting to sleep comprehending the mechanism behind sleeping and how it rejuvenates you might help you resolve the issue of what is keeping you awake. Slumber is not as simple as you believe because of the various levels of slumber. The’re a number of matters that take place once your eyes close and you doze off that defines how well you will sleep.

Drowsiness is the first stage of sleeping as your feel yourself let go, your muscles fall into a limp state, and you can no longer keep your eyes open. This stage usually lasts only a few minutes usually between five and ten. The very next stage of sleep is considered a very light “stage two” and in this state your temperature and respiratory system drop. The heart rate may also lag during this stage.

Both stage three and stage four of the sleep cycles are classified as deep sleep and are where it should be hard to wake up. You may feel groggy and be unable to adjust quickly but this important sleep stage allows your brain to rest while the circulatory system slows, after which it is redirected to the body in order to help restore the body. There is also an increase in immune functions during these important stages of rest.

The most fascinating stage is called stage five or REM sleep and is known as the dream portion of a good night’s rest. Entering and exiting this cycle happens many times during sleep so there may be several minutes or hours during your period of REM. This intricate stage of sleeping is determined by a number of physical responses where you may experience rapid breathing that is of the shallow sort, deep or even irregular. You may also experience a rise in heart rate and blood pressure.

This particular portion of the entire sleep cycle is good for helping your mind process heavy emotions, stress reduction and providing a benefit to the person sleeping. Those who tend to sleep lighter than others are usually in stage two and rarely go into three and four where they need to be in order to obtain the most rest possible. Those who can’t wake up so easily possibly spend a longer period of time in deep sleep and rise suddenly when they wake up rather than travel through each stage on the way to waking up.

Sleep can be put off kilter based on how much time you spent in each cycle the evenings before, so if you spend more time in deep sleep one night the next night you may spend more time in REM or light sleep. Your body adjusts over time and you will spend about the same average over time in all of the sleep stages. That’s why it is more true that you won’t catch up on sleep but you can always make up on lost rest.