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How many hours of rem sleep are you supposed to get


How Much REM Sleep Do You Need? [REM Sleep Guide]

How Much REM Sleep Do You Need? [REM Sleep Guide]

Sleep
November 19, 2021

Everything you want to know about REM sleep.

By WHOOP

REM sleep, which means “rapid eye movement sleep,” is one of the 4 stages of sleep (along with light, deep and wake) that your body’s sleep cycles consist of. It is known as the “mentally restorative” stage of sleep when the brain converts short-term memories into long-term ones. Your brain is very active during REM sleep and it is when the most vivid dreams occur.

The Sleep Stages

Something many people don’t realize is that REM sleep and deep sleep (also referred to as slow wave sleep) are very different stages of sleep. Deep sleep is the “physically restorative” stage when muscles repair themselves and cells regenerate. It follows light sleep and precedes REM sleep in a normal sleep cycle, and unlike REM when your heart and respiratory rate speed up, during deep sleep they both slow down.

Why is REM Sleep Important?

REM sleep is the time when new learnings from the day are committed to long-term memory. Beyond the obvious value this has for anyone, it’s significant to athletes from the perspective of technical skills worked on or practiced that day–they are retained during REM sleep, so failing to get the proper amount at night can prevent you from seeing the benefits of your practice that day.

More generally speaking, there’s been research to suggest that when people are deprived of REM sleep they have trouble recollecting things they are taught before falling asleep.

The following physiological changes occur during the REM stage of sleep:

  • Eyes move rapidly back and forth behind closed eyelids
  • Heart rate and blood pressure rise to levels nearly as high as when you’re awake
  • Respiratory rate speeds up and becomes erratic
  • Brain consumes more oxygen and its activity increases significantly
  • Face and limbs may twitch

Below is a chart representing brain waves measured by an EEG when a person is awake, in REM sleep, and in non-REM sleep:

Brain waves from an EEG are similar when a person is awake and in REM sleep.

Your brain is almost as active in rapid eye movement sleep as when it’s awake, which is why most dreaming happens during this time. As a precautionary measure, part of the brain also sends signals to immobilize your arms and legs in order to prevent you from acting out your dreams (REM sleep behavior disorder). For these reasons, REM sleep is sometimes called paradoxical sleep.

How Much REM Sleep Do You Need?

You first enter REM sleep each usually within 90 minutes of falling asleep, and this period of REM only lasts about 10 minutes. On average you’ll go through 3-5 REM cycles per night, with each episode getting longer as the night progresses. The final one may last roughly an hour.

For healthy adults, spending 20-25% of your time asleep in the REM stage is a good goal. If you get 7-8 hours of sleep, around 90 minutes of that should be REM.

The normal amount of REM sleep also declines with age, beginning with infancy (when it may be greater than 50% of total sleep time) and extending all the way through adulthood.

Learn More:

How Much REM Sleep Should You Get a Night?

How Much Time Should You Spend in Each Stage of Sleep?

Effects of Lack of REM Sleep

As mentioned above, not getting enough REM sleep can negatively impact your brain’s ability to learn and create new memories.

Additionally, because the majority of your REM sleep tends to come towards the end of your night in bed (and after deep sleep, which your brain and body prioritize when you need to catch up on sleep), a lack of REM is often a sign of sleep deprivation. Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to greater risk of obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, dementia, depression, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

There has also been research to show that insufficient REM sleep may cause migraines, and some medical conditions (sleep apnea for example) can have adverse effects on it.

How to Get More REM Sleep

Overall, whatever you can do to improve your sleep habits and behaviors will also help you get more REM sleep. This begins with simply making an effort to spend more time in bed. Here are 45 tips to help you sleep better.

There are also two other things in particular that stand out with how to increase REM sleep. The first is a concept we refer to as sleep consistency–going to bed and waking up at the same time each day (or a sleep schedule as close to that as possible). Your body functions more efficiently when it is on a regular schedule, and this applies to sleep as well. We ran an analysis of sleep data from 25,000 WHOOP members, and the results showed a significant rise in the nightly amount of REM sleep as the percentage of sleep consistency over a 4-day span increased:

Better sleep consistency allows for more REM sleep.

 

The second big thing is to stay away from alcohol before bed. When your body is forced to process alcohol during sleep, it has difficulty getting past light sleep and into the deeper stages.

Learn More: Tips to Increase REM Sleep

WHOOP TRacks How Much REM Sleep You’re Getting

With WHOOP, you can monitor your night’s sleep in detail and learn exactly how much time you spend in each stage of sleep. The app also features a Sleep Coach that uses your own circadian rhythm to recommend daily bed and wake times to optimize the quality of your sleep.

WHOOP will let you know how much REM sleep you’re getting and help give you a better understanding of what you can do to get more of it.

The WHOOP app displays how much time you spend in REM sleep each night.

 

REM Sleep FAQs

Is REM sleep good?

Yes, REM sleep is considered beneficial as it is associated with a variety of important physiological and cognitive processes, including memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and learning. However, sleep quality is a complex and multifaceted aspect of overall health, and a healthy sleep pattern requires adequate amounts of both REM and non-REM sleep stages.

Which is better REM or deep sleep?

Both REM and deep sleep are important stages of the sleep cycle, and each has its own unique functions and benefits. Deep sleep is crucial for physical restoration, while REM sleep is important for cognitive and emotional processing. Therefore, it is not a matter of which stage is better, but rather, a healthy sleep pattern requires adequate amounts of both REM and deep sleep.

Is 3 hours of REM sleep too much?

It is not necessarily too much to have 3 hours of REM sleep, as the amount of time spent in each sleep stage varies depending on individual factors such as age and sleep quality. However, if an individual consistently experiences an abnormally high amount of REM sleep, it may be a sign of an underlying health condition or sleep disorder and it is recommended to seek medical evaluation.

How Much Deep Sleep Do You Need?

