Slow and REM sleep is the daily norm for adults and children. Ratio of fast and slow sleep. Sleep phases. Norm and pathology. Age-related changes in sleep Rapid and slow-wave sleep comparative

A person’s stay in a full, restful sleep every day - physiological need any age. It is at this time that the body rests and recovers, the reaction to the reaction decreases or is completely absent. environment, the emotional state stabilizes, the nerves calm down.

Night sleep on average should be 7.5-8 hours. It consists of 4-6 cycles. Each cycle includes phases lasting on average 1-1.5 hours. Normally, human sleep is divided into 2 main phases - slow and fast.

It has been scientifically proven that about 75%-85% of the total night's rest is the period of slow-wave sleep. It involves complete physical and psychological restoration of the body. It consists of 4 smaller stages indicated in the table.

Table 1. Stages of slow-wave sleep

№	Stages	Duration	Characteristics
1	Nap	5-10 min.	Slow eye movements, decreased body temperature, slowed heartbeat. There may be dream-like visions. It's easy to wake a person up.
2	Sleep spindles	up to 20 min.	The name comes from the graphics of the encephalogram. Muscle activity and heart rate decrease. There is a reaction to external stimuli.
3	Delta	10-15 min.	Energy restoration, reduction blood pressure. Dreamless.
4	Deep delta sleep	25-40 min.	Consciousness is completely switched off, there is no eye movement, breathing is shallow and slow, and there is no sense of smell. It is difficult to wake a person; he practically does not react to external stimuli. Dreams are calm. Manifestation of sleepwalking and talking.

The phases of slow and fast sleep must be normal, otherwise a person may experience functional disorders body wide range.

Interesting fact! People who work a lot physically have slow and REM sleep Normally they shift somewhat in time. Their slow-wave sleep phase increases.

REM sleep phase

The duration of the REM sleep phase is 10-25 minutes. and it gets bigger from cycle to cycle. This time also depends on the information received or stress during the day. During this period, brain activity is activated, but the muscles are completely relaxed.

The following processes occur in the body:

Increased heart function (sometimes tachycardia is noted),
The filling of blood vessels increases
Breathing becomes intermittent, frequent and irregular,
The eyeballs move chaotically and quickly.

At this stage, a person seems to be experiencing all the events that happened during the day, remembering them, subconsciously analyzing them.

Interesting fact! It was in dreams that many famous scientists came up with ideas for their further discoveries. For example, according to Mendeleev, he saw periodic table chemical elements precisely in a dream. REM sleep is the time of dreams, which are sometimes prophetic.

Sleep norms for a person depending on age

In order for the body to fully recover, slow and fast sleep should normally last a certain amount of time. The limits of reference values may fluctuate slightly in one direction or another. However, it has been proven that each age has its own indicators.

If they change significantly in the direction of decreasing or increasing and such manifestations are systematic, then we can talk about certain pathologies internal organs and systems. Often, somnologists diagnose pathological conditions nervous system. And how serious they are should be decided by other highly specialized specialists.
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Children's sleep norms

For children, sleep is a time of recuperation. How younger child, the more time he sleeps. Babies sleep almost equally as they share the same feeding, bathing, hygiene procedures, games. Starting from one year old, children sleep depending on their individual characteristics.

Note! 70-80% sleep one-year-old babies superficial, so they can be awakened by even a slight creaking of the door or the steps of their parents.

Note to parents! IN adolescence Children may show signs of sleepwalking. If they are frequent enough and may pose a threat to the safety of your child, seek qualified help.

Sleep norm for adults

Sleep duration for an adult is 7-9 hours. This time depends on the activity of the day, psychological stress, the presence of significant stressful situations and reactivity of the nervous system. But you also need to take into account the individual characteristics of the body.

Therefore, in order to fully relax, you need to indulge in Morpheus for at least 6 hours. Women, since their brains are more complex and require more time to reboot, need more sleep, for about 20 minutes. While carrying a child, female body requires more rest. Ladies in interesting position sleep 9-10 hours.

On man's dream influenced by the type of activity. They can restore strength even in 4-5 hours. Elderly people also need a little time to good rest. But this is due to diseases that accumulate in old age and quality of life.

Recommendations for sleep duration at different ages.

Interesting fact! For people whose night's rest is within the same time frame almost always, a long and healthy life. They are less susceptible to the most banal colds, not to mention more serious pathologies.

What are the consequences of sleep disorders and insomnia?

Enough often sleep at any stage (slow-wave or fast-wave sleep)violated By various reasons, thereby not reaching the norm. Many people do not even realize that they have a lack of sleep, perceiving it as the norm. Lack of sleep has a detrimental effect on general condition person.

