What is the significance of slow and fast sleep? Stages of sleep. REM and NREM sleep What is the difference between deep sleep and light sleep

Content

People have always been interested in the nature of sleep, because a person devotes a third of his life to this physiological state. This is a cyclical phenomenon. During 7-8 hours of rest, 4-5 cycles pass, including two phases of sleep: fast and slow, each of which can be calculated. How long does each stage last, and what value does it bring to the human body, let's try to figure it out.

What are sleep phases

For many centuries, researchers have been studying the physiology of sleep. In the last century, scientists were able to record bioelectrical oscillations that occur in the cerebral cortex during sleep. They learned that this is a cyclical process that has different phases, replacing each other. An electroencephalogram is taken using special sensors attached to a person’s head. When the subject is sleeping, the devices first record slow oscillations, which subsequently become frequent, then slow down again: there is a change in the phases of the dream: fast and slow.

Fast phase

Sleep cycles follow one after another. During the night's rest, the fast phase follows the slow phase. At this time, heart rate and body temperature increase, the eyeballs move sharply and quickly, and breathing becomes frequent. The brain works very actively, so a person sees a lot of dreams. REM sleep activates everyone's work internal organs, relaxes muscles. If a person is woken up, he will be able to tell the dream in detail, because during this period the brain processes the information received during the day, and an exchange occurs between the subconscious and consciousness.

Slow phase

Fluctuations in the slow rhythm electroencephalogram are divided into 3 stages:

1. Nap. Breathing and other reactions slow down, consciousness floats away, different images appear, but the person still reacts to the surrounding reality. At this stage, solutions to problems often come, insights and ideas appear.
2. Not deep dream. There is a blackout of consciousness. Heart rate and body temperature decrease. During this period, the dreamer is easy to wake up.
3. Deep dream. At this stage, it is difficult to wake a person. The body actively produces growth hormone, regulates the functioning of internal organs, and tissue regeneration occurs. At this stage, a person may experience nightmares.

Sequence of sleep phases

In a healthy adult, the stages of dreaming always occur in the same sequence: 1 slow phase(nap), then 2,3 and 4, then reverse order, 4, 3 and 2, and then REM sleep. Together they form one cycle, repeating 4-5 times in one night. The duration of the two dream stages may vary. In the first cycle, the deep sleep phase is very short, and last stage it may not exist at all. The sequence and duration of stages can be influenced by the emotional factor.

Deep dream

Unlike REM sleep, the deep phase has a longer duration. It is also called orthodox or slow wave. Scientists suggest that this condition is responsible for restoring energy expenditure and strengthening the body's defense functions. Research has shown that the onset of the slow wave phase divides the brain into active and passive areas.

In the absence of dreams, the areas responsible for conscious actions, perception, and thinking are switched off. Although during the deep phase heartbeat And brain activity decrease, catabolism slows down, but memory scrolls through already learned actions, as evidenced by external signs:

• twitching of limbs;
• special breathing order;
• playing different sounds.

Duration

Each person has an individual norm of delta sleep (deep phase). Some people need 4 hours of rest, while others need 10 to feel normal. In an adult, the deep phase takes up 75 to 80% of all sleep time. With the onset of old age, this duration decreases. The less delta sleep, the faster the body aging. To increase its duration, you must:

• create a more effective wake/rest schedule;
• before a night's rest, give the body a couple of hours physical activity;
• do not drink coffee, alcohol, energy drinks, do not smoke or overeat shortly before the end of wakefulness;
• sleep in a ventilated room in the absence of light and extraneous sounds.

Stages

The structure of sleep in the deep phase is heterogeneous and consists of four non-rem phases:

1. The first episode involves memorizing and understanding the difficulties that occurred during the day. At the stage of drowsiness, the brain seeks solutions to problems that arose during wakefulness.
2. The second phase is also called “sleep spindles.” Muscle movements, breathing and heart rate slow down. Brain activity gradually fades, but there may be brief moments of particularly acute hearing.
3. Delta sleep, in which the superficial stage changes to a very deep one. Lasts only 10-15 minutes.
4. Strong deep delta sleep. It is considered the most significant because throughout the entire period the brain reconstructs its ability to work. The fourth phase is distinguished by the fact that it is very difficult to wake up a sleeping person.