How much sleep you need by age can range from 8 to 14 hours.
New research aims to identify not just how much total sleep you need — but also how much of each stage of sleep you need.

If you are getting the recommended amount of slumber — seven to nine hours a night — you spend about one-third of your life asleep.

Although that may seem like a lot of time, your mind and body are very busy during that time, so you can be productive, energetic, and healthy when you’re awake.

Five stages of sleep rotate between non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) and include drowsiness, light sleep, moderate to deep sleep, deepest sleep, and dreaming.

Sleep stages 1, 2, and REM consist of light sleep, while 3 and 4 comprise deep sleep.

Stage 1

During stage 1, you drift from being awake to being asleep. This is a light, NREM sleep that doesn’t last very long. You may start to relax and dream, but may also twitch as you transition into stage 2.

Stage 2

Stage 2 of the sleep cycle is still a light sleep, but you are drifting into a steadier sleep. Your breathing and heartbeat slow down, and your muscles relax. Your body temperature decreases, and your brain waves are less active.

Stages 3 and 4

In stage 3, you enter deep sleep, and stage 4 is the deepest sleep stage. During deep sleep, your breathing, heartbeat, body temperature, and brain waves reach their lowest levels. Your muscles are extremely relaxed, and you are most difficult to rouse.

Stage 4 is known as the healing stage, when tissue growth and repair take place, important hormones are released to do their jobs, and cellular energy is restored.

REM sleep

Your first REM cycle of the night begins about 90 minutes after you fall asleep and recurs every 90 minutes. Your eyes move around quickly behind your eyelids and your brainwaves look similar to those of someone who is awake. Your breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure rise to near-waking levels.

REM sleep, often referred to as stage 5, is when you are most likely to dream.

Your arms and legs become temporarily paralyzed during this stage to prevent you from physically acting out your dreams.

In healthy adults, about 13 to 23 percent of your sleep is deep sleep. So if you sleep for 8 hours a night, that’s roughly 62 to 110 minutes.

However, as you get older you require less deep sleep.

During deep sleep, a variety of functions take place in the mind and body:

  • memories are consolidated
  • learning and emotions process
  • physical recovery occurs
  • blood sugar levels and metabolism balance out
  • the immune system is energized
  • the brain detoxifies

Without deep sleep, these functions cannot take place and the symptoms of sleep deprivation kick in.

On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be any such thing as too much deep sleep.

How much REM sleep should you get

Although there’s no official consensus on how much REM sleep you should get, dreaming is most common during this stage. Experts believe that dreaming helps you process emotions and solidify certain memories.

For most adults, REM takes up about 20 to 25 percent of sleep, and this seems to be healthy during average sleep cycles. However, sleep research is raising some interesting questions. One recent study suggested that higher amounts of REM sleep may be associated with depression. But don’t go making sudden changes in your sleep habits — it is not clear which is the cause and which is the effect.

How much light sleep do you need?

Although sleep scientists believe that light sleep is good for you, there is no minimum to strive for. Light sleep is usually the default stage, one that is nearly impossible to avoid if you are asleep at all.

Too much overall sleep on a regular basis, however, is linked to obesity, depression, pain, heart disease, and even increased risk of death.

How much deep and light sleep do children need?

Babies and children need more sleep than adults. Babies need the most, spending about 16 of every 24 hours asleep. Approximately 50 percent of their slumber is spent in the REM stage, while the other 50 percent is divided between stages 1 through 4 and NREM sleep that cycles between light and deep.

As children grow older, the amount of sleep they need varies:

  • toddlers: 11 to 14 hours
  • preschoolers: 10 to 13 hours
  • school-aged children: 9 to 12 hours
  • teens: 8 to 10 hours

With enough sleep that appears to be restful, it’s likely that the light, deep, and REM ratio is exactly where it should be in young people.

If they’re having trouble with falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping well, or if they are sleeping way too much for their age, children may be irritable, could have learning and memory problems, or may be more susceptible to illness.

If you sleep 8 hours but toss and turn all night, you may not be getting enough deep sleep.

It’s impossible to force your brain to go into deep sleep, but there are a number of strategies that have shown some promise in terms of increasing your percentage of deep sleep. These include:

  • reducing stress
  • establishing sleep rituals and routines
  • using an eye mask to block out light
  • sleeping in a cool room
  • exercising
  • eating a healthy diet
  • listening to white or pink noise
  • brainwave entrainment
  • meditation

Although the science is still new, a number of sleep trackers are available that may help you track your sleep patterns and see how much light, REM, and deep sleep you are getting.

For more sleep support, check out our sleep shop.

According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, you should feel fresh and alert when you wake up, but many people don’t.

If you’re sleeping for 7 to 9 hours each night, but only 10 percent of that is deep sleep, you’re not getting the 90 minutes you need and might still be tired each day. A sleep study may help you figure out what is going on.

There are a number of possible causes that you might want to discuss with a doctor, including:

  • general sleep disorder
  • obstructive sleep apnea
  • not getting enough sleep
  • getting too much sleep
  • other health conditions that cause fatigue

Scientists say that quality sleep is as important to health as food and water are. It helps you to survive and thrive. Some of the side effects of sleep deprivation include:

  • memory troubles
  • mood changes
  • weakened immunity
  • trouble concentrating
  • poor response time and increased risk of accidents
  • high blood pressure
  • weight gain
  • risk for diabetes
  • low sex drive
  • risk of heart disease
  • poor balance
  • early aging

Scientists agree that sleep is essential to health, and while stages 1 to 4 and REM sleep are all important, deep sleep is the most essential of all for feeling rested and staying healthy.

The average healthy adult gets roughly 1 to 2 hours of deep sleep per 8 hours of nightly sleep. There are various ways to gauge whether you are, from personal trackers to a sleep study.

If you’re waking up tired on a regular basis, it’s a good idea to talk to a healthcare provider.

fast and slow sleep, which is more useful, how to get enough sleep taking into account the phases

While dubious gurus are broadcasting that you can get enough sleep in just a couple of hours, we decided to take the side of common sense and tell you more about sleep phases. In our material, you will learn why good rest is so important and how to improve its quality.

