All people are different. So, one person will not wake up if next to him loudly talking, vacuuming or turning on music, while the second goes into a state of wakefulness after the floor creaked. Sensitive sleep is a state of a person in which he is able to wake up quickly, being very irritated at the same time. For many people and their close relatives with whom they live in the same apartment, this phenomenon becomes a real problem.

When he is constantly in one of the stages of sleep. There are two of them: fast and slow. Each phase has its own characteristics, which are shown in the table.

Slow sleep	REM sleep
The first stage: a state of sleep, in which new ideas and interesting thoughts may unconsciously arise in the subconscious of a person. He sleeps rather than sleeps. In this state, a person is from 5 to 10 minutes.	REM sleep is the fifth stage of sleep. During this period, the state of the sleeping person is as active as possible. But despite this, he is in one position, because his muscles are paralyzed. A person's subconscious mind works very well, so he remembers all the dreams that he saw during the fourth stage. That is why, if you wake him up at the moment of the fast phase, he will tell you all dreams in vivid and colorful details. It's hard to wake up at this stage. If you want to wake up a person who is in a state of REM sleep, it will be difficult for you to do this, much more difficult than if he was in the fourth phase. In addition, during such a period, a sharp transition to a vigorous state can disrupt the psyche. A person needs about 1 hour to get REM sleep.
The second stage: a person's consciousness is completely turned off, he plunges into a full sleep. But during this phase, the auditory analyzers are sharpened. Therefore, during this period, the mother can wake up if a small child moves in bed, and any person opens his eyes when his name is pronounced next to him. 20 minutes is the average duration of this phase.
The third stage is a deeper second phase of sleep.
The fourth stage is characterized by the deepest sleep. A person is difficult to wake up, he has vivid dreams or may suffer from sleepwalking. As a rule, he does not remember any of this, passing into a state of wakefulness. The third and fourth stages are approximately 45 minutes long.

When a person goes through all these stages, he completes the first cycle. For a good rest, you need to sleep through five such cycles.

Sleep should be consistent. Ideally, a person should go through each of these stages. That is why all doctors in the world insist that the ideal sleep duration is 8 hours. Do not neglect this rule to maintain mental health. The sleep phases of a person in time, the table with a description of which is presented above, are needed for the most productive state throughout the day. What to do if a person wakes up from the slightest noise and therefore cannot go through every stage, professional doctors know.

Reasons for the appearance of light sleep

Time of light sleep can be beneficial for a person, for example, if he wants to take a light nap without completely falling into unconsciousness. But if such a phenomenon occurs constantly, then there can be no question of the normal functioning of all body systems. A person sleeps, but does not get enough sleep, does not go through all stages of sleep in order to fully rest.

The reasons for the appearance of superficial sleep are different. You have no cause for concern if one of these factors applies to you:

You recently became a mom. In this case, sensitive sleep is caused by your body at the physiological level, so that you can constantly monitor the state of the newborn baby.
You have hormonal fluctuations in your body. This applies to pregnant women and girls during menstruation.
Your work takes place on the night shift. In this case, the body adjusts to your schedule;
You are experiencing psychological stress. This can be due to both stress at work and waking up at an earlier, unusual time for you.
If, instead of the prescribed 8 hours, you sleep 10 and it becomes a habit, then the sleep will become longer, but less quality.
If you are over 50 years old, then light sleep can become your constant companion.

All of these reasons are either natural or easily removable, so if one of them concerns you, do not worry, your health is safe. But it happens that the factors that caused a short sleep mean that a violation has occurred in the body. These reasons include:

Depression and neuroses. Mental problems can interfere with the ability of the subconscious mind to enter the sleep state.
Medical illnesses need to be treated because they can cause sleep disturbances.
Improper use of pharmaceuticals or alcohol abuse lead to a person who drank alcohol falls asleep quickly, but this sleep is sensitive and superficial.

Such factors must be avoided, so try to avoid such manifestations.

What to do if you have light sleep

Almost every person knows what light sleep means for the body. But do not confuse this concept with insomnia. If you create ideal conditions, then a person will wake up refreshed in the case of a light sleep. If you cannot sleep in complete silence and darkness, then you are dealing with insomnia.

If light sleep bothers you for as long as you can remember, then you should seek the advice of a doctor. If this phenomenon has recently appeared in your life, then you can try to overcome it yourself.

If you want to know how to deal with light sleep, take a look at this list of helpful tips and tricks:

Create the most favorable conditions in the room. To do this, turn off the light, make sure that the room is quiet, and that you are not too cold or hot.
Make sure to put on clean bedding that won't distract you with an overly scent.
Take a relaxing bath or massage therapist before bed.
Avoid drinking drinks that contain caffeine.
Try to devote enough time to sports.
Avoid stress at work and at home.

If these activities do not help you, you should take more serious measures.

Radical interventions in the fight against light sleep

If none of the methods help you and you wake up due to any extraneous factor, even the most insignificant, try the following methods:

Purchase a sound generator that is capable of producing white noise. According to psychologists, this sound can not only help a person fall asleep, but also contributes to more. As a result, you will wake up refreshed.
Melatonin is a medicine recommended for older people who have trouble sleeping. It promotes deeper, longer and more fulfilling rest.
If the above methods turned out to be useless, try seeking the advice of a psychotherapist. A professional doctor will quickly determine what the problem is and help you fix it.

And remember, if you have insomnia, then going to a sleep doctor is a must.

Sleep problems in a child

If light sleep concerns a small child, it is worth taking measures to make the baby sleep more deeply. But this is normal for babies, but for older children, insufficient rest is fraught with bad consequences.

Do not teach your baby to sleep in absolute silence so that he does not react too aggressively to extraneous noises. In addition, if you are not opposed to joint recreation, then go to bed with your child together. Babies usually do much better with their mothers.

How to deal with short sleep in a child from 2 years old

Children over the age of 2 may also have sleep problems. Try the following measures:

Make sure your child is comfortable and free from any discomfort in their bed.
Make sure your child follows the daily routine. If he at the same time will eat, study, play, then he will fall asleep faster.
White noise is much more effective for children than adults. Use it and your child will get better rest.

