Sleep Patterns: What Are They and How Do They Impact Your Health?

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Do you get enough sleep?

Even if you’re getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, are you getting quality sleep?

Millions of Americans are being robbed of restorative sleep. Common sleep stealers include drinking caffeinated beverages late in the afternoon or evening. Less obvious sleep stealers may involve disruptions to your sleep stages.

There are five stages of sleep. The first four stages are considered non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, also known as quiet sleep. The fifth stage is called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, also known as active sleep or paradoxical sleep.

Each of the five stages have different functions in the brain’s nightly sleep cycle. So, what’s happening in the brain as each sleep stage occurs? Let’s take a look…

This stage takes place between wakefulness and sleep. During this stage, the brain, heartbeat, and breathing begin to slow down. The body starts to relax, and your muscles may twitch (e.g., myoclonic jerk).

This brief period lasts about 5 to 10 minutes. The brain may still be active during this stage.

During this stage, you become less aware of your surroundings, but there are short bursts of activity in your brain. Also, your heart rate and breathing become more regular, and your body temperature drops.

This sleep cycle lasts about 20 minutes. Most people spend about half of their sleep time in this stage.

Delta waves, slow brain waves, begin to increase during these stages. Also, breathing slows, blood pressure drops, and muscles relax. Some noises may fail to rouse people in this period of deep sleep.

Many believe these stages are when the body begins to repair itself. It usually lasts 20 to 40 minutes, but that interval gets shorter as REM sleep gets longer.

During REM sleep, your voluntary muscles are temporarily paralyzed. Your brain becomes more active, your breathing is faster and, of course, your eyes move rapidly. At this point, you begin to dream.

REM sleep starts around 90 minutes after you fall asleep. It’s believed that during deep sleep the body’s immunity is strengthened, cells are repaired, and hormones are secreted to grow bones and muscles.

The progression of sleep stages isn’t always sequential (instead of advancing to the next stage, you may jump back to the previous stage). Anything that disrupts this cycle can negatively affect the quality of your sleep.

These stages typically repeat four to five times each night. The amount of time spent in each stage can vary during the night.

In addition to sleep stages, these 3 sleep patterns also may affect your health.

As is implied in the name, monophasic sleep applies to those who sleep only once per day. This pattern is widely accepted as the “normal” sleep pattern. People who practice this pattern sleep a solid block of hours each day.

This pattern applies to those who sleep twice a day, typically an extended period of rest at night and a nap sometime during the day. The biphasic pattern is popular in India, the Mediterranean and Latin American countries, where siestas are considered beneficial for health. In Western countries, naps aren’t viewed nearly as favorably.

This pattern may involve as many as four to six different sleep sessions during the day. Some believe this pattern can provide increased energy levels and better sleep quality (more time spent in REM sleep) compared to monophasic or biphasic sleep. Here are three types of polyphasic sleep:

These polyphasic options aren’t recommended since they may require a significant period of adjustment and may drastically reduce the total hours of sleep an individual gets per day.

Skimping on sleep can affect your health in more ways than you might imagine. Anything that disrupts your natural sleep pattern, like excessive caffeine, alcohol, or video game playing, can have adverse effects on your ability to effectively perform tasks at work, school, or home. Insufficient and inconsistent sleep can increase irritability, moodiness, and poor judgment.

Getting consistent, high-quality sleep is essential to wellness. If you have problems falling asleep, a natural supplement may give you the support you need.

Depending on your unique sleep pattern, you may benefit from melatonin and other sleep-promoting ingredients to help you fall and stay asleep. That’s why BrainMD developed two distinct, but equally powerful, natural sleep aids: Restful Sleep and Put Me To Sleep.

Restful Sleep contains the body’s own sleep hormone, melatonin, to help you get you to sleep. It also includes the calming neurotransmitter GABA, as well as the relaxing mineral magnesium, vitamin B6, and valerian, to help keep you asleep.

This nutritional-herbal combination produces a soothing effect that can help ease you into a peaceful sleep.

Restful Sleep eases you to sleep and helps you stay asleep all night so you can wake up feeling refreshed in the morning.

Put Me To Sleep is based on the most recent nutraceutical research on sleep onset, duration, and quality. The body’s daily sleep phase is now recognized to be just as important for health as the awake phase. Sleep is vital for mental and physical performance, as well as overall health and well-being.

This highly effective sleep supplement includes 6 potent ingredients that work in concert to help relax the mind and body in preparation for sleep. These ingredients have a broad range of neurotransmitter actions in the brain. They are carefully combined in this supplement to promote recovery from daily stress, calm and relaxation, and fully restful sleep.

This breakthrough chewable supplement helps bring on deep, sustained, and quality sleep.

If you’re tired of being tired, it’s time to turn to a natural sleep solution that can help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed…without the grogginess!

Restful Sleep and Put Me To Sleep can help support your sleep patterns with ultra-pure nutrients proven to produce a soothing effect that can help ease you into a peaceful sleep.

If you have difficulties getting quality asleep, these natural sleep supplements may help you achieve deep, sustained, and restorative sleep.

At BrainMD, we’re dedicated to providing thehighest purity nutrientsto improve your physical health and overall well-being. For more information about our full list of brain healthy supplements, please visit us atBrainMD.