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The role of sleep in the proper functioning of the body cannot be overestimated. But we are used to being guided by only part of the knowledge about it: how many hours it takes to restore strength, how quickly you can fall asleep and how you will feel in the morning. Many more have heard that there is a phase of fast and slow sleep, but not everyone knows what they are. Today we will talk about what phases are, what are their differences and features. And also dwell on their significance in human life.

What are the phases of sleep

The study of sleep is the branch of medicine called somnology. Somnologists are interested in the physiology of sleep and all its phases. They analyze brain activity and physiological reactions during a night's rest using special devices.

One of the leading methods is polysomnography - a comprehensive study of a patient's sleep, in which the equipment records the frequency and depth of breathing, muscle contractions, body position, transmission of nerve impulses, heart function and many other parameters. As a result, scientists receive a hypnogram - a graph that displays information about how long a particular sleep phase lasts, reflects information about their structure and quality.

Experts identify 2 main phases of sleep - slow and fast sleep. In a healthy state of a person, with the right schedule and in accordance with biorhythms, sleep is a cycle of two basic phases, and each of them, in turn, is divided into stages. During the night, the cycle is repeated several times. Phases have different tasks and durations, which we will discuss in more detail in separate paragraphs.

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  1. Several systems in the brain are responsible for the process of falling asleep. At first, the slow-wave sleep phase or its first stage begins, the duration of which is no more than ten minutes. At this moment, the body passes from an active state to rest. The metabolism in the body slows down, the frequency of respiration and pulse decreases, as well as the temperature, the muscles gradually relax.
  2. After that, you enter the second stage, which lasts about twenty minutes. This is a light or shallow sleep, when muscle activity is still decreasing, and with it the heart rate, temperature, eyes stop moving. The volume of this stage is about half of the total time of night rest.
  3. Then comes the deep sleep phase - the third and fourth stages. Each of them takes about forty minutes. The human heart beats slowly, breathing also slows down, the muscles are already completely relaxed. It becomes more difficult to wake a person, he sleeps soundly enough.
  4. Since rest is cyclical, then comes the return to the second stage of non-REM sleep. It is hurried to be replaced by the first short episode of a person's REM sleep, which takes only five minutes in time. Together, the stages form a cycle that, on average, is repeated four or five times per night in a healthy person. This factor depends on the age of the sleeper and the needs of his body. The more cycles behind, the smaller the proportion of slow sleep and the more noticeable the preponderance towards fast sleep.

How to understand whether REM or REM sleep is

Experts have an effective tool to easily distinguish between REM and non-REM sleep - this is an electroencephalogram. Without special devices, it is very difficult to understand whether there is a period of REM or non-REM sleep. Most likely, if a person moves his arms or legs, he is in REM sleep. During slow sleep, there is still complete relaxation.

What is REM sleep

REM sleep is the phase during which the information received during the day is processed. Studies have found that during REM sleep, brain activity is practically the same as during wakefulness. This period is very important for the formation of memories and the consolidation of skills.

How to understand if REM sleep

REM sleep can be determined by the movements of the eyeballs and intermittent breathing. A person in this phase can even move his hands. Body temperature and heart rate during this period are unstable and can fluctuate from low to high values.

How long REM sleep lasts

Normally REM sleep takes 20-25% of the total sleep time. It comes about an hour and a half after falling asleep and then repeats every hour and a half, each time becoming longer. Especially long REM sleep is observed in the morning hours.

What is the phase of slow sleep

In this section, we have reached the phase of slow sleep, or rather, the period of restoration of physiological and energy balance. A good rest begins, regeneration of tissues and cells is noted, blood supply to the muscles improves, immunity is strengthened. It is at this time that the “recharging” of the brain, the structuring of memory takes place.

How to tell if you are in a slow-wave sleep

A person who is in the slow-wave sleep phase has a decrease in blood pressure and body temperature. Muscles are relaxed, breathing becomes more rare and measured.

How long non-REM sleep lasts

If we have a table of times in which the somnologist identifies sleep phases, we will notice the following. Normally, slow-wave sleep takes up 75% of the entire rest period. It is divided into three stages, which scientists refer to as N1, N2, N3.

  • N1 (light sleep) is the transitional stage between falling asleep and waking. During this phase of slow wave sleep, phenomena such as hypnagogic jerk (feeling of falling and startling when falling asleep), visual, auditory and tactile hallucinations, sleep paralysis, sleepwalking, sleep-talking can occur.
  • N2 - body temperature drops, muscles relax, a person completely disconnects from reality. Normally, N2 slow-wave sleep takes up half the time of all sleep and occurs in segments of about 20 minutes.
  • N3 is a deep sleep during which blood pressure decreases and breathing becomes rare. These are good sleep phases for restoring body tissues, producing hormones and removing metabolites. The brain, meanwhile, is engaged in "archiving" memories of events, moving them from short-term memory to long-term memory.

What is the difference between REM and non-REM sleep? REM sleep is characterized by frequent eye movements, and during non-REM sleep they are practically absent.

The most common question that somnologists hear is in what phase of sleep do we dream. As a rule, dreams that we see during REM sleep are more likely to be remembered. Although studies have found that dreams occur during both phases.

Why slow sleep is better than fast sleep

Both main phases are important for the normal functioning of body systems. There are just some nuances. It is believed that the phase of non-REM sleep has a significant mission of restoring the body, both in children and adults. By waking up a person at this time, we will deprive his brain of the opportunity to “reboot”. In addition to the general poor health of the sleepy, impaired concentration, increased nervousness, lethargy, apathy, and irritability await.

And if such deprivation of non-REM sleep occurs regularly, there are high chances of encountering serious mental disorders. In order to prevent a disorder of the circadian rhythm (the body's internal clock), you need to know in which phase of sleep it is best to wake up. REM sleep is ideal for this. By the way, numerous applications for gadgets can help with this.