Symptoms can be completely different, but not specific:

Increased fatigue, apathy, lethargy;
Frequent mood swings with attacks of irritability and tearfulness;
Drop in immune response to external irritants and foreign agents (frequent acute respiratory infections, infections);
Cognitive impairment– memory acuity, processes of memorization and perception suffer;
Metabolism is disrupted– body mass index increases;
Possibleendocrine disorders systems;
Possible cardiovascular pathology.

Interesting fact! It has been proven: a healthy middle-aged person can live without sleep in a normal sane state for no more than 4 days in a row.

Is it possible to treat insomnia on your own?

To get rid of insomnia, people often self-medicate. But neurologists do not advise doing this. After all, there can be many reasons for disruption of rest and wakefulness, and not all of them depend on subjective factors.

Perhaps in this way the body signals about pathologies that do not yet give others specific symptoms. In any case, contacting a specialist in this regard will not be superfluous. If, during the process of collecting anamnesis, the doctor identifies some kind of somatic disease, treatment will be aimed at eliminating it.

A slow and fast sleep will return to normal as a result of treatment of the underlying disease. If a violation of the process of night rest is diagnosed, options are possible.

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Daily routine and psychological assistance

Doctors consider psychological problems to be one of the causes of sleep disorders. Low stress resistance, constant exposure to uncomfortable moral circumstances, depressive states, nervous overstrain makes the susceptibility of the nervous system more subtle.

Under such living conditions, disruption of the normal sleep and wakefulness pattern is a consequence of subjective circumstances.

Among the proposed methods of combating insomnia are:

Working with a psychotherapist or a psychologist for the purpose of correcting the perception of reality, adapting to the proposed conditions and helping to increase self-esteem;
Planning your daily routine with proper distribution of time for work and rest;
Sports activities. In particular, yoga, Pilates, and fitness can help relieve emotional stress;
Correction of diet. It is necessary to at least temporarily exclude heavy foods, especially in the afternoon. Eliminate or minimize coffee and strong tea. Do not eat at least two hours before bedtime. Immediately before going to bed, do hiking in the fresh air.

Calm and friendly atmosphere at home, nice talking and maximum positive emotions will help to cope with the problem if it has not gone too far.

Drug treatment

Slow and REM sleep, the rate of which is a qualitative indicator of activity in daytime, are in balance.

If more serious disorders are identified that affect the functioning of the nervous system and this condition cannot be corrected without medication (depression, nervous disorders, breakdowns, psychoses and neurasthenia), it is necessary to prescribe certain medications.

In such cases, the following are most often used:

Sedatives and antidepressants depending on complexity psychological state and the presence of possible somatic complications;
Sleeping pills, acting situationally, but prescribed a course to stabilize the condition.

Scheme of the effects of antidepressants.

It is important to know! Taking potent medications the targeted spectrum of action, if used incorrectly, can lead to unpredictable consequences: addiction, breakdowns if taken incorrectly, “withdrawal syndrome”.

Traditional methods of restoring the norm of slow and rapid sleep

Normally, slow and fast sleep allows each person to fully recover at night and work just as fully during the day.

Traditional medicine offers several simple but effective methods getting rid of insomnia, as well as problems good sleep, when a person wakes up from excessive excitement every 15-30 minutes.

Important to remember! Alternative Methods normalization of sleep will be effective if there are no pathological abnormalities in the human nervous system and psychological diseases.

To calm the body traditional healers recommends the following recipes to combat insomnia:

A mixture of water and honey. Naturopaths recommend drinking before bed clean water with honey at the rate of 1 teaspoon of honey per 1 tbsp. water. This will make it possible to saturate the body with glucose, useful micro and macro elements that have a beneficial effect on brain function.
Herbal teas. Teas made from mint, lemon balm, St. John's wort, thyme, chamomile with the addition of honey soothe and relax, and also bring slow and rapid sleep to normal.
Massage relaxing type.
Taking a bath or shower. Cold and hot shower It’s not worth doing - it invigorates, and if it’s too hot it can raise your blood pressure or speed up your heart rate.
Listening to slow music and ventilation of the room will help prepare the body and nervous system for a calm, complete rest.

The well-known method of “counting sheep”, being a folk psychotechnic, is quite effective and helps normalize the phases of slow and fast sleep.

According to doctors, full healthy sleep- an important part of the life of a person of any age. While in a dream, a person not only gains strength, but also calms the nervous system, gains positive emotions and energy the next day.
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Useful videos about slow and fast sleep

From the videos below you can learn important Additional information about slow and fast sleep, the characteristics of these phases and sleep norms for different ages:

Have a good night's sleep and a cheerful mood during the day!

Sleep is an essential human need. Its importance cannot be underestimated. Without sleep, a person will not be able to exist normally, and hallucinations will gradually appear. Researches sleep special science– somnology.