REM sleep

REM (rapid eye movement) - the phase or from the English rem-sleep is distinguished by the increased work of the cerebral hemispheres. The biggest difference is the rapid rotation eyeballs. Other characteristics fast phase:

• continuous movement of organs visual system;
• vivid dreams are brightly colored and filled with movement;
• independent awakening is favorable, gives wellness, energy;
• Body temperature rises due to vigorous metabolism and strong blood flow.

Duration

After falling asleep a person most spends time in the slow phase, and REM sleep lasts from 5 to 10 minutes. In the morning the ratio of stages changes. The periods of deep breathing become longer, and deep periods become shorter, after which the person wakes up. Fast stage much more important, therefore if it is interrupted artificially, it will adversely affect emotional state. The person will be drowsy throughout the day.

Stages

The fast phase, also called paradoxical dream, is the fifth stage of dreaming. Although the person is completely immobile due to complete absence muscle activity, the state resembles wakefulness. The eyeballs under closed eyelids periodically make rapid movements. From stage 4 of slow-wave sleep, a person returns to the second, after which the REM phase begins, which ends the cycle.

The value of sleep by hour - table

It is impossible to say exactly how much sleep a person needs. This indicator depends on individual characteristics, age, sleep disturbance and daily routine. A baby may need 10 hours to restore the body, and a schoolchild – 7. The average duration of sleep, according to experts, varies from 8 to 10 hours. When a person correctly alternates fast and slow sleep, then even in a short period every cell in the body is restored. Optimal time for rest is the period until midnight. Let's look at sleep efficiency by hour in the table:

Beginning of sleep	The value of rest

Best time to wake up

If you look at the dream value table, you can see that the time from 4 to 6 in the morning brings less benefits for rest. This period is the best for awakening. At this time, the sun rises, the body is filled with energy, the mind is as clean and clear as possible. If you constantly wake up with the dawn, then fatigue and illness will not be a problem, and you can do much more in a day than after waking up late.

What phase is best to wake up in?

The physiology of sleep is such that all stages of rest are important to a person. It is advisable that 4-5 complete cycles of 1.5-2 hours pass per night. The best time to get up varies from person to person. For example, it is better for owls to wake up between 8 and 10 am, and larks get up at 5-6 am. As for the dream stage, everything is ambiguous here too. From the point of view of the structure and classification of phases best time for awakening - those couple of minutes that occur at the end of one cycle and the beginning of another.

How to wake up during REM sleep

As the cycles repeat and the duration of the slow phase increases to 70% of the night's rest, it is desirable to catch the end of the REM stage to awaken. It is difficult to calculate this time, but to make your life easier, it is advisable to find the motivation to get up early in the morning. To do this, you need to learn, immediately after waking up, not to lie idle in bed, but to spend breathing exercises. It will saturate the brain with oxygen, activate metabolism, and give a charge of positive energy for the whole day.

How to calculate sleep phases

Self-calculation is difficult. You can find circadian rhythm calculators on the Internet, but this method also has a drawback. This innovation is based on average indicators and does not take into account the individual characteristics of the body. Most reliable method calculation - contact specialized centers and laboratories, where doctors, by connecting devices to the head, will determine accurate data on signals and oscillations of the brain.

You can independently calculate the stages of a person’s sleep something like this. The duration (average) of the slow stage is 120 minutes, and the fast stage is 20 minutes. From the moment you go to bed, count 3-4 such periods and set the alarm clock so that the time you get up falls within a given period of time. If you go to bed at the beginning of the night, for example at 22:00, then safely plan to wake up between 04:40 and 05:00. If this is too early for you, then the next stage for the correct rise will be in the time interval from 07:00 to 07:20.

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Attention! The information presented in the article is for informational purposes only. The materials of the article do not call for self-treatment. Only qualified doctor can make a diagnosis and give treatment recommendations based on the individual characteristics of a particular patient.

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Sleep is an unusual state of the body, which is sometimes compared to death. In fact, they have little in common. In contrast to the complete death of the body, rest, on the contrary, promotes long life. It renews all systems, helps restore physical and moral strength.