But in no case should you think that REM sleep is useless and can be sacrificed without consequences. This period prepares all body systems for awakening and includes the connection between physiological processes in the brain and consciousness.

REM and NREM sleep: normal

A simple sleep phase calculator will help you calculate the norm for the average person. So, slow-wave sleep should account for 70%, and fast sleep, respectively, 30% of the total night's rest. The total duration of sleep sufficient for recovery is from 7 to 9 hours per day.

Slow-wave sleep should last about 90 minutes to maintain health. It is followed by a phase of REM sleep lasting 10-20 minutes. At night, the phases of REM and non-REM sleep are unevenly distributed. So, for the first time after falling asleep, REM sleep lasts about 5 minutes, and closer to waking up, its duration reaches an hour. With slow-wave sleep, the opposite is true - as the cycles change, it is reduced.

Let's add that there are supporters of polyphasic sleep. They break it up into short periods instead of a long night's sleep - the time of wakefulness increases, and you have to sleep less. So they get not 2 or 3, but as many as 4 phases of sleep. We are talking about the following modes:

  • Dymaxion - every 6 hours fall asleep four times for 30 minutes. Just 2 hours.
  • Uberman - every 4 hours six times for 20 minutes. Just 2 hours.
  • Everyman - 1.5-3 hours at night and three times 20 minutes during the day. Just 2.5-4 hours.
  • Tesla - 2 hours at night and 20 minutes during the day. Only 2 hours 20 minutes.

Of course, this approach has many opponents who claim that the regime is contrary to human biological rhythms. A torn schedule, they believe, will sooner or later lead to health problems.

How to increase the phase of non-REM sleep

Since we have found out in which phase of sleep a person recovers best, you need to know what will happen if it is deficient. Due to the lack of slow-wave sleep, the body's resistance decreases, immunity decreases and brain activity slows down. It becomes more difficult to concentrate even on familiar tasks, lethargy and anxiety appear.

There may be malfunctions in the endocrine system and hormone production. A reduced phase of non-REM sleep also increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease, heart and vascular diseases. Obviously, to maintain health, it is necessary to maintain the normal duration of this phase of sleep. For this, it is important to follow the regime. Look at your schedule, take into account the phases of sleep and their cyclical nature, time to wake up. And after the analysis, determine the hour when it is easier for the body to fall asleep and wake up.

It is not allowed to rest for five hours during the week, hoping to compensate on Saturday or Sunday. The habit of sleeping on weekends can lead to insomnia, create conditions for chronic fatigue, increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, provoke obesity and headaches. It also increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks. Follow the recommendations that will help increase non-REM sleep.

1. Scheduled sleep

If you have too short slow-wave sleep, take care of your routine and try to always follow it. Getting up and going to bed at the same time is a uniquely healthy habit.

2. Movement is life

Move more during the day (but not before going to bed!) You need to do exercises daily for 20-30 minutes. Thanks to this, brain cells will receive more oxygen, and this will help to establish biological rhythms.

3. No caffeine

Avoid invigorating drinks such as coffee, tea and alcohol in the evening. Drink a soothing herbal tea before bed.

4. Neither cold nor hot

Keep the room at a comfortable sleeping temperature. Ventilate the room regularly. It is comfortable to fall asleep in a cool room, and not in a stuffy one.

5. Put your phone away

Gadgets have a bad effect on the quality of sleep. An hour and a half before leaving for Morpheus, put away your smartphone, do not watch TV and do not use a computer. And it doesn't matter whether it's work plans, watching a movie or playing computer games.

6. Take a bath

A warm bath before going to bed helps you relax, and reading further sets you up for peace and relaxation.

7. Moderate emotions

The bed should be associated exclusively with rest (and intimate life), but not with quarrels, work, laughter and deep sadness. Do not sort things out before going to bed, do not create emotional stress and fully tune in to sleep.

8. Dim the lights

Light interferes with the production of melatonin, distracts and prevents sleep, so try to rest in complete darkness. At the same time, take care of the silence, there will be no sharp and loud sounds in the audibility zone.

9. Timely dinner

Fatty, spicy foods, fruits are not suitable for eating at night. You make the stomach work, and it also has time to rest. Have dinner at least three hours before bedtime, so the food has time to digest. If annoying rumbling bothers you, drink a glass of kefir or milk.

10. Comfort

A hard mattress, uncomfortable pillow and synthetic bed linen are unlikely to contribute to a comfortable rest in any phase of sleep. Pick up linen from breathable fabrics, place the bed so that nothing distracts and replace the blanket with a pillow. Your bed should be comfortable and inviting to sleep.

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Sleep takes up a third of our lives. If you live 90 years, 30 of them you will oversleep. A lot, right? This condition is the subject of research by many scientists around the world (neurologists, psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists). Everyone wonders how much sleep you need? How does sleep affect productivity? What to do if you can't sleep?

Sleep is a special state of consciousness, as well as a natural physiological process, characterized by a reduced reaction to the outside world and specific brain activity.

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The structure of human sleep includes two phases: slow-wave sleep (Non-REM) and fast sleep (REM, or REM - “rapid eye movement”).

Slow sleep
Comes on immediately after falling asleep. Consists of four stages. The total duration of the Non-REM phase is about 90 minutes. The breathing is calm, even, the pressure decreases, the eyes first make slow movements, and then they are motionless, the brain is inactive, the body is relaxed. You rest, restore physical strength.

REM sleep
Follows REM sleep and lasts 10 to 20 minutes. The temperature and pressure rise, the heart beats faster. The body is immobilized, with the exception of the muscles responsible for the heartbeat and breathing. Under closed eyelids, eyeballs make quick movements (hence the name - REM). The brain is active. You see dreams.