It is important that all these methods are carried out in a complex, then you will see the result very quickly.

How to learn light sleep

People do not always want to get rid of the ability to fall asleep for a short time. Sometimes there is a need for a quick rest during the day, for example, if there is a lot of work to be done, but the strength is no longer left. During a short sleep, a person is charged with a large amount of energy and is ready to work further. Here are the basic rules for such a vacation:

Rest should be 15 to 26 minutes. After it, you will wake up refreshed.
To master this technique, training is required.
You need to fall asleep at the same time.
Before going to bed, you can't use modern gadgets.

If you are ready to follow these rules, then you can start mastering the technique. Regular training will lead you to success.

Learning light sleep

To fall asleep, follow the instructions:

Set the alarm and lie down in a comfortable position for you.
Concentrate on calming down and shutting off all mental processes.
Your brain will understand that it needs to fall asleep, and itself will begin to plunge into unconsciousness.

Don't expect the result to please you the first time. You usually need at least 10 workouts to fall asleep quickly. But once you've developed this habit, you can easily get yourself a quick, good rest every day.

What should be the awakening after a REM sleep

After a light sleep, there should be such an awakening:

You need to get out of bed immediately after you open your eyes.
After waking up, it is forbidden to fall asleep again.
Eating a snack will help you wake up completely faster.
If possible, go for a quick walk.

The first few times you may not get that awakening, but don't be discouraged. Do not quit your workouts, although they may seem difficult to you, then very soon you will be able to arrange a good rest for yourself at any time, without falling out of the usual for an indefinite period.

Human sleep and wake cycle

Even if a person slept through all the necessary phases, he may feel tired. associated not only with our health, but also with biological factors of the environment. Body temperature drops at night, which is why we need to rest. If you sleep well during the day, then when you work on the night shift, your performance will still drop, since the temperature regime will not change.

In the course of the experiment, scientists found out that such rhythms always work, even if a person is deprived of the opportunity to observe the change of day and night. So try to get enough sleep at night to maximize your productivity during the day. If you cannot do this due to your work schedule, then try to master the technique of light sleep and use it during the night.

Rest refers to a necessary phenomenon through which the processes are carried out: replenishment of energy and physiological costs. Scientists distinguish 2 phases of sleep - slow and fast.

Due to individual characteristics, excessive employment in production, it became necessary to calculate an acceptable time for waking up in the morning. With correct calculations, with the rising of the sun, a person will have a paradoxical result: high spirits, improved performance in any area. In addition, concomitant illnesses such as insomnia will not develop.

The value and function of sleep

An acceptable and recommended sleep period for adults is considered to be a time interval of up to 12 at night. Only at this moment, the human body is able to restore energy, physiological activity required for full performance.

The table shows valuable hours for a specific time period.

Times of Day	The value of sleep per hour
19-20 hours	7 o'clock
20-21 hours	6 o'clock
21-22 hours	5:00
22-23 hours	4 hours
23-24 hours	3 hours
0-1 hour	2 hours
1-2 hours	1 hour
2-3 hours	30 minutes
3-4 hours	15 minutes
4-5 hours	7 minutes
5-6 hours	1 minute

Based on the above data, you can clearly see how important it is to go to bed on time. This affects the performance of the whole organism, and therefore forms the further mood and well-being of a person.

Several main functions have been identified, through which it becomes possible to form an idea of \ u200b \ u200bthe benefit:

Internal organs and muscle tissue are relaxed at night, gaining strength.
During the day, a person spends a lot of energy for full-fledged activity, but only during sleep are reserves replenished.
During rest, many necessary processes dictated by the brain take place. This is the elimination of toxins and toxins, rebooting the central nervous system, cleansing the brain center.
Also, during sleep, a long-term memory is formed, in which the accumulated information is included. It includes the comprehension of what he saw and the consolidation of new skills.
The main component is the analysis of the state of internal organs, if violations are detected, elimination should be followed. As a result, immunity improves, because new cells are formed during sleep.

Sleep is a necessary component in the life of every person. It is impossible to live fully without it. A necessary requirement is that you need to fall asleep at the recommended interval, because this can increase efficiency and prevent the development of certain diseases.

Cycle times

Sleep is a state of consciousness of all living things, which includes 5 stages. They replace each other during the night's rest. The appearance is explained by the activation of the brain centers.

In an adult who does not have serious health problems, falling asleep begins with a nap. In terms of duration, it does not take much time - only 10 minutes. After that, stage 2 enters. Lasts a little longer - 20 minutes. The remaining two stages take at least 45-50 minutes.

As soon as the initial process, consisting of 4 stages, has passed, the action of stage 2 arises again. At this moment, the first episode of REM sleep appears. Only it is short - 5 minutes. Such sequential processes are formed into cycles. The first one takes 1.5 hours or a little longer. After the cyclicality resumes, but slow sleep comes to naught. This is because REM sleep comes into play. Sometimes it takes 60 minutes.

Important! With proper rest, presumably 5 cycles. The sequence and duration varies slightly, depending on the individual characteristics of the organism.

Most studies confirm that the fast and slow phases are characterized by different durations in a ratio of 1: 4. In this case, the first spends 85% of the rest, while the second accounts for 15%. One cycle lasts 1.5 hours. It is important for a person to sleep 6-8 hours. Based on this, the cycles are able to repeat 6 times. But the values are changeable, which depends on the specific case.

In young children, the process takes place in a slightly different sequence. REM sleep prevails, which is gradually replaced. At first, it accounts for 50%, and with the development of the baby, this figure drops to 25%.

In an adult, the stages should tend to repeat in equal sequence. However, due to age-related characteristics and serious pathologies, it is possible to observe some disturbances in the usual sleep. Elderly people often face problems with insomnia, because the fast phase is no more than 18%, and the slow one is completely absent.