At the same time, sleep is not something homogeneous in structure. There are different phases, each of which performs a specific function and lasts a very specific amount of time. Everyone knows that deep sleep is beneficial. But when it occurs, how it affects the body - only a few know about it.

Sleep functions

While awake, people and animals spend a lot of energy. Sleep is one of the body’s self-regulation mechanisms that helps restore this energy. Its main functions are:

• relaxation of the nervous system;
• restoration of physical strength;
• “rebooting” the brain (at night the information received during the day is processed, systematized and stored);
• cleansing the body of toxic substances (it’s not for nothing that doctors recommend that sick people sleep more);
• restoration of immunity;
• cell renewal;
• an opportunity to wait out the period of darkness with benefit for the body.

Prolonged deep sleep helps improve memory, burn excess fat, overcome stress and illness.

What is the functional difference between deep and REM sleep?

During different phases, the brain processes information differently. REM and NREM sleep help you remember events that have happened and plan your future, but each in their own way.

The slow-wave sleep phase “switches on” memory resources. When a person falls into deep sleep (aka slow sleep), all the information received during the day begins to be systematized and “sorted out.” This phase improves memorization, logical thinking.

The REM sleep phase is a real “workshop” of the future. With its help, the brain simulates possible options development of expected events. It’s not for nothing that they say that you had a “prophetic” dream. In itself, of course, it is not prophetic. It’s just that during the period of REM sleep, a person developed models of the future, one of which he realized when he woke up. All this happens on a subconscious or intuitive level. However, human rest is not limited to these two phases. It has a more complex structure.

Phases and stages

There are 4 main stages of sleep:

1. Falling asleep.
2. Slow sleep.
3. Fast.
4. Awakening.

Each phase is characterized by a certain duration and accompanying physiological processes.

Falling asleep

1st phase - falling asleep. While a person falls asleep, his sensitivity decreases sensory systems and heart rate, consciousness gradually “turns off.” Even the glands begin to work less actively. This can be noticed by burning eyes and dry mouth. The approaching phase of falling asleep can be easily determined by obsessive yawning.

Night owls who stay up late reading or watching TV often notice such sensations. If all the described signs are present, it’s time to give the body a rest. The falling asleep phase is the shortest. It usually lasts about 10 minutes. Then slow-wave sleep begins, which in turn is divided into several stages.

What is slow wave sleep

Slow rest is a rest in which brain activity remains in the low amplitude range. Scientists record this using an EEG (electroencephalogram).

All phases of human sleep take time different durations. If it takes 10 minutes to fall asleep, then the slow-wave sleep phase requires from 80 minutes to 1.5 hours. The duration depends on the individual characteristics of a person’s physiology, as well as on his rest regime. Unlike REM sleep, the NREM sleep phase is divided into several stages.

Stages

Slow wave (aka slow wave) sleep has the most complex structure. It is divided into the following 3 phases (or cycles):

Light sleep phase

It occurs immediately after falling asleep and lasts about half the time of slow sleep. At this stage, the person’s muscles completely relax, breathing becomes calm and deep. Body temperature drops slightly and heart rate slows down. The brain completely goes into rest mode.

Read also on the topic

Duration and characteristics of sleep phases in a child of the first year of life: norms of night and daytime rest for infants

The EEG records sleep spindles at this time. This is what scientists called theta waves, which form the sigma rhythm (12-14-20 Hz). Such brain activity indicates a complete shutdown of consciousness.

At this time, the person’s eyes do not move. He is completely relaxed, but not very deeply asleep yet. During easy sleep It's easy to wake a person up. Loud sounds or physical impact can return him to a state of wakefulness.

NREM sleep phase

During this time, brain activity is expressed in the production of delta waves, the frequency of which is 2 Hz. This is the calmest and slowest mode.

It takes about half an hour. During this phase of slow-wave sleep, a person sometimes experiences dreams.

Deep sleep phase

At this time, a person sleeps deeply and soundly. The EEG is dominated by delta wave oscillations with a frequency of 2 Hz. NREM and deep sleep are often combined under the umbrella term delta wave sleep. The duration of the deep sleep phase takes up approximately 15% of the entire night's rest.