Non-REM and REM phases alternate with each other. First, you fall into slow sleep and go through all its stages. This takes about 90 minutes. Then comes the phase of REM sleep. The first time it is short, no more than 5 minutes. This cycle is called the sleep cycle. The cycles are repeated. At the same time, the proportion of non-REM sleep decreases and the duration of REM sleep increases (up to 1 hour). A healthy person usually goes through five cycles of sleep at a time.

Good sleep contributes to success in professional and personal life. Agree, you are unlikely to hear “Yes!” If during the interview you yawn or fall asleep at the screening of your favorite movie of a girl you like.

But most importantly, sleep is a guarantee of health. During sleep, a number of important hormones are produced, tissues are regenerated, and physical strength is replenished. The brain is also not idle: some of its areas become even more active than during wakefulness.

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Have you noticed that when you want to sleep, some tasks seem too difficult, but once you get enough sleep, the solution comes by itself? The fact is that during sleep, selective, that is, selective, erasure of memory occurs. The brain analyzes the information received during the day: the unnecessary is sent to the “basket”, and the important from the short-term memory is “archived” into the long-term. This is how our memories are formed. Improves perception, concentration and learning ability.

Lack of sleep impairs the functioning of certain parts of the brain. For example, inhibition of neural processes in the parietal lobe is observed, which may cause problems with the reaction rate. And when the work of the prefrontal cortex slows down, it is difficult for a person to formulate thoughts, there may be problems with vision. Fatigue of the brain turns into a whole bunch of negative consequences.

  1. Deterioration of cognitive functions (memory, attention, thinking), coordination, speech, orientation, control and others. Often this leads to accidents at work and on the road. According to statistics, every fifth accident occurs due to the fact that the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
  2. Immunity vulnerability. Studies show that lack of sleep increases the risk of getting sick by three times. During sleep, the immune system synthesizes cytokines. The more infections around, the more they are required. But if a person sleeps little, then there is simply no time to produce cytokines. No wonder they say that sleep heals.
  3. Overeating and excess weight. Lack of sleep stimulates the production of ghrelin, the hunger hormone. As a result, the person overeats. A tired brain requires more and tastier food.
  4. Reduced productivity. When a person wants to sleep, he does everything slowly and poorly. What usually takes an hour can take two, three or more. And not the fact that it will not have to be redone. The efficiency of time stolen from sleep tends to zero.
  5. Decreased motivation. Chronic lack of sleep destroys motivation like groundwater erodes a foundation. Every day less and less I want to move forward towards my goals.
  6. Bad habits and bad mood. Lack of sleep is a serious obstacle to the formation of good habits. But an excellent catalyst for harmful ones: with a lack of sleep, a person is looking for external stimulants (nicotine, caffeine, and so on). A sleepy person is quick-tempered, irritable and offended by the whole world.
  7. Poor appearance. Lack of sleep is literally imprinted on the face in the form of bruises and bags under the eyes. Prolonged lack of sleep provokes premature aging of the skin.

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The situation is aggravated by the fact that often a person does not realize or does not recognize the decrease in their mental and physical abilities: “Sleep is for the weak! I'm fine!".

Long-term sleep deprivation can cause serious health problems: the risk of developing heart and vascular diseases, diabetes mellitus. However, there are people who consider sleep a waste of time and deliberately keep it to a minimum.

Time is the most valuable and, alas, irreplaceable resource.
Wasting it on sleep is a crime.
This is the philosophy of polyphasic sleep supporters.

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Polyphasic sleep is a sleep pattern in which sleep time is broken up into several short periods instead of a long rest once a day. At the same time, the total duration of sleep is significantly reduced, and wakefulness increases to 20–22 hours.

  • Dymaxion - four times for 30 minutes every 6 hours. Total - 2 hours.
  • Uberman - six times for 20 minutes every 4 hours. Total - 2 hours.
  • Everyman - 1.5-3 hours at night and three times 20 minutes during the day. Total - 2. 5-4 hours.
  • Tesla - 2 hours at night and 20 minutes during the day. Total - 2 hours 20 minutes.

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Sleep is shortened by skipping Non-REM phases. According to supporters of the polyphasic pattern, the main energy recharging occurs during REM sleep, which means that you need to immediately “dive” into it, without wasting time on slow sleep.

Of course, training is needed. If you do not know how to fall asleep quickly and do not like to sleep during the day, it will be difficult. But gradually the body will get used to it, and the brain will tune in to the desired wave.

Polyphasic sleep was practiced by many prominent personalities: Leonardo da Vinci, Salvador Dali, Nikola Tesla, Bucky Fuller. Among our contemporaries are the president of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, businessman and billionaire Donald Trump, basketball player Kobe Bryant and others.

Adepts of polyphasic sleep claim that they feel great: they not only get enough sleep, but are also full of physical and creative energy.

However, there are many critics of polyphasic sleep, who argue that sooner or later this jagged schedule will come back to haunt the problems with the cardiovascular system. Opponents of polyphasic sleep believe that you cannot force the body, you need to listen to your biological clock.

In ancient times, people lived according to the laws of nature - everything depended on the change of time of day. After all, there were only two "lamps": during the day - the sun, at night - the moon. This has shaped human circadian rhythms.

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Circadian Rhythms
This is the body's internal clock that determines the intensity of various biological processes (thermoregulation, digestion, hormone production, and so on).

The circadian frequency of sleep and wakefulness depends on light. Visual receptors react to the level of illumination and send a signal to the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the brain. This kicks off the production of two important hormones responsible for sleep and awakening: melatonin and cortisol.

Melatonin is a sleep hormone. Produced in the pineal gland when it gets dark. It reduces pressure and temperature, calms the body and gives it the command “Time to sleep!”. In the morning, the synthesis of melatonin stops. The more light, the more cortisol is released into the blood. This hormone wakes us up, gives vigor and energy for the accomplishments of a new day.

This determines the 24-hour circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness: it gets dark - melatonin gives us the opportunity to rest, the sun rises - cortisol wakes us up. But how much sleep do you need to be healthy and positive? After all, for example, in summer the nights are shorter than in winter, and artificial lighting allows you to adjust the natural schedule.

