Unlocking Your Brain’s Potential: The Role of REM Sleep

While you sleep, your body goes through different stages of the sleep cycle. The first four stages involve a transition from shallow to deep sleep, whereas the fifth stage, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, is characterized by heightened brain activity and vivid dreams.

Sleep is generally categorized into two types: non-REM and REM sleep. You begin the night in non-REM sleep, followed by a brief period of REM sleep. On average, you spend about 13-23 percent of your time asleep in deep sleep. But how much REM sleep do you need?

Devices like a Bluetooth sound machine can help block distractions and create a consistent background noise to support healthy REM cycles.

What Makes REM Sleep Unique from Other Sleep Stages?

REM sleep is characterized by darting movements of your eyes under closed eyelids. Brain waves during this stage are similar to brain waves during wakefulness. On the other hand, non-REM sleep has three stages, followed by REM sleep. Here is a more detailed breakdown of each stage and how REM sleep differs from other sleep stages.

Non-REM Sleep

Stage 1

The first stage of the sleep cycle lasts for 5-10 minutes. In this stage, your body starts to slow down, ready for sleep. Your eye movements and muscle activity are also decreased. You’re easy to wake, but you may feel as if you haven’t slept at all if you do wake up. 

During this stage, you may feel like you’re starting to fall, and then experience a sudden muscle contraction. Professionals often call this ‘hypnic jerk’ or ‘hypnic myoclonic’. This is completely normal and nothing to worry about, as this incident is unlikely to cause any complications.

Stage 2

As you transition into this stage, your body goes into a state of deep relaxation. You’ll spend around half the night in this stage. This acts as an extension of the first stage of your natural sleep cycle. Your eye movement, breathing, heartbeat, and muscle activity continue to slow down. Your body temperature also decreases.

During Stage 2, you may experience short bursts of brain activity known as ‘sleep spindles’. These happen every three to six seconds and last just 0.5 seconds each time. They block out external stimuli, which might cause you to wake up. Similar to sleep spindles, K-Complexes are brief, sudden peaks of brain activity that help block out triggers that cause you to wake up.

Stage 3

Stage 3 is the deepest stage of sleep. While in deep sleep, your heart rate and breathing are at their lowest and slowest points. It’s hard for you to be woken up at this stage. Waking from this stage of sleep may leave you confused and disoriented.

During Stage 3 sleep, your body regenerates cells and tissues and grows new cells. This stage allows you to feel physically well-rested in the morning. 

REM Sleep

REM is the fourth and final stage of the sleep cycle. It tends to be relatively short during the first two-thirds of the night as your body prioritizes deeper, slow-wave sleep. 

This stage is known as the “mentally restorative” stage of sleep when the brain converts short-term memories into long-term ones. Your brain is very active during this stage, and it is where your most vivid dreams occur

During this stage, you’ll experience:

• Faster heart rate and blood pressure
• Quickened breathing
• Rapid eye movement

The Critical Functions of REM Sleep for Your Mind and Body

Several studies have suggested that REM sleep can impact how you read emotions and process external stimuli. People who have achieved REM sleep during a nap were better able to judge facial expressions compared to those who had napped without reaching REM. Other benefits of REM sleep include:

• Memory consolidation
• Balanced mood and reduced emotional stress
• Enhanced learning and creativity
• Improved brain development
• Regulated hormones

REM sleep is an essential part of a healthy sleep pattern. It plays an important role in both emotional health and learning. The low adrenaline during REM sleep reduces the emotional intensity of events as you reprocess them in a dream, which promotes emotional balance.

How Much REM Sleep You Really Need by Age

Typically, you first enter REM sleep each night, usually within 90 minutes of falling asleep, and this period of REM only lasts about 10 minutes. On average, you’ll go through 3-5 REM cycles per night, with each episode getting longer as the night progresses. 

For healthy adults, spending 20-25 percent of your time asleep in the REM stage is recommended. If you get 7-8 hours of sleep, around 90 minutes of that should be REM.

You need different amounts of REM sleep at different stages of your life. You need more REM sleep during infancy and early childhood. Less during adolescence and young adulthood, and even less as you reach retirement age.

What Happens If You Don’t Get Enough REM Sleep?

Not getting enough REM sleep can affect your overall well-being, beyond just feeling tired or sleepy during the day. It can impact your brain’s ability to learn and create new memories. 

A lack of REM sleep can be associated with:

• An increased risk of weight gain

Reduced levels of REM sleep have been associated with lower levels of leptin, a hormone that promotes feelings of fullness.

• Impaired procedural learning and memory

Your ability to learn and retain what you learn relies on REM sleep, and becomes more difficult when you get less of it.

Additionally, since REM sleep tends to come towards the end of your night, a lack of REM is often a sign of sleep deprivation. Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to a greater chance of obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, depression, cancer, dementia, and cardiovascular disease. 

What Happens If You Wake Up During REM Sleep?

If you wake up during REM sleep, you may experience sleep paralysis, a temporary condition in which you return to wakefulness yet cannot move because your voluntary muscles are still “shut off”. Sleep paralysis is not dangerous; however, it can be uncomfortable or scary. 

You might also experience sleep inertia, which is when you’re feeling grogginess, disorientation, drowsiness, and cognitive impairment that immediately follows waking.

Everyday Habits That Can Improve Your REM Sleep

Whatever you do to improve your overall sleep quality, habits, and behaviours will also benefit your REM cycle. Here are everyday habits you can do to improve your REM sleep:

• Set a sleep schedule: Make sure you go to bed and get up around the same time every day.
• Clear your mind: If it is difficult for you to turn your mind off and go to sleep, you can try meditating or journaling at night. Clear your mind of unwanted thoughts before going to bed.
• Have a good sleep environment: When sleeping, your bedroom should not have bright lights, loud noises, or a cooler temperature. It’s also important to make sure that you have a comfortable mattress that supports you when you sleep. 
• Do exercise: Studies show that regular exercise can improve and increase the quality of your sleep. Just make sure you avoid strenuous workouts right before you go to bed.

Avoid having caffeine before bed: Caffeine can make it harder for you to fall and stay asleep. It’s important to avoid caffeine at least 7 hours before you sleep to have a good night’s sleep. Instead, only drink water or tea.