The duration and features of the deep rest phase have been closely studied by specialists for a long time. It was found that at this time the brain actively produces dreams (about 80% of all visions that a person has during the night). Dreams appear in the form of pleasant images or nightmares. Most of them a person forgets when he wakes up.

Even though the deep sleep stage does not take very long, it has a profound effect on the body. For example, in young children suffering from enuresis, involuntary urination may occur at this time. In persons prone to sleepwalking, it is at this stage that attacks of this disease can occur.

REM sleep stage

This phase was discovered not so long ago (in 1953) and is still being comprehensively studied. It was found that the condition quick rest follows immediately after the deep one and lasts about 10-15 minutes.

REM sleep is the time when brain activity is expressed in the production of waves close in frequency to beta waves. Fluctuations in brain activity during this period are very intense and fast. Hence the name - “fast”. Also, this period in the scientific literature is called the REM phase, or REM sleep.

A person in this stage is completely motionless. His muscle tone drops sharply, but his brain activity is close to a state of wakefulness. Eyeballs move under closed eyelids.

The connection between vivid, memorable dreams and this phase is the clearest. While staying in it, a person sees the most colorful images and scenes. If awakening is initiated during REM sleep, in 90% of cases the person will be able to retell his visions.

Scientists cannot give a clear answer to the question of how long this sleep phase lasts. Its duration is approximately equal to 20-25% of the total time of night rest. The phase of REM, like slow-wave sleep, has a cyclical structure. The cycles are similar in the nature of brain activity, but differ in duration.

The first cycle occurs approximately 1.5 hours after falling asleep. The time of the next one increases a little and so on. In the morning, the duration of the last phase of REM sleep can reach several tens of minutes. In this case, the person sleeps shallowly until he finally wakes up completely.

As morning approaches, all systems in the body become active. Begins to work more actively hormonal system. Men have an erection of the penis, women have an erection of the clitoris. Respiration and heart rate changes. Alternate rises and falls in blood pressure alternate.

Waking up in different phases and rest cycles

General health and a person’s well-being directly depend on the quality and duration of night’s rest, which has a heterogeneous structure. Overnight, the human brain needs to go through the stages described. Only under this condition will the body fully recover.

Moreover, all phases are equally important. Slow sleep, rapid sleep, deep sleep - they all perform important functions. Having learned what human deep sleep is, scientists have found that it is necessary for normal mental activity and the preservation of skills acquired throughout the day. Fast regulates energy resources. Its absence can lead to the death of the body.

Healthy sleep is one of the basic needs of humans, and indeed of all higher living organisms.. Even plants hibernate during the day, which is confirmed by research into their functions, which slow down during this period. There are regularly reports in the press about people who do not sleep at all. But most often this is a serious pathology that brings great suffering to a person. It is not for nothing that there used to be a special torture - sleep deprivation, due to which the person subjected to it would eventually either completely break down or even die. All information about people who do not sleep and feel great turns out to be false.

We need healthy sleep for many reasons.. Firstly, thanks to him, our body rests. Brain activity and cardiac activity slow down, muscles relax.

Of course, even during the deepest sleep, organs and systems continue to work, but the load on them is significantly less than during wakefulness. Restoration occurs in sleep damaged cells, and almost all the energy that is directed during the day to maintaining various functions the body goes for these purposes.

Secondly, sleep is vital for our immunity. It is during night rest that T-lymphocytes, the cells responsible for fighting bacteria and viruses, are activated.

It’s not for nothing that they say that a dream is best medicine. Bed rest and sleep help cope with illnesses no worse than pills.

Third, thanks to sleep, our brain gets the opportunity, without being distracted by other things, to process all the information received by it during the day. What is not needed is “erased”, and information and impressions that may be useful are put aside. long-term memory. People suffering from insomnia almost always have memory problems.

Fourth, sleep regulates the level of hormones, including those responsible for our adaptation to changing times of day and seasons. We sleep at night because our senses are not adapted to activity in the dark. During the off-season, when the weather and daylight hours change, sleep helps us better adapt to these changes.

Sleep duration needs may vary depending on different people, but on average you need to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every day. Usually, a person sleeps a third of his entire life. During this time, we have time to rest, restore strength, and sometimes even recover.