Sleep functions

First of all, the main function of sleep will be rest for the body, for the brain. During sleep, the brain will work in a certain way, creating special conditions for the body. Under these conditions, the following should occur:

Rest of consciousness from daily activities.
Finding solutions to open problems.
Relaxation of body muscles.
Release of the hormone melatonin.
Stimulation of immunity at an adequate level.
Consolidation of acquired knowledge in memory.

As already mentioned, without sleep a person cannot exist normally. Sleep also performs the function of regulating biorhythms.

Sleep disorders such as: insomnia, nightmares, sleepwalking, sleep paralysis, Sopor, difficulty falling asleep will indicate that the person has any serious illnesses(most often of a neurological nature).

Stages of sleep. What do they have in common?

To date, scientists have found that there are 5 phases of sleep. Four of which are classified as slow-wave sleep, and one is classified as fast sleep.

When a person falls asleep, he enters the stages of slow-wave sleep, which vary in the degree of relaxation of the body and brain. Afterwards comes the REM sleep phase.

For proper rest, all phases must go through. In order for a person to wake up rested, he needs to get up after the REM sleep phase, but in no case during slow phase. If this happens, the person will get out of bed tired and irritated.

Most deep sleep when it will be extremely difficult to wake a person, it will be observed in the middle of one of the phases of sleep. During the period of falling asleep, a person can be very sensitive to surrounding stimuli, so for good sleep and the absence of insomnia, it is important to fall asleep in a quiet room.

The difference between slow-wave sleep and fast sleep

Different stages of sleep will be characterized by different indicators of brain activity, consciousness, state and muscle regulation.

NREM sleep involves decreased brain activity and consciousness. During this phase, sleep paralysis occurs - the muscles are completely relaxed. This stage of sleep will be characterized by possible appearance solutions to problem situations in real life, but since the brain will have reduced activity at this time, people often retain residual memories of the dream, fragments of it, but do not remember it completely.

By the fourth stage of the slow phase, the time of the lowest brain activity begins. It is very difficult to wake a person at this time, pathological conditions, such as: sleepwalking, nightmares, enuresis occur precisely during this phase of sleep. At this time, dreams occur, but a person most often completely forgets them, unless he suddenly wakes up by chance.

The main function of the slow phase of sleep is to restore the energy resources of a sleeping person.

The fast phase differs from the slow phase, first of all, presence of fast movements eyeballs . Interestingly, during REM sleep, brain activity becomes similar to his activity in the waking state. At this time, you can observe muscle spasms of the limbs and twitching in the sleeping person, which is the norm.

During the REM phase of sleep, people always have vivid and memorable dreams, which they can recount in detail after waking up.

Some scientists say that for proper sleep, you need, first of all, the slow phase of sleep, which fast phase sleep is a kind of rudiment. Other scientists say that this is fundamentally wrong - REM sleep has its own meaning.

Firstly, the significance of REM sleep dreams for the human psyche cannot be diminished. Psychologists, interpreting dreams, especially those that are frequently repeated, can give an accurate personal portrait of a person.

In dreams, a person can express himself, and sometimes a person realizes that he is sleeping, sometimes not, but this fact is very important for the human psyche.

In dreams, most often a person sees everyday reality transformed into symbols, so he can look at it, as they say, from the other side, which may lead to the solution of problems that are important to him.

Therefore, although radically different from each other, both phases of sleep are required for a good night’s rest; they complement each other perfectly.

How to get rid of sleep problems

It is very important to approach the process of falling asleep carefully - then problems with falling asleep will not arise. Difficulty falling asleep or insomnia can be avoided by following certain tips:

A person should go to bed only when he wants to fall asleep.
If a person cannot fall asleep, he should switch to some other activity until the desire to sleep appears.
The room intended for rest should be quietly cool for comfortable falling asleep.
The room should be dark - this is the main condition for the production of the sleep hormone.

In order to avoid night fears, you will need to avoid watching programs that excite the nervous system, overeating, good action will take herbal sedatives and chamomile tea.

Many people have heard that sleep consists of sequentially replacing each other. phases and stages. Some people know that in some phases it is easier to wake up, in others it is harder, so ideally, awakening should be adjusted to certain stages of sleep. Someone will say that dreams occur only in one phase (small spoiler - in fact this is not so, see below). In this article we propose to delve deeper into these and other issues related to different periods sleep, and consider what phases stand out, what is their characteristic And duration, how many phases are needed in order to get enough sleep, and how to independently calculate sleep phases. In addition, in the last part of the text we will look at how some so-called rational sleep patterns are assessed in terms of phases and stages.

