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Sleep was long considered just a uniform block of time when you are not awake. Thanks to sleep studies done over the past several decades, it is now known that sleep has distinctive stages that cycle throughout the night. Your brain stays active throughout sleep, but different things happen during each stage. For instance, certain stages of sleep are indeed for us to feel well rested and energetic the next day, and other stages help us learn or make memories.

In brief, a number of vital tasks carried out during sleep help maintain good health and enable people to function at their best. On the other hand, not getting enough sleep can be dangerous for example, you are more likely to be in a car crash if you drive when you are drowsy.

There are two primary sleep stages.
Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) accounts for longer periods of sleep during which our brain activity and bodily functions slow down. Rapid-eye movement (REM) happens in brief spurts of increased activity in the brain and body. REM is considered the dreaming stage of sleep.

Healthy sleep is characterized by a specific “sleep architecture,” or sequence of stages. The sleep cycle usually begins with a period of about 80 minutes of NREM sleep followed by about 10 minutes of REM sleep. This 90-minute cycle is repeated four to six times each night. If the sequence is interrupted (for example, by external noise or a sleep disorder), the quality of our sleep suffers.

It is critical that the body and mind get the correct amount and type of sleep. This category will focus on proper sleep and the issues of improper sleep.~

ARTICLES:  Sleep Wellness