The Effects Of Sleep Apnea
If sleep doesn’t come simple for you it is important that comprehending sleep mechanics and what makes up a good night of rest could assist you recognize the problem of what’s keeping you from it. Comprehending rest is not so simple because you’re either up, asleep, or somewhere in between. There are numerous sleep processes that take place as soon as you begin to drift off to rest 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 is very quick, taking only a few minutes to develop, somewhere around ten full minutes. The next stage is light stage often called stage two and in this state your temperature and respiratory system fall considerably. Your pulse will also become slower at this point in the sleep process.
Both stage three and stage four of the sleep cycles are considered “deep sleep” and are certainly where you may have difficulty waking up. You will possibly feel very dazed and incoherent but this important sleep stage allows your brain to rest while the circulatory system slows, at which point it begins to rejuvenate the body. There is also an increase in immune functions during these stages of sleep.
The most fascinating stage is called stage five or REM sleep and is generally considered the dreaming period of the sleep cycle. Drifting in and out of stage five happens often so there may be several minutes or hours within the stage of REM sleep. This part of the sleep process is defined by a number of physical responses where you may experience rapid breathing that is both irregular and shallow. You could also show signs of your heart quickening as a rise in blood pressure.
This exact moment in the sleep cycle is good for helping your mind process heavy emotions, stress reduction and giving the person a truly good night’s sleep. Light sleepers are stuck in the early sleep stages and hardly ever make it to phases three and four where they need to be in order to obtain the most rest possible. Those who can’t wake up so easily likely are stuck in the deeper parts of sleep and awake suddenly rather than come awake through the various stages of sleep.
Sleep stages can become random based upon the time you have spent in each sleep stage through the previous week, so if you spend too much time in a heavy sleep one night you will likely sleep lightly the following evening. Ultimately however it balances out and you’ll likely spend equal amounts of time in every stage of sleep. This is one of the reasons why it is stated that it is impossible to get caught up on sleep but you can catch up on rest.