Still, there are other reasons for poor quality rest: diseases of the brain or spinal cord. In this case, it is impossible to sleep normally, there is a superficial sleep. Rarely, but it is observed that a person does not have a rest at all, even a short one.

Slow phase

Certain brain centers are involved in the formation of slow wave sleep: the hypothalamus, thalamic nuclei, inhibitory department of moruzzi.

Important! The main feature of slow sleep is the formation of new cells and structures, tissue restoration. This process should take place at rest with the participation of certain hormones, amino acids and proteins.

The end result of anabolic processes is considered to be the replenishment of energy that is lost during performance during the day. Their activity begins from stage 2, because at this moment complete relaxation occurs. Therefore, such a gap is considered favorable for the restoration of lost energy and physiological reserves.

Important! It has been proven that moderate physical activity per day helps to prolong the 4 stage of the slow phase.

When falling asleep, certain rhythms appear, which depend on the good illumination of the room by the sun's rays. The onset of dusk signals a decrease in some kind of activity. At this moment, the first sleep agendas are observed: yawning and weakness.

Each stage has a specific time interval. So, the third is spent - 8%, and the fourth - 15% of the entire interval spent on sleep. Many attribute the slow phase to the recovery of energy resources. Only she is the main one in understanding deeds and memories.

The main signs of this stage of sleep are considered to be loud breathing, which gradually becomes more rare and less deep than during wakefulness. There is a decrease in the general temperature, the activity of the muscular system and the movement of the eyeballs. With a slow phase of sleep, a person can see minor dreams, on the encephalogram, while slow and long waves begin to prevail.

First stage - nap

It belongs to the 1st stage of falling asleep. In this state, the sleeper is able to see the phenomena and actions that disturb during wakefulness. In addition, this has a clear characteristic:

the heartbeat weakens;
breathing slows down;
the temperature goes down;
you can catch the slow movements of the eyeball.

Also, an altered state is recorded with a hologram of the brain, accompanied by jumps in mental activity. At the same time, it was recorded that a solution to a difficult situation comes, which was difficult to resolve in the process of life. The main fact: it will not be difficult to wake up a person from stage 1 of slow wave sleep.

Stage two - light sleep

With shallow sleep, the consciousness of reality gradually begins to turn off, but it is still possible to react to voices or sounds. In this case, a sleeping person has some processes: a decrease in temperature, any activity weakens, the pressure decreases. With repeated studies, the sequence of stages of the slow phase is comparative (with a spindle), because over time, all actions fade away. Ultimately - immersion in a deep state.

Stage three - slow sleep

A somewhat different state develops at this stage, since all movements come to naught. You can verify this through brain research. At the same time, the pulsation is weak, sighs become more frequent, the pressure level drops, and the pupils practically do not move. Also, the flow of blood to muscles and tissues is manifested, growth hormone is formed. All this characterizes the process that has begun in the body to replenish energy.

Stage four - deep sleep

The last stage is responsible for complete immersion in sleep. The phase is accompanied by a blackout, it is impossible even to feel, feel or hear something. That is why there are no special unexpected manifestations from the body for him: breathing is difficult to view, extraneous movements of the eyeballs or body parts are not observed.

In a state of deep phase, a sleeping person is almost impossible to raise to his feet. If this is done, then a bad orientation in space may occur, a slowdown in reaction, poor health, it is not possible to catch the ghost. Sometimes people wake up in a good mood, there are nightmares. Only this stage is not felt upon awakening.

Basically, stages 3 and 4 are referred to as one, in which case their duration is about 40 minutes. High-quality and timely rest forms activity for work for the coming day. If the stage of deep sleep is full, it is possible to remember any information after waking up.

Fast phase

When the rest is rebuilt into a fast phase, there is a purification of unusable knowledge and skills in the emotional and intellectual areas. At this time, vigorous activity takes place:

To restore nerve cells. There is an opinion that this is impossible, but these are unreliable assumptions.
By comprehending the information received during the day.
At the beginning of the preparatory activities for mental activity.

Due to the existence of a single stage of the fast phase, its duration increases, which is 15%. Its main goal is to process the information received, with the possibility of its further application. In addition, this phase is mandatory, because it is required for the full recovery of the nervous system.

Revealed significant changes in rapid and slow sleep. This manifests itself in characteristic actions and movements, some of which can be observed visually:

Difficulty breathing on deep exhalation.
Abnormal heart rate.
Muscle tone weakens, which can be more clearly observed in the neck of the mouth.
The pupils perform unconscious movements at an accelerated pace.

In this phase, the most emotional dreams. They may be dominated by bright and significant moments from life or various situations transferred over the previous day.

If the sleeper is awakened in REM sleep, he will clearly and clearly reproduce the dream. Awakening in this phase is easy, because no discomfort is felt. On the contrary, the mood is lifted, and the state of health improves.

Through the alternation of phases, some changes are revealed with their influence on the body. The next morning, the probability of awakening in the fast phase increases, but decreases in the slow one. If it is impossible to go to bed at a conditional time, the fast phases will be reduced, and nothing threatens the slow ones.

Features of awakening in each phase of sleep

Staying in a dream is characterized by heterogeneity, while several phases have been identified that especially affect the body. Each of them has specific phenomena of the brain system. The main task is to replenish energy and physiological resources.

If we talk about the correctness of phase awakenings, then you need to have information about each. First, it is worth highlighting at what stage it was interrupted. Problems will arise in a slow phase, because the most significant processes are being restored.

Awakening in the fast phase is facilitated, regardless of the colorful and vivid moments that may be seen in dreams. But the absence of this phase for a long time can negatively affect a person's well-being, undermining the psychological background. She is the link between consciousness and subconsciousness.

How to calculate the optimal time to wake up

All stages of sleep play an important role for humans. This will allow the body to regain strength and energy. The best solution is to adhere to the regime without breaking. It is good if the cycles end by 4:00 am, since slow sleep gradually decreases after midnight. It is not necessary to do this, it is possible to get more sleep. It allows nerves to recover at the very time when the fast phase begins.