NREM sleep phase

During this period, the body heals, its cells are restored and energy reserve. In the slow-wave sleep phase, the breathing rate decreases, the heart rate decreases, and the muscles relax. NREM sleep, in turn, is divided into four stages.

The first is drowsiness, when a person, half asleep, experiences the events of the past day. On next stage consciousness turns off, but periodically, approximately 2-5 times per minute, a state of high auditory sensitivity occurs. At these moments, we easily wake up even from slight noise. In the third and fourth stages of slow-wave sleep, a person completely switches off and fully rests, his strength is restored.

REM sleep phase

During this period, the activity of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. At the same time, under closed eyelids, the eyeballs actively move. It is in this phase that a person dreams.

If you wake up at this time, you will clearly remember their contents. During the REM sleep phase, the information received by the brain during the day is processed. It is believed that waking up during this phase is not very healthy, and if this happens, the person feels tired and exhausted.

In total, during the period of night sleep there are 4-5 complete cycles. Moreover, the duration of slow and fast sleep changes in each cycle: slow sleep becomes shorter, and fast sleep becomes longer.

For some people, 6 hours is enough to get a good rest (this is the minimum amount of time you need to sleep at night). For others, 9-10 hours is not enough. So how much sleep do you need?

Physiologists believe that the main thing is that sleep should be a multiple of a full cycle, consisting of slow and fast sleep. And these data are confirmed by numerous studies.

In practice it will look like this. The duration of deep sleep is 80-90 minutes, fast sleep is 10-15 minutes. That is, a full cycle takes approximately 1.5 hours. To get a good night's sleep, you need 4-5 of these full hour and a half cycles. It all depends on how tired you are during the day.

Let's say you go to bed at 11 pm. Then you need to wake up either at 5 am or 7:30 am. In this case, you will not feel overwhelmed, since awakening will occur during the alternation of the phases of fast and slow sleep.

Of course, this is just an ideal scheme. It should be taken into account that on average it will take 10-15 minutes to fall asleep. In addition, depending on your condition, the phases of slow and fast sleep may differ in duration.

If you want to always wake up in right time, you can try purchasing a special alarm clock. It includes a bracelet that monitors your heart rate and tells your alarm to sound when you're in the transition from REM to NREM sleep—the best time to wake up.

Contents of the article

A third of human life is spent sleeping. This is a complex and necessary process for health. Deprivation of night rest for just 3 days can lead to disruption of many functions - loss of appetite, apathy. Recover at night physical strength, immunity is strengthened, brain activity changes, daily information is taken into account. To perform all these functions, a person goes through phases of rapid and slow sleep during the night.

Physiology of sleep

During the night, the phases of slow and fast sleep alternate more than once. First comes the slow one, then comes the fast one. Each has its own goals. During slow organism resting. When the fast phase begins, the body prepares to wake up, the heart begins to work actively, blood pressure increases, and vivid dreams occur.

The phases of slow and fast sleep are contained in a single cycle. It lasts from one and a half to two hours. For the whole night physiological standards 4 to 6 cycles should occur, then the person will wake up with the feeling that he has slept, rested, and gained strength.

In each subsequent cycle, the duration of the slow phase is shorter, and the duration of the fast phase is longer. In order for the full restoration of all systems to go well, you need to complete the cycles before 4 a.m. (for this you need to go to bed at about 10 p.m. the previous day). After this, the person will continue to sleep, but without the slow phase, because recovery processes have already passed. It is better to wake up after the fast phase, as all systems are activated and ready to start working.

Although during the slow stage the speed of many physiological processes, but at the same time protein synthesis is accelerated and hormones are produced. Sweating increases, blood supply to the brain increases, hair and nail plates continue to grow. During the slow phase, tissue and organ restoration actively occurs.

The fast phase is also necessary for the body. It allows a person to experience the emotions of those events that happened in life. This makes it possible for a person not to change over time, to remain emotionally stable, and to adapt to a changing world. For newborn children, the fast phase helps the rapid development of the brain and strengthens it with special impulses. This lasts until the age of two, then personality formation occurs.

Numerous examinations help to understand what slow and fast sleep is, the most common of which are tomography, electroencephalography, ultrasound studies, and others. modern techniques studying.