Phases of human sleep: preface

Dreams seem like such an ordinary thing, and yet it is one of those areas that still holds many mysteries. In particular, so far there is no consensus among scientists even regarding whether we see But stages and phases of human sleep can be considered fully studied, including because they are easier to study using various instruments. The main sources are colored dreams or black and white. data for scientists - the activity of the brain in general and its lobes in particular (shown on the electroencephalogram - EEG), movements of the eyeballs and muscles of the back of the head. These and a number of other indicators make it possible to draw a more or less clear picture of sleep phase cycles.

In general, we propose not to delve into the terms and methods of somnology (the science of sleep), but to consider the phases of sleep on a more practical level: understand how many phases are distinguished, analyze their main features and what distinguishes the phases from each other. This knowledge will help answer questions about which phase is easier to wake up in, how long a healthy sleep should last, etc. But first let's do a few remarks:

phases and stages are discussed with examples adults(with age, the ratio and duration of the phases changes);
For simplicity and consistency, sleep periods will be shown using examples from those who goes to bed in the evening or at the beginning of the night, and not in the morning and does not work at night;
we only consider physiological sleep – medicinal, hypnotic, etc. are not taken into account in this material;
we will focus on those who are lucky enough to sleep a sufficient number of hours for your body and is not forced, for example, to run to the first class after writing a coursework all night.

So, what should normal sleep be like for the average healthy person under such conditions?

In general, experts divide sleep into two phases:

slow sleep, aka orthodox, or NREM sleep. The name NREM comes from the English Not Rapid Eye Movement and reflects the fact that this phase is not characterized by rapid eye movements.
REM sleep, aka paradoxical, or REM sleep(i.e. rapid eye movements are present). The name “paradoxical” comes from the fact that during this phase of sleep, complete muscle relaxation and high brain activity are combined. It turns out that during this period the brain works almost the same as when awake, but it does not process information received from the senses and does not give orders to the body how to react to this information.

The NREM + REM sleep cycle lasts approximately 1.5-2 hours(more details below), and during the night these phases successively replace each other. Average 3/4 cycle falls on slow sleep and correspondingly, about a quarter– to fast.

At the same time, slow-wave sleep has a number of stages:

nap– transition from wakefulness to sleep;
light sleep ;
moderately deep sleep;
deep dream- It is at this stage that sleep is the deepest.

Stages 3 and 4 are collectively called - delta sleep, which is associated with the presence of specific delta waves on the EEG.

Diagram of the night cycle by phases and stages of sleep

In terms of sleep cycles, our night goes like this:

First comes stage 1 slow-wave sleep, that is, we move from wakefulness to sleep through drowsiness.
Next we sequentially go through stages 2, 3 and 4. Then we move to reverse order– from delta sleep to light sleep (4 – 3 – 2).
After stage 2 comes phase REM sleep. Due to the fact that it is the last to be activated in the cycle - after all other stages have passed - it is sometimes called phase 5 or stage 5, which, strictly speaking, is not entirely accurate, because REM sleep is completely different compared to slow wave sleep .
Then we go back to stage 2, and then we again plunge into delta sleep, then light, then fast, then light again... And so the change of phases and stages goes in a circle. Another option is that after REM sleep, awakening occurs.

Duration of sleep phases and stages

As we said above, the entire sleep cycle (slow and fast sleep) takes on average about 1.5 hours to 2 hours. At the same time, the duration of phases and stages and their ratio within one cycle changes over the course of the night. Let's look at how the phases are distributed on average and how long each of them lasts.

Thus, in the first cycle, full-fledged deep sleep (stage 4) occurs approximately 40-50 minutes after sleep, and fast – In 1.5 hours. Based on the average need for sleep, we find that in good condition a person needs to sleep 3-6 cycles per night, depending on their duration and his need for sleep. In turn, this need varies greatly: some need 4 hours, for some the norm may exceed 10 hours.

In what phase is it better to wake up and how to calculate it

As is known, It's easiest to wake up during REM sleep, In second place - lung stage. Knowing the sequence different periods, you can guess optimal time awakening. On the other hand, it must be taken into account that the duration of the phases is not the same different people In addition, the need for one or another “type” of sleep varies depending on the condition. For example, if you are tired, sick, or recovering from an illness, slow-wave sleep may take longer.

Of course, to make it easier for you to wake up, you can buy various gadgets that read characteristics phases (more details below) and wake up
you exactly at the right time. But you can find out how to wake up during REM sleep on your own - First of all, you need to experiment. For example, take 2 hours as a sleep phase, calculate what time you need to go to bed/wake up in order to withstand a whole number of cycles. For example, if you have to get up at 8 am, the multiples of the phases would be 6 am, 4 am, 2 am, midnight, etc. When calculating the time, take into account the fact that you will need a little more time to fall asleep. As we said, Stage 1 usually takes 5-15 minutes. That is, to get up at 8, you need to go to bed at 1:45 or 23:45.