It is important to go to bed early to ensure quality rest, which has a beneficial effect. This will help maintain the duration of the phases.

Most are curious if there is a special technique with which it would be possible to calculate the best time to wake up on their own. So that at the same time a surge of strength is felt, with a further desire for mental and physical labor. Dimaxion is a common technique in which you need to sleep 30 minutes 4 times a day.

By engaging the slow and fast sleep phases, how do you get enough sleep? If awakening occurs in a slow phase, then fatigue is assured. Therefore, it is better to do it in the fast phase. Careful calculations will keep track of the correct time. It's easy to do this, you need to build a graph. But it is also allowed to use a calculator.

On the basis of somnological studies, it is known that sleep cycles take 2 hours, while a fast one takes only 20 minutes. With this data, it becomes possible to calculate an acceptable time for waking up.

However, it takes 6-8 hours to fully recover. After making the calculations, it is worth setting the resulting value on the alarm clock face.

You can only find out the positive effect on awakening in the fast phase on your own, for this you need to try it out. But this does not mean that you will fall asleep right away. Therefore, when calculating, it is important to leave some time in stock.

Human sleep phases by time table

In a dream, a person arrives at one stage: fast or slow. You can learn about the special features of each of them from the table below:

Slow sleep	REM sleep
Drowsiness is the first stage. She is characterized by vivid thoughts and memories that arise on a subconscious level. At this moment, the sleeper is in a superficial sleep, which lasts 5-10 minutes.	Fast is a separate and final stage. At this moment, the person is in a state of activity. However, his movements are constrained, because the motor function is absent due to paralysis. The subconscious mind works harmoniously, so it is possible to remember a lot of useful information received during the day. Awakening is not easy. This can adversely affect mental health. It takes 60 minutes for the fast phase.
When shallow, characteristic manifestations are possible: consciousness is turned off, but the auditory landmark (third-party voices, sounds) is exacerbated. For this very reason, sudden awakenings often occur. The stage lasts only 20 minutes.
The third stage is characterized by a clear immersion in sleep.
The fourth stage involves deep sleep. It is difficult to awaken a sleeping person. At the same time, dreams are pronounced. A person may have a disease - sleepwalking. The next morning it is problematic to remember what you dreamed about, only a few moments are remembered. More often stages 3 and 4 are combined into one, each lasting about 45 minutes.

Phases of a person's sleep in time, the table characterizes the stages that occur in a particular phase. With the completion of all stages, the end of the first cycle also comes. Sleep should be cyclical, therefore, for quality rest, the body must go through 5 cycles. The stages replace each other gradually. Doctors recommend sleeping at least 8 hours. If you constantly violate the recommendations, you can develop a disease - a mental disorder.

Sleep takes place in 2 phases: slow and fast. In young children, the fast phase predominates, which differs from adults. At the time of sleep, it is possible to see the movements of the eyeball, while the baby has colorful dreams. Muscle tone weakens, but this does not apply to the nasopharynx and eyes. Movement is limited.

It is known that during the growth and development of a child, the need for sleep is paramount. That's just how much you need to sleep, everyone decides on their own. This is dictated by the body, namely the individual characteristics: physiological, mental.

The norm for a child is determined depending on age guidelines:

1-2 months - 18 hours;
3-4 months - 17-18 hours;
5-6 months - 16 hours;
7-9 months - 15 hours;
10-12 months - 13 hours;
1-2 years - 13 hours;
2-3 years - 12 hours;
3-5 years - 10-13 hours;
6-13 years old - 9-11 hours;
teenagers 8-10 hours.

Over time, children spend fewer hours of rest in order to get a good night's sleep. This is dictated by changes in needs and an increased load on the brain. The most active ones do not need much time at all to gain strength for a productive day.

Slow and fast sleep

Slow and REM sleep are different in terms of the bioelectric activity of the brain.

Recording of the biocurrents of the brain in the form of an electroencephalogram (EEG) gives a peculiar pattern characteristic of various conditions. During "slow" sleep on the EEG appear

slow waves of large amplitude, alternating with fast rhythms during the period of "REM" sleep. Differences between sleep phases are not only in EEG data.

Slow sleep

During slow wave sleep, breathing, pulse become less frequent, muscles relax, during this period the so-called physical activity of a person decreases.

REM sleep

In the phase of REM sleep, the respiratory rate, the rhythm of the heart increase, the motor activity increases, behind the closed eyelids, the movements of the eyeball are clearly visible. These so-called rapid eye movements are a characteristic feature of this phase, hence its other name: REM after the first letters of the English words Rapid Eye movements. At this moment, the sleeper is dreaming. An interesting fact was established: it is much more difficult to wake a sleeping person during REM sleep, despite the signs of more shallow sleep, increased breathing and pulse rate, EEG rhythm, than during slow sleep. Therefore, the phase of REM sleep is also called paradoxical sleep (accordingly, slow sleep is orthodox).

REM sleep never occurs immediately - it is recorded only after a certain duration of the slow-wave sleep phase. REM sleep is very important for the state of the human psyche. When the volunteers studied the peculiarities of sleep, woke them up for 3-4 nights in a row before the onset of the REM phase, they began to develop mental disorders, despite the overall sufficient duration of sleep.

Night sleep

Typically, a night's sleep consists of a strict alternation of 4-6 complete cycles, each of which starts with slow and ends with REM sleep. The duration of any cycle normally ranges from 60 to 90 minutes, but if at the beginning of the night REM sleep lasts only a few minutes, then by the morning it lasts about half an hour. At the same time, a combination of these cycles, characterized by a different ratio of sleep phases, with a certain hormonal level and temperature rhythm, changing from evening to morning, is necessary. Therefore, certain hours of the day for sleep are so important. And it is no coincidence that sleep in the daytime, as a rule, does not give the same refreshing effect as at night.

