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Your brain also produces “ sleep spindles,” short bursts of activity in the range of 12 – 14 Hz that are thought to play a role in learning and memory. Stage 2 continues the descent of brain waves towards theta activity, and lasts around 25 minutes. This stage typically lasts only a few minutes and is easy to be woken from. Stage 1 is the lightest stage of sleep where brain waves are beginning to slow down into alpha waves. Understanding The Sleep Cycleĭuring sleep, your brain goes through several distinct stages, each characterized by different brain waves and physiological features.Īt first, sleep was only divided into 2 stages based on their respective eye movements: non-rapid and rapid eye movement, or NREM and REM sleep, respectively.Īs we’ve learned more about sleep the NREM stage has been further subdivided into 4 stages, simply named NREM stages 1, 2, 3, and 4. To get a better understanding of what happens when you sleep, and what you can do to help ensure you’re doing so effectively, this post will delve into the depths of sleep. There is simply no remedy for poor sleep. Sleep plays a vital role in maintaining your overall physical and mental well-being. Whatever might be causing that bad night’s sleep, it’s going to affect your health. Sleep is too often neglected when there are tasks to be done, and too easily disrupted by bad habits and routines. Unfortunately, many of us don’t get there or stay there long enough. And a good night means hitting the very depths of sleep. As it turns out, the deepest stages of sleep are perhaps the most important.Įverything from your body’s repair and restoration, to brain function and memory consolidation, benefit from a good night’s rest. It’s an often repeated recommendation that we get about 8 hours of sleep a night, but the quality of that sleep matters.
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