Alternation of stages

During NREM and REM sleep, the following are performed: different functions. Throughout the entire cycle, there are five stages with their own physiological characteristics:

• Stage 1 – takes 4-5% of the time, light sleep, the process of basic actions in the body slows down, blood pressure decreases;
• Stage 2 – 45-55%, there is a decrease in body temperature, slowing of breathing, decreased heart rate;
• Stage 3 – from 4 to 6% of the time, the beginning of deep, sound sleep;
• Stage 4 – 12 – 15%, rhythmic, unhurried breathing is observed;
• Stage 5 – 20 – 25% of the time, a person dreams peaceful dreams, the brain relaxes, the heartbeat quickens.

It takes from 15 to 40 minutes to fall asleep. If this takes 1 hour, then this is a sign of insomnia, which means it is necessary to take measures to eliminate it. The first cycle, that is, alternating slow and fast sleep, takes 1 hour, then the slow phase of another cycle begins again. Each time the sleep will be deeper. In the ratio of fast and slow sleep, the latter remains up to 80% of the total night time.

After passing through all the cycles, awakening occurs. It usually takes up to 3 minutes. During this time, consciousness is connected.

The alternation of stages does not change in healthy person. The following factors can disrupt the sequence:

• emotional instability;
• age-related changes;
• prolonged stress, depression;
• mental disorders;
• long-term chronic diseases;
• injuries.

These disorders require treatment, as they can lead to complications. Deficiency of night rest or certain stages leads to the appearance of serious illnesses.

The main differences between NREM and REM sleep

When comparing, it is difficult to answer which sleep is better - fast or slow sleep. Each phase performs its own function and is therefore needed by the body. The comparison is presented in the table, where slow and fast sleep are analyzed according to individual parameters.

Sleep characteristics	Slow	Fast
Vegetative system	There is a rapid, enhanced synthesis of hormones produced by the pituitary gland of the brain. Active growth of nails, eyelashes, hair, bones.	The heartbeat quickens, breathing becomes deeper and more active, and the pupils move faster.
Dreams	I rarely have dreams. But if this happens, then the dreams are characterized by calm content without temperamental turns.	Dreams with vivid storylines, intense experiences, strong emotions and color effects.
Subtleties of breathing	It can be rare, superficial, deep, there may be no rhythm, which occurs in the delta stage.	Uneven, sometimes delayed, frequent. This is how the reaction to dreams manifests itself.
Awakening	Upon waking up, a person feels tired and depressed. The sprinkling process will be difficult. This is the result of incomplete processes in the slow phase of sleep.	He wakes up easily, on his own. You feel freshness, vivacity, energy.
Brain temperature	Decreases.	Increased due to the influx of plasma and enhanced metabolic processes.
Eye movement	Smooth, leisurely, lasting until the end of this phase.	There is continuous, chaotic movement.

The stages of REM and NREM sleep differ from each other, but are mutually dependent and in harmony. They are equal in importance and take part in the single action of rest and restoration.

Main stages of slow-wave sleep

When falling asleep, a person finds himself immersed in a slow phase. It received this name because of the leisurely movement of the pupils at this stage. In this phase everyone calms down natural processes in body. Blood pressure decreases, the brain begins to rest, relaxes, and the heartbeat becomes less frequent.

The night's rest cycle consists of four stages slow-wave sleep and two stages of fast sleep. With the onset of night, slow-wave sleep has an advantage; towards the end of the rest, the share of fast sleep increases.

Wakefulness - NREM sleep (stages 1 and 2) - Delta sleep (stages 3 and 4) - REM sleep

In slow-wave sleep there are stages of drowsiness, then there are “sleep spindles”, then delta sleep follows. Real deep sleep will be observed during the deep delta sleep stage. These stages differ from each other in physiological parameters and actions occurring in the body.

When falling asleep, physiological categories change. The heartbeat decreases, blood pressure decreases, and blood moves more slowly through the vessels. When the last stage is reached, the heartbeat becomes faster and blood pressure begins to rise. At the same time, the body prepares to move on to the next fast phase. During the slow-wave sleep stage, the events of the past day are replayed in the memory, so a special rhythm of breathing and twitching of the limbs is possible.