There is also a curious moment: every healthy person sees dreams, but only the one who wakes up in the first 15 minutes after REM sleep remembers them. It turned out that those who have a good memory have dreams. The brighter and more imaginative the dreams, the more complete the dream. According to some scientists, one of the reasons for this is that during sleep, the information received during the day may be actively processed. So, in the phase of slow sleep, the information received during the day is processed, and in the phase of REM sleep, which is characterized by dreams with the inclusion of fantastic unreal components, protection from external stimuli and mental activity are carried out.

REM sleep plays a significant role in learning and memorizing various information. So, among students actively studying a foreign language, one can single out a group of young people who very quickly and correctly memorize new words. Unlike students with poor memory ability, they have longer REM sleep.

During sleep in an adult, 2 main phases alternate: REM and slow sleep. At the very beginning, after falling asleep, the duration of the slow phase is long, and before waking up, the duration of slow sleep is shortened, and the duration of REM sleep is lengthened.

A healthy adult begins sleep at 1st tbsp. slow sleep, lasting 5-10 minutes. Next 2nd Art. lasts 20 minutes. This is followed by 3-4 st., Continuing for another 30-45 minutes. Further, the sleeper again plunges into the 2nd st. slow wave sleep, followed by the 1st episode of REM sleep, which takes only 5 minutes. This is one cycle.

The initial cycle lasts about an hour and a half. During repetitions of the cycles, the proportion of slow sleep is shortened, the proportion of fast sleep is lengthened. During the last cycle, the duration of the fast cycle can be up to one hour. A healthy adult goes through 5 cycles during a night's sleep.

Slow sleep

REM sleep is also divided into certain stages:

The first is a nap with half-asleep visions. At this time, solutions to daytime problems may appear clearly in the brain.
The second is the so-called sleepy spindles. At this time, consciousness turns off, but a person can be easily woken up, due to the increased thresholds of perception.
The third is a deeper sleep, in which sleepy spindles are still preserved.
The fourth is the deepest sleep, sometimes called delta sleep. The duration of the deep sleep phase decreases from cycle to cycle.

Actually, under the concept of delta sleep, the penultimate and last stages are sometimes combined. It is almost impossible to wake up a sleeping person during this period. This is exactly the stage in which there is, or nightmares, but upon awakening, a person does not retain memories of what happened. Normally, all 4 slow-wave sleep stages of the 1st cycle take up to 80% of all sleep.

From the point of view, in this phase, the body is physically healed - cells and tissues are restored, self-healing of internal organs occurs. During this period, the body restores its energy costs. During REM sleep, he restores his mental and intellectual resources.

What Happens During Delta Sleep

During delta sleep, the rhythms of the heartbeat and respiration rate decrease, all muscles relax. As this phase deepens, the number of movements in the sleeping person becomes minimal, it becomes difficult to wake him up. If, nevertheless, the sleeping person is awakened at this time, he will not remember dreams.

During slow-wave sleep, according to the researchers of the phenomenon, restorative metabolic processes occur in tissues aimed at compensating for the catabolism that occurs during wakefulness.

Certain facts support this hypothesis. The delta sleep stage is lengthened in some cases:

after active physical work;
during the period of rapid weight loss;
with thyrotoxicosis.

If the subjects are deprived of this phase artificially (by means of exposure to sound, for example), then they begin to complain of physical weakness and unpleasant muscle sensations.

Also, delta sleep plays an important role in the process of memorization. Experiments were carried out during which the subjects were asked to memorize meaningless combinations of letters before going to bed. After three hours of sleep, they were woken up and asked to repeat what they had learned before going to bed. It turned out that the more delta waves were recorded during this period of sleep, the more accurate the memories were. The results of these experiments determined that the memory impairment that occurs with prolonged sleep disturbances and insomnia is associated specifically with deep sleep problems.

The test subjects react to deep sleep deprivation in the same way as to complete sleep deprivation: 2-3 nights with the use of stimuli reduce efficiency, slow down the speed of reactions, and give a feeling of fatigue.

How long should a deep sleep last

Each person has their own individual rate of how much sleep they need. There are people with short sleep, medium sleep, long sleep. Napoleon was a short-sleeping man - he slept only 4 hours. And Einstein was a long-sleeper - his sleep rate was at least 10 hours. And both were very effective actors. However, if an ordinary person is forced to reduce his rate, then, probably, in the morning he will be negative, immediately tired and angry.

Scientists at the University of Surrey conducted an experiment in which 110 healthy adults took part who had never experienced problems with sleep. On the first night, the participants spent 8 hours in bed and showed that: subjects aged 20-30 years slept 7.23 hours, 40-55 years old 6.83 hours, 66-83 years old - 6.51 hours. The same tendency was observed for the time of deep sleep: 118.4 minutes in the first group, 85.3 minutes in the middle group, 84.2 minutes in the oldest group.

The first thing that begins to suffer with a lack of delta sleep is the endocrine system. With a lack of deep sleep, a person does not produce growth hormone. As a result, the belly begins to grow. These people suffer from apnea syndrome: at night they have short-term stops in breathing, during which they can simply not breathe for up to 1.5 minutes. Then the body, out of a sense of self-preservation, gives the command to wake up and the person snores. This is a very dangerous condition, during which heart attacks and strokes occur much more often. When treating the syndrome, people lose weight dramatically, because their hormone production is getting better. Sleep apnea causes overwhelming daytime sleepiness, which is extremely dangerous if the person is driving at this time.

Deep sleep rates in adults are 30 to 70% of total sleep time. To increase its percentage, you must:

create a more effective wake / sleep schedule (you need to go to bed and get up at the same time);
give the body physical activity a couple of hours before bedtime (more);
do not smoke, do not overeat, do not drink coffee, alcohol, energy drinks before bedtime (we have made up);
sleep in a comfortable room (in a ventilated room, in the absence of extraneous sounds and light).

With the onset of old age, the duration of slow sleep decreases. In 80-year-olds, the long sleep phase becomes 62% less than in 20-year-olds. There are many factors that affect aging, but if slow wave sleep is also shortened, the aging process goes even faster.