The vast majority of studies have proven that a healthy adult needs 8 hours of sleep.

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This comes from the very nature of sleep. Remember, under normal conditions, we go through five sleep cycles of about 100 minutes each: 100 times 5 divided by 60 is about 8 hours.

The duration of sleep depends on age. The younger the person, the more sleep they need. The National Sleep Foundation, an American non-profit organization with 25 years of experience in the field, makes the following recommendations:

  • from 0 to 3 months - 14-17 hours;
  • from 4 to 11 months - 12-15 hours;
  • from 1 year to 2 years - 11-14 hours;
  • from 3 to 5 years - 10-13 hours;
  • from 6 to 15 years old - 9-11 hours;
  • from 14 to 17 years old - 8-10 hours;
  • from 18 to 64 years old - 7-9 hours;
  • 65 years and over - 7-8 hours.

Sleep duration directly affects physical and mental activity. Maybe, to become the best in your field, it is enough to sleep as much as outstanding scientists, writers and politicians slept? There is no definite answer to this question.

Einstein and Schopenhauer slept 10-12 hours a day. Honore de Balzac, Leo Tolstoy and Charles Darwin - 8 hours each. Sigmund Freud and Vladimir Nabokov adhered to six hours of sleep. Mozart and Margaret Thatcher (5 hours each), Napoleon Bonaparte and Voltaire (4 hours each) rested a little less. Waking record holders are Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, who practiced polyphasic sleep.

There is no universal recipe. Sleep duration is like shoe size. For most, 8 hours is suitable, but for some this is not enough, and for some it is a lot. To understand how much you need to sleep for you, you can experimentally.

Answer three questions:

  1. Do you need an alarm to wake you up?
  2. Do you drink coffee or energy drinks to keep you awake during the day?
  3. Do you fall asleep within the first five minutes?

Yes to the first two questions and no to the last one, you need to increase your sleep.

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Circadian rhythms also affect a person's psychological state. Depending on the peaks of mental activity, people are divided into two chronotypes: morning (larks) and evening (owls).

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Early rise and early bed. Waking up at 5-8 am. Lights out usually no later than 10 pm. Most productive and efficient until noon. In the afternoon can not solve problems effectively. By evening, completely exhausted.

Get up late and stay up late. Wake up at 9 am or later. Lights out, usually after midnight. Productivity peaks in the afternoon and evening. Waking up early is unsettling.

This classification was invented in the West in the 1970s. Since then, disputes have not ceased, who is better: larks or owls?

Larks are associated with hard work and success. Who gets up early... The world seems to be made for early birds. Government agencies, clinics, shops, organizations - if you want to be in time everywhere, get up earlier. But, according to scientific research and real life examples, owls are no less efficient and successful. For example, for a trader on the stock exchange or an IT freelancer, the generally accepted work schedule is not so important: they have their own.

Sometimes discussions reach the point of ridiculousness: supposedly owls are more sociable and romantic, while larks are more responsible and friendlier. In fact, such subjective qualities do not depend on the chronotype, but on the character of the individual. In addition, there is a sleep regime, the adherents of which are difficult to unambiguously classify as larks or owls.

The theory of biphasic, or segmented, sleep was developed by the historian, teacher at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Roger Ekirch (Roger Ekirch). The result of his 16-year scientific work, he outlined in the book "When the day ends: a dream in the ages past. "

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Ekirch studied hundreds of historical documents and came to the following conclusion.

Until the 19th century, when artificial lighting spread to homes, people spent up to 14 hours a day in the dark. Winter evenings were especially long and tedious. The so-called two-phase sleep has become a protective mechanism here.

People went to bed almost immediately after sunset. Slept for about 4 hours and then woke up and stayed awake for a couple of hours. What they were doing? Differently. The aristocracy and intelligentsia, who could afford candles, read or prayed. In the 15th century, there were even special prayers for the night vigil. But most often they created, because they felt something akin to insight. Simpler and poorer people, hard workers and peasants, indulged in carnal pleasures. This Ekirch explains the high birth rate in these social groups. After midnight activity, people again went to bed and slept until the first roosters.

Modern experiments have shown that biphasic sleep can actually increase your creativity scores. The fact is that people wake up immediately after REM sleep, when the electrical activity of the brain is similar to the state of wakefulness. The memory is cleared of unnecessary information, the mind is bright, the attention is clear, you are full of creative energy.

Biphasic sleep has been practiced by some tribes since ancient times and is becoming more and more popular in pop culture. Despite the fact that the adherents of this system cannot be attributed either to larks (they go to bed early and get up early), or to owls (they work at night).

This is another argument in favor of the claim that we can change our own chronotype. If desired, an owl can become a lark, and vice versa.

Get up at 6 am! Sounds like a judgment. Can you imagine how difficult it will be to take your head off the pillow and how bad it will be during the day? But this will happen only if the duration of sleep is disturbed. Waking up early doesn't mean sleeping less. Waking up early means sticking to a routine. For example, if the rise is scheduled for 7:00, then you need to go to bed no later than 22:00.

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Why do you want to get up early? Find your motivation. The word "should" doesn't work. Just by forcing yourself, you will inevitably break the regime. Perhaps you dream of losing weight and improving your health? Start jogging in the morning or sign up for a pool. Many of them open early so people can swim before work. Not enough time for self-development? Early morning is perfect for this. Everyone is still sleeping, no one will stop you from writing a note on your blog, reading your favorite book, drawing or, say, lying in the bath for a longer time.

  • 1st minute: open your eyes, think about the people you love, smile.
  • 2nd minute: take a few deep breaths to oxygenate the body, stretch sweetly.
  • 3rd minute: lightly massage the back of the head, temples, eyebrows and earlobes, rub palms together to improve blood circulation.
  • 4th minute: Sit down slowly and drink a glass of water stored in the evening - this will restore the body's water balance and activate the metabolism.
  • 5th minute: get out of bed, open the curtains, fill the room with light, say to yourself: “Good morning!”

