Sleep is important to our souls. When we get a good nights sleep we feel ready to conquer the world; when we don’t we feel like our world is crumbling in around us. But why does this change from day to day? Mostly because we’re not consistent with our sleep and wake times from day to day. Before we dive into the benefits of a consistent sleep routine, let’s first explore the different stages of sleep. Our sleep can be divided into two main categories: Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) Sleep and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep. These stages repeat in cycles throughout the night, lasting around 90-120 minutes per cycle. Here’s a brief overview of each:
Stage 1: NREM Sleep
This is the transition from wakefulness to sleep, lasting only a few minutes. During Stage 1, you experience light sleep, and it’s easy to be awakened. Your muscles relax, and brain activity slows down. You might feel very slight twitches in your body as it relaxes into a sleep.
Waking up during Stage 1 sleep usually doesn’t have a major impact on your day. Since this is the lightest sleep stage, you may wake up easily and feel fairly alert.
Stage 2: NREM Sleep
Stage 2 is a deeper sleep stage that lasts about 20 minutes. Your body temperature drops, heart rate slows, and your brain activity is marked by sleep spindles and K-complexes. This stage helps you move into deeper sleep and is essential for overall sleep quality.
When you wake up from Stage 2, you may feel a little groggy but still relatively alert. You’re also more apt to awaken with a jerk (like you see in movies when they have a bad dream). This stage is a little deeper than Stage 1, and your body is preparing to enter even deeper sleep stages. Think that 30 minute cat nap you took on the couch!
Stage 3: NREM Sleep (Deep Sleep)
This is the most restorative stage of sleep, where deep sleep occurs. During this phase, the body repairs tissues, strengthens the immune system, and builds muscle.
It’s harder to wake up from this stage and can leave you feeling disoriented or groggy. This is because your body and brain are in their deepest restorative state. Deep sleep is essential for physical restoration, tissue repair, immune system strengthening, and overall healing.
This is what happens when you hit that snooze button! Your body wakes from your current state of sleep and re-enters into a deep sleep, skipping the first two stages. So when you hit that snooze button, it makes it SO much harder to actually get up when your alarm goes off again.
REM Sleep
The most famous sleep stage, REM sleep, is when vivid dreaming occurs. Your brain is highly active, almost like when you’re awake, but your body experiences muscle paralysis to prevent you from physically acting out your dreams. REM sleep is essential for memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and cognitive function. It typically occurs in cycles, becoming longer as the night progresses.
Waking up after a full REM cycle leaves you feeling restored and ready to take on your day!
Why a Consistent Bedtime and Wake-Up Time Matter
While understanding the stages of sleep and their effects on your body is crucial, consistency in your sleep schedule plays an equally important role in improving the quality of your sleep and how you feel upon waking.
1. Regulates Your Circadian Rhythm
Your body operates on a natural circadian rhythm, a 24-hour cycle that controls when you feel awake and when you feel sleepy. Consistently going to bed and waking up at the same time each day helps synchronize your circadian rhythm, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up naturally. Disruptions to this rhythm — such as irregular sleep times — can cause sleep difficulties, making it harder to get quality rest.
2. Improves Sleep Quality
Having a consistent bedtime and wake-up time promotes better sleep quality by allowing your body to develop a regular sleep pattern. This consistency helps you enter the deeper, more restorative stages of sleep, such as Stage 3 (deep sleep) and REM sleep, which are essential for physical and mental recovery. Irregular sleep schedules can lead to fragmented sleep, which can reduce the amount of time you spend in these restorative stages.
3. Enhances Physical and Mental Health
Waking up from REM sleep can be a very different experience. REM sleep is when vivid dreams occur, and the brain is highly active, similar to wakefulness. When you wake up from REM sleep, you may feel more alert and have clearer dream recall than if you woke up from other stages.
A regular sleep schedule is linked to improved physical health, including better immune function, weight management, and reduced risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. It also plays a critical role in cognitive function, mood regulation, and emotional stability. Consistent sleep helps ensure that your body and brain get the rest they need, which is key to performing your best throughout the day.
For the next week, set a consistent bedtime that you can keep night after night. Then set one for your wake-up time. DO NOT HIT YOUR SNOOZE BUTTON! Take note of how you feel after a week and adjust the times if necessary. Consistent sleep will change your life and have you sleeping like a baby!