How to measure your sleep

It is possible to accurately divide all 5 stages of sleep only by the brain encephalogram, rapid eye movements and other modern research. If you just need to even out your sleep within a week, you can use special fitness bracelets. Fitness bracelets cannot read in what phase of sleep the body is currently in, but they record a person's movements in a dream. A fitness bracelet will help to divide sleep into 2 phases - a person is tossing and turning (phase 1-3), sleeping motionless (phase 3-5). The information on the bracelet is displayed in the form of a graph-fence. True, the main purpose of this function of fitness bracelets is a smart alarm clock, which should gently wake up a person in a fast sleep phase.

The discovery of the sleep delta peptide

In the 70s, during experiments on rabbits, a group of Swiss scientists discovered the delta sleep peptide, which, when exposed to the brain, is able to induce this phase. Scientists have isolated it from the blood of rabbits in deep sleep. The beneficial properties of the substance are gradually being revealed to people for more than 40 years of research, he:

activates defense mechanisms against stress;
slows down the aging process, which is facilitated by its antioxidant properties. The lifespan of mice during experiments with its use increased by 24%;
has anti-cancer properties: slows down the growth of tumors and suppresses metastasis;
inhibits the development of alcohol dependence;
exhibits anticonvulsant properties, reduces the duration of epileptic seizures;
is an excellent pain reliever.

How to increase your delta sleep time

There have been a number of experiments investigating the effect of exercise on delta sleep. The men spent two hours on a stationary bike. Daytime activities did not affect sleep duration in any way. Evening classes had a noticeable impact on:

total sleep length increased by 36 minutes;
shortened the period of falling asleep and nap;
delta sleep deepened;
the cycle lengthened from one and a half to two hours.

With the introduction of additional intellectual loads (tests in the evening, solving logical problems), changes in the phase of deep sleep were also recorded:

the proportion of the deepest stage increased due to the carotid spindles;
lengthened the 2nd cycle;
an increase in the work of activating systems was recorded.

Any stressful situations cause a shortening of the delta sleep phase. Delta sleep is an obligatory participant in all changes in human conditions. By increasing its duration, any load is compensated.

List of used literature:

Feinberg I. Changes in sleep cycle patterns with age // J Psychiatr Res. - 1974 - Vol. 10, no. 3-4. - P. 283-306.
Legramante J., Galante A. Sleep and hypertension: a challenge for the autonomic regulation of the cardiovascular system. // Circulation: journal. - 2005 - Vol. 112, no. 6 (9 August). - P. 786-8. - PMID 16087808.
Morrissey M., Duntley S., Anch A., Nonneman R. Active sleep and its role in the prevention of apoptosis in the developing brain. // Med Hypotheses: journal. - 2004 - Vol. 62, no. 6. - P. 876-9.

During sleep, a person periodically alternates between two main phases: slow and REM sleep, and at the beginning of sleep, the duration of the slow phase prevails, and before waking up, the duration of REM sleep increases. Sleep begins with the first stage of slow-wave sleep (Non-REM sleep), which lasts 5-10 minutes. Then comes the 2nd stage, which lasts about 20 minutes. Another 30-45 minutes falls on the period of 3-4 stages. After that, the sleeper again returns to the 2nd stage of slow wave sleep, after which the first episode of REM sleep occurs, which has a short duration of about 5 minutes. This whole sequence is called a cycle. The first cycle lasts 90-100 minutes. Then the cycles are repeated, while the proportion of slow wave sleep decreases and the proportion of REM sleep (REM sleep) gradually increases, the last episode of which in some cases can reach 1 hour. On average, with full healthy sleep, five complete cycles are noted.

First: Restore the conditions that automatically trigger sleep in the cocaine patient.

For this we need: to get adequate physiological conditions.
Get an adequate sleeping environment.
Achieve physical and cognitive deactivation.

To develop a good detoxification treatment, we must achieve the physiological conditions necessary for sleep and adapt the behavior of the cocaine addicted patient in such a way as to change their personal habits.

Therefore, our detox team usually prescribes. Alcohol metabolism consumes a lot of water, so you need to avoid excess alcohol to avoid waking up thirsty in the middle of sleep. Monitor the room environment by ensuring that the room temperature is cool and pleasant, that there is no strong light, and that there is sufficient humidity. Make sure the bed is large enough, so that the mattress and mattress are firm and comfortable enough so that clothes are not scanty, excessive, or annoying. Noise is an important distorting factor in sleep, so we must ensure that sleep is quiet and quiet. Deep Jacobson Relaxation: The Jacobson Relaxation Method is used in our clinics to detoxify cocaine to stimulate sleep, as it teaches us to reduce muscle tension and therefore promotes physiological deactivation.

Slow sleep

REM sleep also has its own stages.

First stage... The alpha rhythm decreases and low-amplitude slow theta and delta waves appear. Behavior: drowsiness with half-asleep daydreaming and dreamlike hallucinations. At this stage, ideas may intuitively appear that contribute to the successful solution of a particular problem.

Now it cannot be used as a sleeping pill; that is, doing exercise when you are not falling asleep, because the indispensable condition for rest is not fulfilled, which must be done endlessly, because in fact it becomes an attempt to sleep, and the effort does not lead to relaxation or sleep.That is why relaxation exercises are recommended at other times of the day and for the sole purpose of learning to discern when you are stressed.

The importance of deep sleep for the body

Diaphragmatic breathing: Breathing is also a good relaxation technique. Sleep is associated with deep, regular and abdominal breathing, which can lead to physiological deactivation. Thoughts and concerns for our cocaine detox team are a major component of insomnia. The following classes were defined: solving daily problems, taking care of not falling asleep, general problems, noises in the house and other conditions in the room.

Second stage... At this stage, the so-called "sleep spindles" appear - the sigma rhythm, which is an accelerated alpha rhythm (12-14-20 Hz). With the appearance of "sleepy spindles", consciousness is switched off; during the pauses between the spindles (and they occur about 2-5 times per minute), it is easy to wake a person up. The thresholds of perception are increasing. The most sensitive analyzer is the auditory one (the mother wakes up to the cry of the child, each person wakes up to call his name).