Try following this schedule for a while and see if you are able to wake up during REM sleep. If not, “play” with the boundaries - make a calculation based on 1 hour 50 minutes or 1 hour 40 minutes. This way you can find exactly your duration of the night cycle and then build on it. It is best to conduct experiments when you are in normal physical and emotional state and slept more or less normally on the eve of the experiments.

We also hint that by “go to bed” we mean exactly go to bed, and not “lie in bed with a smartphone in your arms and chat in instant messengers for another hour.” Let us also note that calculating sleep phases will not give you vigor if you have been sleeping only one cycle per night for a week. Adjusting to the phases is a tool for waking up easier, but it will not free you from the need to fully sleep.

Phases of sleep and dreams

What happens to us in different stages of sleep

One of the main differences between the phases is different brain activity, which can be visually traced in the waves on the EEG, but the physiology of the sleep phases is characterized not only by this. Another difference between fast and slow is reflected in English names REM and NREM – the presence and absence of rapid eye movements. In general, determining the sleep phase by eye, without taking into account instruments and measuring various indicators, is quite problematic. We can only say that if a person moves his eyes, limbs, etc., most likely we are talking about REM sleep. What can be registered on various devices? Here are some interesting facts.

Traits of slow-wave sleep

To plunge into the first stage of slow-wave sleep (drowsiness), the brain produces special substances that block its activity, cause lethargy, and also affect other body systems, including slow down metabolism. In stages 2-4, especially during delta sleep, metabolism also slows down.

To say that during slow-wave sleep, in principle, no eye movements, not entirely true - they are in stages 1 (drowsiness) and
2 (light sleep), but specifically slow; in English terminology they are called slow rolling eye movement (SREM). In turn, during delta sleep there are not even such movements, but it is in this phase that people walk or talk in their sleep, and also perform other uncontrolled actions, if this is typical for them.

Traits of REM sleep

One of the main features of REM sleep is the most vivid dreams. By the words “the most vivid” we mean that almost all the dreams that we remember after waking up are from this phase. It is believed that REM sleep, in turn, is responsible for processing information received during the day, internal work on emotions, etc. But so far scientists cannot say exactly how exactly what happens during REM sleep and what mechanisms are involved.

As we have already noted, visual REM sleep can be recognized by the movements of the eyeballs, sometimes ragged breathing, hand movements, etc. This phase is also characterized by changes in body temperature and heart rate: they can increase or decrease within the same stage.

I wonder what brain activity during REM sleep is so high that scientists for a long time could not notice the difference on the EEG between this phase of sleep and wakefulness. True, to date several important differences have been found.

Interesting features associated with sleep phases

It is typical for any phase distorted view of time. Probably everyone is familiar with situations when you close your eyes for a minute and 5 hours are gone. The opposite is also true: it seemed like the whole night had passed and I had a lot of dreams, but in fact only 20 minutes had passed.

Some people believe that during sleep a person is completely disconnects from reality, however, in reality this is not the case. Many signals are indeed not processed properly by the brain, especially during
delta sleep, but during REM and lung main sounds become a source of information. For example, we are not always awakened by noise, but a person can wake up from the fact that someone even quietly calls his name. Also, during REM sleep, sounds can be integrated into the dream and become part of it. This suggests that the brain processes sounds during sleep and decides what to pay attention to and how exactly to do it.

In children, the proportion of REM sleep is greater than in adults, and in older people it is even less. That is the older we get, the shorter the paradoxical phase sleep and longer orthodox. Interestingly, REM sleep is observed even in children in the womb. Scientists say that in the early stages of life (including before birth), REM sleep is very important for the formation of the central nervous system.

Research shows that the brain may not be immersed entirely in the same phase, which is especially characteristic of delta sleep. Although most of the brain is usually at the same stage.

The importance of sleep phases for the body: a small warning

It is impossible to say which sleep is better or more useful - fast or slow. Both phases are needed for proper rest and recovery. the body both at the physiological and mental levels. In this regard, questions arise about sleep patterns in which there is no full cycle. Surely many have heard about schemes that suggest that a person sleeps not once a day for 6-8 hours, but several times during the day.
Some of these schemes seem quite harmless, but the benefits of others are seriously questionable.

In particular, there is information on the Internet about a supposedly very effective schedule when you need to sleep 6 times for 20 minutes or 4 times for 30 minutes. Based on a typical sleep cycle, these time periods are very short, and in 20-30 minutes a person will not have time to move beyond stages 2-3, that is, we are not talking about deep and REM sleep in principle. Meanwhile, the most important processes for our body occur precisely at these stages. It is possible that people who are described as having success with such regimens have very compressed sleep cycles, but there is a good chance that the reality is simply embellished for the sake of an impressive story.