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Now take a shower, exercise, meditate and have breakfast. In any order. Physical activity and contrast showers will increase adrenaline levels, a nutritious breakfast will finally awaken your metabolism, and meditation will help you tune in to a new day.

A few more life hacks that will help make the morning really good:

  1. Fill your morning with bright colors and cheerful smells. For example, eat oatmeal off an orange plate and hang citrus pomanders around the house.
  2. Take care of everything from the evening. Iron your clothes, assemble your lunch box, make a plan, and so on. Often you do not want to get up, because you know how many boring things are in the morning.
  3. Do not turn on the radio and TV. News and advertising only spoil the mood. Better get ready for work to your favorite energetic tunes.

Having created the right morning rituals, you will soon feel how getting up with the first rays of the sun sets you in a creative mood, and you will notice that you no longer need an alarm clock.

The first mechanical alarm clock was designed by Levi Hutchins in 1787. He called only once a day - at 4 o'clock in the morning. Modern people hate alarm clocks. These soulless squeakers steal our sleep, so in the hope of extending the sweet moments, we press the "Snooze for 10 minutes" button. In fact, we ourselves make the enemy out of the alarm clock.

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As the morning light fills the room, the body stops producing melatonin and starts producing cortisol. The temperature rises, blood pressure, the level of PER protein in the blood. Your body is preparing to wake up. Therefore, observing the regimen, you open your eyes just a few moments before the alarm signal.

The Snooze button breaks this process. You begin to doze off again, falling into the first stage of non-REM sleep. The body is perplexed: melatonin is needed again, but what to do with cortisol ?! As a result, after 5–10 minutes you force yourself to get up, but you feel lethargic and overwhelmed.

“Nonsense! I never wake up before the alarm, you won’t wake me up with a gun!” If so, then you simply do not sleep enough and do not follow the regime.

To make friends with the alarm:

  • do not use the Snooze button;
  • set a pleasant melody, the volume of which slowly increases;
  • hold the alarm clock away to turn it off after the first 5 minutes of waking up, when you have already got out of bed.

Insomnia (insomnia) is a sleep disorder characterized by inadequate sleep duration and/or poor quality of sleep. It occurs in people of all ages. Insomnia can be chronic (lasts from a month or more) and acute (several nights in a row).

Symptoms:

  1. Can't sleep at all.
  2. Constantly waking up.
  3. You are pissed that you are not sleeping well.
  4. Everything falls out of hand, I don't want to communicate with anyone.

Possible causes:

  1. Stress, problems at work and in private life, depression.
  2. Non-compliance with the regime. Deciding to lie around longer on the weekend, you can earn insomnia.
  3. Shift work schedule, and as a result - disruption of circadian rhythms.
  4. Medicines. Investigate if insomnia is a side effect of the drug you are taking.
  5. Violation of sleep hygiene (stale air in the room, too hot, noisy or light).

In addition, insomnia can be a companion of somatic and neurological diseases. Here you need to see a doctor. But in most cases, you can get rid of insomnia on your own.

Most often, our own thoughts prevent us from falling asleep. Not always pleasant.

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There are various techniques to stop the round dance in the head. For example, visualization. Imagine yourself dozing on the beach under the lapping of the waves. The more detailed the picture, the faster you will find yourself in the realm of Morpheus. Another technique is auto-training: “My eyelids are getting heavy, I fall asleep…”. You can also run the events of the outgoing day in reverse order or dream up and tell yourself a bedtime story.

Also try focusing on your own breathing: inhale deeply through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 seconds. Thanks to this exercise, you will calm down, and while counting seconds, you will have no time to think about anything else.

Thank you for the passing day. Who or what are you grateful for today? From a positive psychology point of view, expressing gratitude strengthens interpersonal relationships and is highly motivating. Falling asleep with good thoughts, you set yourself up to continue the chain of goodness tomorrow.

Sometimes we can't fall asleep because of some trifle like an uncomfortable posture or a chemical smell from bed linen. But in the science of sleep, there are no trifles. Pay attention to the position of the body in which you usually wake up. Lie down like this the next time you can't sleep. Use special candles or an essential oil lamp to fill your bedroom with the soothing scent of lavender.

But the most important thing is to work out and follow the evening rituals that set the body to sleep.

  1. Keep a diary. There you can write down the events of the passing day, your thoughts and experiences. Give preference to a pen and paper notebook.
  2. Read. Better - an ordinary book or an e-book with an E-Ink screen. And no horror, action and drama. Choose light, positive pieces.
  3. Planning. By making a plan in the evening, you will not only save time in the morning, but will also be ready for action.
  4. Communication. Evening is a time for family and friends. Do not engage in intellectual work at night looking. And communication is not social networks and chats, but a live conversation.

In addition, proper nutrition, meditation and walking will help normalize sleep.

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Many people think you have to be tired to sleep well. Physical activity really has a positive effect on the quality and duration of sleep. But intense training is recommended to end at least 4-6 hours before bedtime.

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Light aerobic exercise, yoga or just meditation can be done 1-2 hours before bed.

One of the best yoga postures for relaxation is shavasana. Lie on your back. Place your hands along the body with palms up, but do not touch the body. Stretch your legs and spread them a little. Close your eyes. Relax one by one all the muscles of the body, starting with the toes. Gradually move up: buttocks, lower back, abdomen, back, chest, and so on. Finish relaxing with the muscles of the neck, face and eyes. Usually by this point the person is disconnected.

But the best option for evening physical activity is a walk. You will enrich the body with oxygen, literally step over the worries and anxieties of the day and, perhaps, work up an appetite.

Eating at night is harmful. But going to bed when your stomach is growling with hunger is wrong. The last meal should be 2-3 hours before bedtime. At the same time, you need to eat foods that are conducive to relaxation.