The problem with thought control is that it is ironic or paradoxical because there is a process of looking for alternative thoughts and another is checking if it has been achieved or if a failure occurs and this causes the thought to increase its frequency. When we want not to think about something, we think about something else, and we understand this, but suddenly we realize that we have achieved it, and that we have not thought about it, with which the thought becomes real again. It has been shown that the desire to stop thinking about something leads to an increase in the frequency of this thought.

Third stage... It is characterized by all the features of the second stage, including the presence of "sleepy spindles", to which are added slow high-amplitude delta oscillations (2 Hz).

4th stage of slow wave sleep, deep sleep. This is the deepest dream. Delta oscillations (2 Hz) predominate.

Video: Somnologist R. Buzunov about interesting facts about sleep

Create a series of pre-sleep treatments that activate conditioning that automatically leads to the calmness you need for sleep. For example: close the door with the key, turn off the gas, brush your teeth, set the alarm clock and complete all the tasks necessary for this moment of the night, always do them in the same order. Set a fixed time to get out of bed and go to bed. You should get up around the same time every morning, including weekends. If you think you have to get up later on weekends, do so no later than an hour later. Monitor physiological variables, do not go to bed hungry, thirsty, want to urinate, etc. avoid drinking alcoholic beverages. Alcohol can be a short-term remedy. At first, it has a calming effect, but then it causes insomnia and restless sleep, shallow sleep followed by nocturnal awakenings. Calculate the time it takes to fall asleep. If it takes five minutes or less, it is likely that you will not get enough sleep. Five to twenty minutes is normal. And if it takes longer, it means you are not ready to sleep yet. A hot bath is another way to relax before bed. Warm water relaxes and creates a sense of well-being. Take warm milk before bed. It releases tryptophan, which is a substance that induces sleep. Dine calmly and stay up for two hours after lunch. Before bed, do not drink chocolate or large amounts of sugar. Avoid drinking extra fluids. If you wake up in the middle of the night, do not eat anything, or you may start waking up usually at the same time feeling hungry. Control the noise, light and temperature in the room. If you cannot sleep, get up and come back when you sleep. When you are in bed, you must turn off the lights in the room with the intention of falling asleep immediately. If you cannot fall asleep at one time, about 10 minutes, get up and go to another room. Engage in a quiet activity until you feel numb and at that time return to the bedroom to sleep. Make sure the bed is large enough for the mattress and mattress to be strong and comfortable enough so that the bedding is not too thin, excessive, or annoying. Try natural remedies such as lemon balm, Roman chamomile, valerian, passion flower, lavender, passion flower, etc. do not go to bed while you are awake. Do not use the bedroom for other activities besides sleeping. The only exception to this rule is sex. Don't use your bedtime to think about your problems.

Exercise regularly, but do it throughout the day.
Avoid doing this hours before bed.
A daily pre-dinner walk is recommended.

Sleep is a transitional and reversible state that alternates with wakefulness.

The third and fourth stages are often referred to as delta sleep. It is very difficult to wake up a person at this time; 80% of dreams arise, and it is at this stage that bouts of sleepwalking and nightmares are possible, but the person remembers almost nothing of this. The first four slow-wave sleep stages normally occupy 75-80% of the entire sleep period.

It is an active process involving multiple and complex physiological and behavioral mechanisms in various systems and areas of the central nervous system. In addition, this stage is also characterized as the stage in which dreams occur. The distribution of sleep stages at night can be altered by several factors, such as age, circadian rhythm, room temperature, drug intake, or certain medical conditions.

Hibernation has been attributed to several functions. The simplest hypothesis is that sleep is intended to restore the body to the possible flow of energy established during wakefulness. Do not use alcohol or coffee, some teas, and soft drinks before bed. If you slept a little during the past nights, avoid sleeping during the day. Don't bring trouble to bed. Do calm and relaxing sleep prep activities. Be physically and mentally active.

Spend time sleeping and waking up regularly.
Go to bed just before bed.
Observe a proper sleeping environment: clean, dark, no noise or comfort.
Do not use sleeping pills without medical advice.

In the animal kingdom, it seems that the larger the animal, the fewer hours it devotes to sleep.

It is believed that slow sleep is associated with the restoration of energy expenditure.

REM sleep

REM sleep (REM sleep, REM sleep, or REM sleep for short) is the fifth sleep stage. EEG: rapid fluctuations in electrical activity, close in value to beta waves. This resembles a state of wakefulness. At the same time (and this is paradoxical!) At this stage a person is in complete immobility, due to a sharp drop in muscle tone. However, the eyeballs very often and periodically make rapid movements under the closed eyelids. There is a clear connection between REM and dreams. If you wake up the sleeping person at this time, then in 90% of cases you can hear a story about a vivid dream.

An example is the African elephant, the largest land animal. In the wild, it sleeps an average of two hours a day and often spends almost two days without sleep. Research is unprecedented for breaking captivity. Researchers observed two African elephant matriarchs at Chobe National Park in Botswana for 35 days. They equipped the elephants with a sleep sensor in the trunk and a collar that allowed them to identify their sleeping position.

In their natural habitat, elephants sleep only two hours a day, the least amount of sleep among mammals, says Paul Menger of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. They have no time to dream, the researchers contacted. They remain awake for up to 46 hours, traveling long distances during these periods.

The REM sleep phase lengthens from cycle to cycle, and the depth of sleep decreases. REM sleep is more difficult to interrupt than slow sleep, although REM sleep is closer to the threshold of wakefulness. Interruption of REM sleep causes more severe mental disturbances compared to REM sleep disturbances. Some of the interrupted REM sleep should be replenished in the next cycles.

Predators are constantly harassing elephants, which must always be on their guard. Another reason for several hours of sleep is the amount of food eaten. Herbivores eating low-calorie foods should spend more time chewing to consume energy from their food and not need so much time to digest. It is not surprising that the giraffe, like the elephant, sleeps very little.