Of course, for some time the average person’s body will function on 20 minutes 6 times a day. It may even seem to him that he has begun to spend time more efficiently, but the benefits of these schemes for the body are in this case raises questions. Systemic lack of sleep affects both the mental and physical condition and leads to various unpleasant consequences. Without denying the benefits and effectiveness of other rational sleep patterns, we urge you to consult your doctor and be very wary of options that do not include at least several full cycles per day.

Now we know that night sleep is complex physiological process, including up to five cycles of fast and slow sleep. But more recently, in the 19th century, sleep was perceived by scientists as a phenomenon closed to study, in contrast to the waking state, which can be measured and observed.

You can evaluate the sleeping position, measure his physical indicators: pulse, blood pressure, breathing rate, body temperature. But how to evaluate the fundamental processes of sleep itself?

First experiments were based on the awakening of the subject, that is, on the intrusion into the sleep process.

However, through these studies, the understanding has been gained that sleep occurs in successive stages.

Köllschütter, a German physiologist, established in the 19th century that sleep is deepest in the first hours, and later becomes more superficial.

A breakthrough in the history of sleep research was the discovery of electrical waves that originate in the brain and can be recorded.

Scientists have the opportunity to observe, record and study phenomena that occur in a person’s sleep using an electroencephalogram.

Thanks to numerous studies, it has been established:

State of the autonomic nervous system different in both stages.

In slow-wave sleep, we grow faster: the growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland is produced more actively in this phase.

Dreams are of different nature.

In the fast phase, dream pictures are action-packed, brightly and emotionally colored, in the slow phase, the dream plot is calm or absent altogether.

Awakening.

If you wake a person in the middle of REM sleep, he will get up much easier and will feel much better than as a result of waking up in the slow phase.

Even if you've had enough time to sleep and you expect to feel a surge of strength and vigor, this will not happen if you wake up unsuccessfully at the beginning or in the middle of the slow-wave sleep cycle. In such a situation, you can hear: “Did you get up on the wrong foot?”

Apparently the cause of this condition is incomplete neurochemical processes that take place in slow-wave sleep.

When you fall asleep, breathing becomes less frequent and louder, but less deep.

It slows down even more and becomes irregular in delta sleep.

Breathing in REM sleep is sometimes slow, sometimes rapid, sometimes - this is how we react to the events of the dream we are watching.

Brain temperature decreases in slow-wave sleep, and in fast sleep, due to increased blood flow and active metabolism, it rises and sometimes exceeds the temperature during wakefulness.

Despite numerous differences, the stages of slow and fast sleep have a chemical, physiological, functional interdependence and belong to a single balanced system.

Sleep is such a simple daily action that a person performs in the evening and wakes up in the morning. Usually we don’t think about this question - what is sleep? However, sleep as a physiological action is not simple. Sleep consists of two phases: fast and slow sleep. If you deprive a person of the REM phase of sleep (wake him up at the beginning of this stage), then the person will experience mental disorders, and if you deprive him of the slow phase of sleep, then the development of apathy and depression is possible.

Phases and cycles of normal sleep, properties of fast and slow sleep

Characteristics of REM sleep

Let's start with fast sleep phases. This phase is also called paradoxical or phase rapid eye movements(REM sleep). This period of sleep is called paradoxical because electroencephalogram resembles that during wakefulness. That is, the α rhythm is recorded on the electroencephalogram; the curve itself is low-amplitude and high-frequency. Let's look at what an electroencephalogram is - it is a recording of brain signals using special equipment. Just as heart activity is recorded on a cardiogram, brain activity is also recorded on an encephalogram. But in this phase paradoxical sleep There is a more pronounced relaxation of skeletal muscles than in the slow-wave sleep phase. In parallel with the relaxation of the skeletal muscles, rapid eye movements are made. It is these rapid eye movements that give the name REM sleep. During the rapid phase of sleep, the following brain structures are activated: posterior hypothalamus (Hess center) - sleep activation center, reticular formation upper sections brain stem, mediators – catecholamines (acetylcholine). It is during this phase that a person dreams. Tachycardia, increased blood pressure, increased cerebral circulation. Such phenomena as somnambulism, sleepwalking, sleep-speaking (speech in a dream), etc. are also possible. It is more difficult to wake a person than in the slow phase of sleep. In total, REM sleep takes up 20–25% of total sleep time.