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Specifically, rich foods:

  • melatonin - sleep hormone;
  • tryptophan, an amino acid from which melatonin can be synthesized;
  • calcium, which promotes the absorption of tryptophan;
  • magnesium - a natural muscle relaxant that helps to relax;
  • protein that lowers the acidity of the stomach, causing drowsiness.
  1. Cherry juice or fresh cherries. This berry contains a lot of melatonin, and contains the hormone itself, and not its predecessor. Regular consumption of cherry juice significantly increases the duration of sleep.
  2. Bananas. They are rich in magnesium and also contain tryptophan.
  3. Yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese. Dairy products are high in calcium and protein.
  4. Turkey, legumes, eggs. These are low calorie, nutritious foods that help lower stomach pH and induce sleepiness through tryptophan.
  5. Spinach and other dark greens, pumpkin seeds, almonds. Rich in magnesium to help relax muscles and help you fall asleep.

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Fatty foods, coffee and caffeinated foods, and alcohol should not be consumed before bed. The first can cause indigestion and adversely affect the figure. Coffee, black tea, energy drinks and other caffeinated products will keep you awake for a long time. They should be discarded at least 3 hours before bedtime. The last cup of espresso must be drunk no later than 14:00. At night, it is better to drink herbal teas with chamomile, oregano, lemon balm or hawthorn. They will help you calm down and relax.

Alcohol is especially insidious. It helps to switch off, but it has a bad effect on the REM phase, and due to dehydration and the breakdown of ethanol, we wake up without having time to rest. So a jar of beer or a glass of wine before bed is not the best sleeping pill.

It is better to drink a mug of warm milk with honey. Milk contains tryptophan, protein and calcium. This drink has a warming and lulling effect. Just like in childhood.

Sometimes the cause of insomnia lies not in us, but in our partner, who lies next to us and snores. Do not rush to hit him with a pillow - help him solve this problem. Snoring is the process of breathing during sleep, in which a person makes a characteristic rattling sound. According to statistics, 45% of adults snore in their sleep at varying intervals.

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Snoring can be a sign of some diseases (apnea, obesity, hypertension, and others), but the most common cause of snoring is weakened throat muscles, clogged nasal passages, or palatal vibration.

Throat muscles lose tone with age. But they can be strengthened with some simple exercises.

  1. Close your mouth and close your lips as tightly as possible for 30 seconds.
  2. Open your mouth, move your lower jaw to the right and hold for 30 seconds. Then repeat the same on the other side.
  3. Stick out your tongue as far as possible, then relax. Repeat 10 times. Stick your tongue out again and try to touch your chin and then your nose. Repeat 10 times.

Alcohol, coffee and sedatives relax the throat muscles. And smoking blocks the airways, causing irritation of the mucous membranes of the throat and nose. Therefore, sometimes, to get rid of snoring, it is enough to give up bad habits.

And the simplest thing: change your posture. During sleep on the back, the muscles of the lower palate relax, the tongue sinks, and pressure on the airways appears. Therefore, sleep on your side or stomach, raise the pillow higher or use a special orthopedic pillow.

Churchill never missed an afternoon nap, even during the war. The politician believed that an afternoon nap, like nothing else, increases efficiency. And he was right. Daytime naps are really helpful. Especially if you don't get enough sleep at night.

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Winston Churchill wrote: “You must sleep between lunch and dinner, and no half measures, never! Take off your clothes and get into bed. Don't think that you will do less work because you are sleeping during the day. This is a stupid opinion of people who have no imagination. On the contrary, you will be able to do more, because you get two days in one - well, at least one and a half.

  1. Short nap improves memory and other cognitive functions. It helps to transfer accumulated information from short-term to long-term memory.
  2. This kind of sleep stimulates creativity and enhances the ability to learn.
  3. Helps to resist stress and improves mood.
  • 10-20 minutes. This is the ideal length of daytime sleep. You will pass the first two stages of slow wave sleep and wake up easily, having time to rest your mind and body.
  • 30 minutes. After half an hour of daytime sleep, a state of inertia similar to a hangover may occur. It will continue for another 30 minutes.
  • 60 minutes. After such a smoke break, it is easy to remember facts, faces and numbers. But for a while you will act by inertia.
  • 90 minutes. A complete sleep cycle has been completed. It is easy to wake up, you feel a surge of strength.

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When, how and where to take a nap

The best time for a siesta is from 13:00 to 16:00. But specific hours depend on your routine and biorhythm. For example, if you wake up at 10:00, you are unlikely to want to take a nap in just 3 hours.

Daytime sleep takes some getting used to. Practice it for several days at the same time. Try to sleep the same number of minutes. Consider the time it takes to fall asleep. If you switch off in 10 minutes, then for a full 20-minute daytime sleep, you need to start the alarm clock half an hour ahead.

You can take a nap anywhere: in the car, at the table, on the couch. The sleep is short, which means that you almost do not risk getting up with back or neck pain. Ideally, find a quiet place with dim lights. If the office does not have this, use a sleep mask and earplugs.

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  1. Stick to the routine. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time according to your internal biological clock. Use special tracker applications to study the features of your sleep.
  2. Create a comfortable sleep environment. The optimal temperature in the bedroom is 18-21 ºС. Ventilate the room at night. Shade windows so that the light of outdoor advertising, street lamps and passing cars does not interfere with you. If you sleep more than one, discuss with your partner what factors affect your and his sleep, and create comfortable conditions for both.
  3. Buy a comfortable mattress, pillow and sleepwear. Change bedding as often as possible. Do not let pets in bed.
  4. Walk and meditate before bed.
  5. Don't lie down on an empty stomach, but don't overeat either. No coffee or alcohol at night.
  6. Use the bedroom only for sleep and sex. Do not watch TV in bed, do not use a laptop, tablet and smartphone. The light from the screens suppresses the production of melatonin - the quality of sleep decreases.
  7. Eliminate digital noise at least 2-3 hours before bed. Instead of scrolling through social media feeds, watching emails and watching videos, go about your evening rituals.
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