REM Sleep

Sleep is a condition of body and mind such that occurs typically for several hours every night. This is when the nervous system is inactive, the eyes closed, the outside muscles relaxed, and consciousness is practically suspended.

What is REM Sleep?

REM stands for rapid eye movement. It is one of two distinct states when it comes to sleep. There is NREM (non-rapid eye movement) and REM. NREM sleep restores the body while REM sleep restores the mind.

Medical author, Salah Uddin, MD explains REM sleep:
During REM sleep,rapid eye movements occur, breathing becomes irregular, blood pressure rises, and there is loss of muscle tone.However, the brain is highly active, and the electrical activity recorded in the brain by EEG during REM sleep is similar to that recorded during wakefulness.REM sleep is usually associated with dreaming.REM sleep accounts for 20-25% of the sleep period.”

What are the different stages of sleep?

Stage 1: Light, transitional sleep. Drowsiness and sleep begin.

Stage 2: Stable sleep occurs. Chemicals in brain block the senses making it difficult to be woken.

Stage 3: Deep sleep. Growth hormones are released. Most stage 3 sleep occurs in the first third of the night.

Stage 4: REM sleep revitalizes the memory. High brain activity and vivid dreaming occur.

REM sleep lasts about 90-120 minutes of a typical nights sleep. Periods of REM are quite short at the beginning of the night and longer toward the end.

Why is REM sleep important?

REM sleep promotes better health. REM sleep helps improve our memory. When REM sleep occurs areas in our brain that are associated with the functions of learning and memory become stimulate. Some say that during REM sleep the brain files data and memories clearing room for new information which in turns helps to improve overall memories.

REM sleep renews and restores our energy but only if we experience fully restorative sleep.

What if we don’t get enough REM sleep?

When you don’t get enough sleep, you don’t get enough REM sleep. This can result in many things. One including REM sleep behavior disorder. Salah Uddin, MD states:

“In a person with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), the paralysis that normally occurs during REM sleep is incomplete or absent, allowing the person to “act out” his or her dreams. RBD is characterized by the acting out of dreams that are vivid, intense,and violent. Dream-enacting behaviors include talking, yelling, punching, kicking, sitting, jumping from bed, arm flailing, and grabbing. An acute form may occur during withdrawal from alcohol or sedative-hypnotic drugs.”

How do you maintain REM sleep?

A healthy lifestyle, with little stress, and enough time to rest is one way to go when wanting to maintain REM sleep. When taking powerful sedative-hypnotic drugs, a person can suffer withdrawal or dependency and not reach the REM stages when they sleep. If you struggle from sleeping problems you may want to try something more natural and health promoting. Check out some of our top-rated sleep aids.