Already, the number of hours of sleep is decreasing everywhere among mammals, depending on the density of neurons per area of the cerebral cortex. The lower the density of neurons in the brain, the less the animal needs to sleep. Neurons grow, density per area falls, and animals sleep less. More feeding time allows for increased growth of evolution.

It is assumed that REM sleep provides the functions of psychological protection, information processing, and its exchange between consciousness and subconsciousness.

People who are blind from birth dream of sounds and sensations; they do not have REM.

How much sleep a person needs is inextricably linked with such a concept as sleep phases. The phases of sleep in any person alternately alternate, replacing each other, and there should be a certain number of such alternations. Otherwise, the body will not receive all the necessary time to restore internal structures, as well as structuring the information received during the day.

Can I get enough sleep for the future?

Sleep-inducing metabolites accumulate in the waking brain and are produced by the neurons themselves. How long an animal is awake should depend on how long it takes for a critical concentration of sleep-inducing metabolites to accumulate. the lower the density of neurons under a certain surface of the cortex, the slower this accumulation of metabolites must be, and the longer the animal must hold out in an active state, says the neurobiologist.

That's about 7 hours of sleep a day. But this is less than the average need for an 8-hour human sleep. They are the only omnivores on the list. The goat sleeps about 5 hours a day. More than sheep, they sleep for about 4 hours. Cows spend most of the day chewing and walking. About 4 hours of sleep remain.

The sleep phases must be completely fulfilled, thus forming a complete cycle of night rest. Moreover, depending on nature, a person can get enough sleep in more or less such cycles.

Let us consider in more detail the phases of sleep themselves, which are the same for any person and can only slightly differ in time. And then let's talk about the full cycles of these phases in order to find out how much a person needs to sleep in order to get enough sleep. Here, the difference between two separate individuals can be drastically different.

Ever seen a horse sleeping? Yes, one hour he tiresome and lies. And pack about 3 hours of sleep. The same amount as the donkey. Some studies already show that the giraffe only sleeps about two hours a day. They were considered the animals that slept least. Recent studies from Botswana now involve the largest land mammal, the African elephant.

The Greeks feared Morpheus, the god of dreams, because they believed that every night when he fell asleep, the deity could torment them by sending terrible nightmares. Science, however, can prove that sleep is a good teacher. The American scientist's findings are the result of a series of experiments presented last month at the third International Congress of the World Federation of Sleep Research Societies. The meeting, held in the German city of Dresden, brought together leading researchers from different parts of the world. Every effort becomes a waste if the hours in the books are not accompanied by a good night's sleep.

Sleep phases

The sleep phases of any person are divided into 2 types:

Phase of slow wave sleep;
REM sleep phase.

It takes different people from 1 hour to 1.5 hours to complete all phases of sleep. Usually the last digit is taken into account, although it is not accurate. Each of us has our own general duration of sleep phases, which may vary slightly not only in different periods of life, but even during one night's sleep.

Phases of slow sleep

The phase of slow-wave sleep begins from the moment you fall asleep and takes three quarters of the entire sleep cycle.

Slow sleep begins with a dozing process, which smoothly flows into superficial, moderate-deep and, finally, deep sleep. In total, the phase of slow wave sleep, as you can see, consists of 4 types of sleep.

It is very important that nothing interferes with sleep during slow wave sleep. Indeed, it is during this phase that all the changes necessary for the health of the body occur:

In mice, the energy spent per day is restored;
There is a restoration at the cellular level of various structures of the body;
The body builds protein structures - muscles, tissues of internal organs;
Fat burning occurs (in the case of proper nutrition during the day, especially in the evening);
Necessary hormones are released, primarily growth hormone and melatonin;
The body prepares itself for the next day.

If the phase of slow wave sleep is often disrupted, then such a ragged sleep leads to the fact that in the morning a person feels fatigue, physical weakness, lack of energy and weakness. True, the cause of all these problems can be not only poor sleep conditions in the slow phase, but also a general lack of these slow phases of sleep, which will be discussed below.

Scientists believe that the maximum effectiveness of the phases of slow wave sleep is manifested before 4 in the morning. At the same time, in each new cycle, the proportion of REM sleep phases gradually decreases, yielding to REM sleep phases.

After 4 o'clock in the morning, the phases of slow sleep almost do not appear. Therefore, if every morning you feel a lack of strength and energy, it may be due to late going to bed, and therefore, the body does not have enough time for all the slow phases of sleep to recover.

REM sleep phases

REM sleep takes up a relatively small fraction of the sleep cycle — only one quarter. But from this it does not lose its significance.

During REM sleep, the body:

Processes, sorts absolutely all information received during the day;
Restores the energy of the nervous system;
Prepares memory and attention for further work during the new day.

After 4 o'clock in the morning, almost all the time of sleep is assigned to the fast phase, which is associated with a quick transition to wakefulness. The body has already prepared the physical body for work, and now it is preparing the mental sphere.

Sleep cycles. How much sleep do you need

Sleep cycles are linked to sleep phases. A circle of slow and fast sleep forms one sleep cycle. And the whole question is how many sleep cycles should there be during a person's night rest.

Scientists agree that 5 sleep cycles are enough for the average person. That is why they usually talk about 7-8 hours of sleep needed to rest at night. 5 cycles of 1.5 hours just give 7.5 hours of sleep.

However, there are people who do not sleep much. For such people, only 4 phases of sleep are enough to restore the strength and structure of the body, as well as to process all the information. As a result, 6 hours of sleep (and even less) is enough for such people.

There is another group of people who need to sleep for 6 cycles, which takes about 9 hours. And it is not at all necessary to consider such people as lazy people. It's just that their body is built in this way. If they miss at least one sleep cycle up to 1.5 hours long, then they will feel overwhelmed and lethargic all day.

The minimum allowable number of sleep cycles is 4 cycles (4-6 hours long, depending on the duration of one cycle), but on the condition that these 4 cycles are completed before 4 in the morning. In this case, the body will receive the minimum necessary time to recover during the phases of slow wave sleep, and in the morning such a person will feel quite acceptable.