Characteristics of non-REM sleep phase

During the slow-wave sleep phase, the electroencephalogram contains sleep spindles. The following structures are involved in the implementation of this phase of sleep: the anterior hypothalamus and the lower parts of the reticular formation. In general, slow-wave sleep takes up 75–80% of the total sleep time. The mediators of this sleep phase are gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin, δ - sleep peptide.
The slow phase of sleep is divided into 4 subphases according to its depth:

nap(falling asleep). The electroencephalogram reveals α - waves, β and ζ. With insomnia, drowsiness is very pronounced, the remaining subphases of slow-wave sleep may not occur
sleep spindle phase. The electroencephalogram shows predominantly ζ waves and sleep spindles. This is the longest phase of sleep - it takes up 50% of the total sleep time. A person comes out of this phase easily
the third and fourth subphases of slow-wave sleep are combined into one under the general name δ – sleep(slow, deep). The third subphase represents the transition to this phase. It is very difficult to wake a person. This is where nightmares happen. With insomnia, this phase is not disturbed.

Sleep cycles

The phases of sleep are combined into cycles, that is, they alternate in strict sequence. One cycle lasts about two hours and includes slow-wave sleep, consisting of subphases, and rapid sleep. Within these two hours, 20 - 25% is REM sleep, that is, about 20 minutes, and the rest of the time is NREM sleep. Normal healthy sleep begins with the slow phase. By morning, a person's REM sleep phase predominates, so it is often difficult to get up in the morning. Today, it is considered sufficient for proper rest to have 3-4 sleep cycles, that is, a sleep duration of 6-8 hours. However, this statement is true only for healthy people. Modern scientists have shown that with various somatic diseases, the need for sleep increases. If the quality of sleep suffers, then the person also wants to sleep more. Almost every person has experienced sleep quality problems at some point in their lives. Therefore, today the problem of sleep disorders is very relevant.

Types of sleep disorders

Doctors from almost all specialties encounter sleep disorders in their patients. Approximately half of the Russian population is dissatisfied with the quality of their sleep. In more prosperous countries, sleep disturbances of varying degrees affect between a third and half of the population. Sleep disorders occur at different ages, however, their frequency increases with age. There are also gender differences - sleep disturbances are more common in women than in men.

Sleep disorders are conventionally divided into three groups:

presomnia sleep disorders
intrasomnic sleep disorders
post-somnia sleep disorders

Complaints made by people with presomnia sleep disorders.
Can't sleep?

Let's take a closer look at what each group represents. First group – presomnia disorders. This group includes sleep disorders associated with difficulty falling asleep. In this case, various fears and anxieties come to the person’s mind, and he cannot fall asleep for hours. Often worries and fears about not being able to fall asleep appear even before going to bed. Worries and intrusive thought that tomorrow everything will happen again. However, if they manage to fall asleep, then these people sleep well.

Complaints made by people with intrasomnic sleep disorders.
Do you wake up at night?

The second group is the so-called intrasomnic disorders. This group combines sleep disorders in which the process of falling asleep is more or less satisfactory, but night awakenings occur due to various reasons. Such night awakenings are quite frequent, and after each of them it is not possible to fall asleep for a long time. As a result, you feel sleepy in the morning. Also, in the morning such people are not alert enough.

Complaints made by people with post-somnic sleep disorders.
Do you wake up early?

The third group is combined post-somnia disorders sleep. With this type of sleep disorder, sleep itself and the process of falling asleep are good, however, awakening occurs quite early. Such people usually say: “Well, there’s just no sleep in either eye!” As a rule, repeated attempts to fall asleep are unsuccessful. Thus, the time spent sleeping is reduced.

All of these types of sleep disorders lead to increased fatigue during the day, lethargy, fatigue, decreased activity and performance. Added to these phenomena is a feeling of depression and Bad mood. A number of ailments appear that are usually associated with sleep disturbances. These ailments are of a completely diverse nature and can affect the activity of all organs and systems.

What people with sleep disorders dissatisfy about their sleep??

Let's try to take a closer look at people who are worried about sleep disorders.

The first category is those who sleep little, but quite well. Typically this applies to people young, active lifestyle. These people are often successful, or aspiring to succeed in some area. For them, this sleep pattern is not a pathology, but a way of life.

The second category is people who are dissatisfied with the quality of their sleep. They are embarrassed by insufficient depth of sleep, frequent episodes of awakening and a feeling of lack of sleep in the morning. Moreover, it is the quality of sleep, and not its duration, that worries this category of people.

The third category unites people who are dissatisfied with both the depth of sleep and the duration of sleep. That is, sleep disorders are deeper than the first two categories. Because of this, it is this group of people with sleep disorders that is most difficult to treat.

What reasons lead to sleep disturbance?

It must nevertheless be noted that various disorders sleep is always a manifestation of some disease. That is, this phenomenon is secondary. General classification The types of sleep disorders have many sections. We will look at the main ones, of which the most common is psychophysiological sleep disorder.
The main factor in the development of psychophysiological sleep disorders is a factor associated with a person’s mental state.

