The Science Of Sleeping Better
Recently I have not been getting the best sleep and because I am not entirely sure why, I wanted to look into this topic and see how I could improve my sleep as well as better understand the workings behind sleep.
And it turns out that sleep issues are a world issue where in 2017 in the United States alone, 35.2 Americans reported sleeping for less than 7 hours per night and getting insufficient sleep. That is pretty much every third person. Because technology is becoming ever so intertwined with our everyday lives and creeping later and later into our evenings, I believe that this statistic will continue to worsen.
Sleep is essential for all of us and should not be skipped out on. I have written on the importance of sleep here in the past (read about it here) but here I really wanted to more focus on the scientific background on how our sleep works and as well as recommending a set of practical advice on how to genuinely get a better nights sleep. After, we all want practical solutions that are easy to implement into our lifestyle.
I hope that this post helps you with getting a good nights sleep and that you are able to learn some new fascinating knowledge about your own sleep biology. Enjoy! 🌟🌛💫
SLEEP CYCLES
ABOUT SLEEP CYCLES
Based on the National Sleep Foundation, your sleep each night is actually made up of several separate sleep cycles where each cycle has its own 4 individual stages.
In an average night, we can go through 4-6 sleep cycles depending on our quality of sleep that night, where on average each cycle lasts about 90 minutes each.
From the 4 individual sleep stages of each cycle, the first cycle is often the shortest in length which lasts about 70-100 minutes, where later cycles last between 90-120 minutes. However, the extent of time that we spend in each sleep stage can vary from night to night and also from person to person as it is dependent on many factors such as age, alcohol consumption and previous sleep patterns.
Overall, each sleep cycle is composed of 3 Non REM sleep stages (NREM) and concluded with a stage of REM sleep. The higher the stage of NREM sleep in the first three stages, the harder it is to wake the person up
Now let’s take a look into the individual sleep cycle components.
N1 (NREM)
This is the first stage of sleep and is when the person first falls asleep. This stage is very short, usually lasting between 1 -7 minutes on average.
In this stage, the body is not yet fully relaxed but is beginning to slow down its activity and thoughts.
Stage 1, also called N1, is essentially when a person first falls asleep. This stage normally lasts just one to seven minutes. During this stage, there are light changes in brain activity associated with falling asleep.
During N1, it is still easy to wake someone up from sleep, however if the person is left undisturbed, they can quickly move onto the second stage of sleep.
N2 (NREM)
In the second stage of sleep, the body experiences deepened relaxation accompanied by a drop in body temperature, slower breathing and a lower heart rate.
During this time, any eye movement stops and our brains experience short bursts of brain wave activity which help us to resist being woken up by external stimuli.
This stage usually lasts between 10-25 minutes during our first sleep cycle, where each N2 stage progressively can become longer during the following sleep cycles.
Overall, it is proposed that a person can spend typically about half of their total sleep in the N2 stage.
N3 (NREM)
The third stage of a sleep cycle is commonly known as “deep sleep”, where our muscle tone, heart rate and breathing rate continually decrease and relax.
In this stage, our brain produces brain delta brain waves where it is much harder to wake someone up at this point.
Researchers propose that N3 stage of sleep is important for restorative sleep, essentially being important for growth and recovery of our body. It may also play a role in keeping a healthy immune system along with other bodily processes. Even thought our brain experiences a decrease in brain activity, some evidence nonetheless suggest that deep sleep also has a role in memory consolidation and insightful thinking.
Most time is spent sleeping in this stage in the first half of the night. During earlier sleep cycles, the N3 stage usually lasts between 20-40 minutes and as you continue sleeping throughout the night, these stages get shorter in each cycle and your body spends more time in the REM sleep stage.
REM
Finally, each sleep cycle is concluded with a REM sleep stage during which our brain experiences an increase in brain activity, almost nearing to levels experienced when we are awake.
At the same time, our body will also experience a phenomena called “atonia” which a temporary paralysis of our muscles, apart from our eye muscles and the muscles that regulate our breathing.
The stage is named “Rapid Eye movement” because that is exactly what can be observed during this stage; having closed eyes yet they are seen moving quickly.
REM sleep is believed to be essential for many cognitive functions such as memory, ability to learn as well as creativity. During this stage is also when we dream vividly, which is likely the reason for the increased brain activity.
Dreaming can occur in any sleep stage, but they are less common and intense in the first three NREM periods.
Usually, it takes about 90 minutes of being asleep for an average person to enter REM sleep. As the night goes on and we enter new sleep cycles, the REM sleeping stages get longer, which is especially observed in the second half of the night. The first REM stage that we experience in a night usually lasts for only a couple of minutes but later REM stages can last up to an hour.
Overall, REM sleep accounts for about 25% of total sleep in adults
10 SCIENCE PROVEN TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP
Have a consistent sleeping and waking schedule during the week and weekend
Optimize your bedroom: Keep it cold, dark, quiet and use dim warm lighting
Avoid blue light exposure from your devices 1-2 hours before going to sleep. Some people avoid having electronics in the bedroom all together.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol and drinking too many liquids before going to bed
Exercise during the day. This makes you more tired towards the evening
Get enough sunlight during the day
Limit your napping during the day
Relax before bed: Do something that relaxes you such as taking a shower, stretching, meditating, writing down everything that is worrying you or try reading a book
Create an evening routine which helps to calm you down and lets your body know that it is time to unwind (Eg. Making tea and reading)
Avoid eating large meals before going to sleep and opt for eating your last meal earlier in the evening
I hope that this blog post provided you with some more insight into the biological workings behind your bodies sleep mechanism and also how to naturally sleep better.
Sleep is crucial for all of us, so learning about how to really optimize for our sleep quality is essential to feeling energized and properly recharged for the next day.
Take care of yourself and don't skimp out on sleep. As always, thanks for reading ✨ 💤