During deep sleep, damaged cells are restored, which is why this stage is so important for maintaining youth and healing.

For an adult, the norm for slow-wave sleep is 118 minutes per night.

IN difficult situations The body independently prolongs this stage. So a person who adheres to a strict diet will feel weak and begin to sleep a lot. This body requires more time to recover. This happens in diseases thyroid gland, among professional athletes, people engaged in heavy physical labor.

The norm of deep sleep in adults should not be disturbed. If you don't get enough sleep, it will be difficult to compensate for the deficit in the slow stage of sleep. The shortage will constantly accumulate and negatively affect well-being and performance. With a prolonged disruption in the sleep schedule, for example, during a night work schedule, disturbances in the endocrine system begin. Growth hormone stops being produced, which means that a person’s fat layer on the stomach. Tissues cease to renew themselves steadily, new pathologies develop, and chronic diseases worsen.

Nap

The first stage is the slow phase, lasts up to 10 minutes. In this case, slow movements of the pupils under closed eyelids are noted. The body is in a soft, sleepy state, in which the physiological indicators of pulse, respiration, and pressure decrease. But it’s still easy to wake a person up. The brain is not resting yet, but is actively working. In this state, you can find answers to unsolvable problems. One has only to remember about them. In the morning it will not be possible to restore the chain of decisions, but the conclusion will remain in memory. If you constantly wake a person up during the slow phase, he will gradually become irritable and nervous.

Sleepy spindles

This stage lasts up to 20 minutes. It got its name from the characteristic pattern on the EEG graph. The heart rate slows down, muscle activity decreases, and the reaction to external stimuli remains. A person can wake up from a small, extraneous noise. For example, crying small child Mom will hear. Regular awakenings at the sleep spindle stage lead to scattered attention.

Delta

The stage lasts from 10 to 15 minutes. There is a gradual decrease blood pressure, blackout, shallow, slow breathing. Most people don't dream, but people with depression may have nightmares. Data is transferred from short-term to long-term memory. At constant lack of sleep There is an increase in errors in mathematical calculations, a decrease in memory, reaction and speed of thinking.

Deep delta sleep

This stage lasts from 25 to 40 minutes. Represents real sound deep sleep. There is no reaction to odors or other external stimuli. At this time, it is difficult to wake up a person; you need to shake him by the shoulders and loudly call him by name. During sleep, metabolism is restored and renewed at the cellular level. There are calm dreams, manifestations of sleepwalking and sleep talking are possible in people prone to such pathologies.

According to scientists, the less delta sleep, the faster the body aging. To increase the duration of this stage, you must follow the following rules:

• before leaving for the night's rest, do hiking or perform simple physical exercises;
• correctly alternate work and rest;
• do not overeat in the evening, do not drink alcohol, caffeinated drinks, or energy drinks;
• sleep in a ventilated room, preferably in darkness and silence.

By increasing the deep phase of delta sleep, it will be possible to fully restore cells. This will have a positive effect on your appearance. First of all, this will affect the condition skin. Good dream affects the smoothing of wrinkles, a healthy skin tone is acquired, and puffiness under the eyes goes away.

Fast cycle its features

Dreams that occur during the fast phase are remembered very well

During REM sleep, unusual actions begin; it is no coincidence that it is called the paradoxical cycle. Scientists do not fully understand the significance of this night phase cycle for humans. If during the slow stage there is active recovery, then in the fast phase other processes take place.

The pupils move chaotically under closed eyelids, as if they are watching some events. All indicators of a person (muscle tone, brain activity, blood pressure, heartbeat) indicate that he is awake, only his consciousness is turned off. A person often participates in his dreams. When he is woken up during the rapid phase, he remembers small details and talks about everything in detail and with emotion.

During this period, hormonal changes occur. The functioning of the organs is being adjusted endocrine system. In the fast phase, the genital area is adjusted. During this stage, nocturnal erections, wet dreams, and orgasms occur, even in the absence of erotic dreams. Often heart attacks and strokes also occur at this time. A relaxed heart and blood vessels receive a huge load and cannot cope with it.

2 cycles included in the fast stage:

• unemotional;
• emotional.