Stressful situations and psycho-emotional stress
This means that sleep disturbances occur in response to acute psycho-emotional stress or psychosocial stress. Sleep disturbance resulting from exposure to stress factors is a psychophysiological reaction. This reaction is characterized by a gradual restoration of sleep some time after the disappearance of traumatic factors.

Emotional disorders
The next factor in the development of sleep disorders is associated with emotional disorders. This is first of all anxiety disorders, mood disorders and panic disorders. Leading among emotional disorders are anxiety and depression.

Any somatic chronic diseases
There are other factors that lead to sleep disturbances, the role of which increases with age. For example, with age there are painful sensations, when it is necessary to wake up at night to urinate, the manifestations of cardiovascular and other diseases intensify. All these factors caused by the course and progression somatic diseases – various organs and systems also interfere with normal sleep.

And then the following situation arises, in which people associate their unimportant mental condition with sleep disorders. They put sleep disturbances at the forefront of their painful manifestations, believing that with normalization of sleep they will feel better. In fact, just the opposite - we need to establish normal functioning of all organs and systems, so that sleep also normalizes. To solve this problem, adjustment of the treatment regimen may be necessary. chronic diseases subject to change functional state body. Since the causes of sleep disturbance are diverse, it should be emphasized that the leading place among these causes is still occupied by psychogenic ones.

How are sleep disorders related to emotional disorders?
How do sleep disorders associated with anxiety and depression manifest? In people with increased anxiety, presomnia sleep disorders predominate. The greatest difficulty for them is falling asleep, but if they manage to fall asleep, they sleep quite satisfactorily. However, the development of intrasomnic and other manifestations is possible. People with depression are more likely to experience post-somnia sleep disorders. People suffering from depression fall asleep more or less normally, but they wake up early and then cannot fall asleep. These morning hours are the hardest for them. Depression of people with such post-somnia sleep disorders is melancholy. By evening, their condition usually improves. However, the manifestations of depression do not end there. Among patients with depression, sleep disturbances occur in 80-99%. Sleep disturbances can be, on the one hand, the leading complaint, and on the other hand, be part of a complex of other depressive manifestations.

Persistent sleep disturbances without clear causes identified this state, serve as a basis for excluding hidden, masked depression.

People with depression often report that they spend the night thinking, which still happens during sleep, although the head does not rest at all. At the same time, hypochondriacs claim that they lie awake at night and their thoughts take place while awake, that is, they are not manifestations of sleep. That is, people with depression believe that their thoughts are tormenting them while they sleep, while hypochondriacs believe that their thoughts are tormenting them while they are awake.

As we have already said, sleep disorders are more common with increasing age, when the number of depressions also increases. A connection has been found between age, depression and female gender, which is based on common neurobiochemical systemic disorders. In this case, the slow-wave sleep phase, which is the deepest sleep, decreases; eye movements become less regular. Eye movements are present during REM sleep, during which dreams occur.

An interesting aspect of sleep and depression that was noticed by chance. People who suffer from depression and go several nights without sleep feel better in the following days. This phenomenon has been studied. As a result, it was found that sleep deprivation for several weeks (sleep deprivation was carried out 2-3 times a week) helps with sad depression more than the use of antidepressants. However, when alarming form depression, such sleep deprivation is less effective. It is important to highlight that sleep deprivation increased the effectiveness of subsequent antidepressant use.

Wakefulness disturbance
However, in addition to insomnia disorders, with depression, disturbances in wakefulness are occasionally observed ( hypersomnia), states increased sleepiness. These disorders related to hypersomnia syndrome, which is manifested by deep sleep, difficulty waking up in the morning, and daytime sleepiness. This syndrome often occurs with neuroendocrine pathology. Another form of hypersomnia is narcolepsy, is a genetic disease.

And finally, another manifestation of hypersomnia is the so-called periodic hibernation. This phenomenon observed mainly in young people who experienced irresistible drowsiness for several days (7-9 days) without any apparent reason. These people got up, ate food, and relieved their physiological needs, but most spent the day sleeping. Such periods began suddenly and ended just as suddenly. These episodes were interpreted as manifestations of depression. Conducting appropriate preventive treatment in the interictal period in most cases it is effective.

Principles of treatment of sleep disorders

When clarifying the depressive nature of sleep and wakefulness disorders, it is recommended to use course treatment antidepressants. In this case, special importance is attached to drugs that have a selective effect on the serotonin systems of the brain responsible for the initiation and development of sleep.

Sleeping pills, of which there are a great many, cannot solve the problem of sleep in people with depression. They are only symptomatic remedies.