They change each other throughout the night. The emotional cycle is always longer. IN fast period daily information and data are being processed, the brain adapts to the changing situation. People who do not have the opportunity to get a good night's sleep during this phase lose the ability to restore mental protection. Over time, they become irritable, whiny, absent-minded, and develop nervous disorders.

Features of awakening in each phase of sleep

Vigor and ability to work in the first half of the working day depend on the person’s awakening. If this happened from external irritating phenomena (a sharp ringing of an alarm clock, a scream, a jolt, a bright flash of light), then a certain time is needed to put the body in order. Some people do not even realize after such an awakening where they are, what they need to do. It is difficult for people with chronic low blood pressure. They are forced to accept medicines after such a morning rise.

When you wake up on your own in the fast phase, you have a chance to feel cheerful and fresh even early in the morning. The body is ready to work, all that remains is to turn on the consciousness. A person remembers his dreams and can retell them in detail.

It is important to consider the subtleties of awakening in different phases so as not to feel overwhelmed and unable to work. A good invention for taking into account the stages of sleep is “”. They are able to read the body’s readings, determine the necessary phases of REM sleep, and send a signal to wake up at exactly this time. The disadvantage of this device is the likelihood of hearing the call ahead of schedule. The alarm clock performs its functions ahead of schedule.

Smart alarm clock will help you wake up on time

We have invented a special calculator that helps calculate the phases of a person’s night rest by defining algorithms. You just need to enter your bedtime time, the program will perform the full calculation. A time will be determined when you need to get up in order to feel freshness, strength and vigor.

It is better to calculate the time of awakening through experiment. Determine the time of the fast phase, wake up and determine whether it is easy to get up, whether there is cheerfulness and activity. If you liked the sensations, then you should try to maintain this regime, it is optimal for this age and type of activity. The slow stage takes about 120 minutes, the fast stage lasts 20 minutes. After falling asleep, 4 cycles must pass to complete recovery and final awakening. If you go to bed at 22 o'clock, then 4 cycles will pass from 4:40 to 5:00. If it is too early to get up, then the next cycle will end from 7:00 to 7:20.

The time you fall asleep matters. The optimal time interval is from 19 to 20 hours. Our ancestors went to bed around this time, with the end of daylight. With the invention of electricity, life changed. People began to go on vacation much later. This has increased the number of neurological diseases, chronic fatigue, depression, oncology.

The best time to wake up will be the first or second stage after the end of the fast phase. It is important to wake up and get up and not doze off a little more. In this case it will begin new cycle, will go again slow stage, during which it is difficult to wake up, there will be no former vigor. REM sleep is different from slow sleep, but it is better to wake up on your own when the body is ready for it.

You can go out onto the balcony with coffee - it will wake you up / Photo nickned.livejournal.com

In order not to fall asleep again after waking up, you can have a snack to finally restore consciousness. It is useful to go for a walk or to the balcony. The morning air will invigorate you, you will have strength and vigor for a new day. After 3-4 days of such a rise, the body will get used to getting up without getting enough sleep, which only spoils the morning awakening.

For supporting good health, good appearance Need REM and NREM sleep. They have a mutual influence on the human body. One should not intrude unnecessarily into the well-established structure of nightly recovery. On the part of a person it is required to maintain the correct night sleep, avoid frequent lack of sleep, interruption of sleep in in the wrong place. Following the rules for night rest will help you maintain your health for a long time.

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, forming for the body special conditions. Under these conditions, the following should occur:

1. Rest of consciousness from daily activities.
2. Finding solutions to open problems.
3. Relaxation of body muscles.
4. Release of the hormone melatonin.
5. Stimulation of immunity at an adequate level.
6. 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, difficulties 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 good rest all phases must go through. In order for a person to wake up rested, he needs to get up after the REM phase, but in no case during the slow phase. If this happens, the person will get out of bed tired and irritated.

The most sound sleep, when it is extremely difficult to wake a person, will be observed in the middle of one of the sleep phases. 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 suggests 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 rapid movements of the eyeballs. Interestingly, during the rapid phase of sleep, brain activity becomes similar to its 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, and that the fast phase of 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:

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

In order to avoid night terrors, you will need to avoid watching stimulating nervous system gears, overeating, good action will take herbal sedatives and chamomile tea.