You may not think much about your dreams, apart from to sometimes wonder what they mean. But dreams are a crucial a part of the stage of sleep often known as REM sleep. All sleep is vital, but REM sleep plays a key role in brain health and performance.
What is REM sleep?
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a component of your body's normal sleep cycle. Each sleep cycle in your body lasts about 80 to 100 minutes. Most of us experience 4 to 6 sleep cycles per night. Your first REM episode normally lasts only a number of minutes. They lengthen during each subsequent sleep cycle. By the top of the night, you’ll be able to spend as much as half an hour in REM sleep.
REM sleep is when most of your dreams occur. During REM sleep, your heart rate, blood pressure, brain activity, and respiratory increase. Your eyes move quickly even after they are closed. The muscles in your legs and arms also turn out to be temporarily unable to maneuver. It prevents you from realizing your dreams once you experience them.
How much REM sleep do you would like?
Like your overall sleep patterns, your REM sleep needs to vary as you age. Newborns spend half of their snooze time in REM sleep. It begins to diminish by about 6 months, and continues to diminish throughout childhood and adolescence. By age 20, most individuals spend only 20 percent of their total shut-eye time in REM sleep. In older adults, the time spent in REM sleep decreases by about 17 percent by age 80.
Benefits of REM sleep
Benefits of REM sleep include:
- Better learning. During REM sleep, you The brain cuts its synapses.Places wherein brain cells communicate with one another. It seems to enhance memory and problem-solving abilities.
- Mood regulation. REM sleep helps your brain process emotional memories, including memories related to fear.
- Brain development. REM sleep is believed to assist develop the central nervous system, which incorporates your brain and spinal cord. This could also be one reason why infants, especially newborns, need a lot REM sleep.
- Protection against dementia. According to 1, individuals who get less REM sleep could also be at a better risk of developing dementia. study Published in Journal Neurology. The researchers found that for each 1 percent decrease in REM sleep, the chance of dementia increased by 9 percent.
REM sleep is so necessary that should you don't get enough one night, your body will naturally increase it the following night – you'll enter this stage earlier and stay in it longer. This is often known as REM rebound.
How to Get a Good Night's Sleep
Sleep is elusive for lots of us—greater than 14 percent of American adults have trouble falling asleep most days of the week. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most REM sleep occurs late at night, so getting enough sleep helps maximize REM sleep.
Here are some tricks to aid you go to sleep and stay asleep:
Stick to a sleep schedule. Set an everyday bedtime and get up time and follow it, even on weekends and once you're on vacation. This will help regulate your sleep/wake cycle and make it easier so that you can drift off at night. If you’ll be able to't go to sleep inside 20 to half-hour, get off the bed, go to a different room, and do something relaxing like reading or knitting until you’re feeling sleepy again. Don't lie in bed and watch the clock, which might make insomnia worse. If you may have trouble sleeping one night, try to not sleep later and never the following day. Doing so will disrupt your routine. You could also be more drained that day, but you'll sleep higher that night.
Limit alcohol and caffeine. A nightcap may aid you nod off, however it suppresses your REM sleep. Caffeine also interferes with a great night's rest since it blocks brain chemicals that promote sleep. Oh study Published in Journal of Biological Rhythms found that three 150-milligram servings of caffeine per day—the equivalent of about 4-1/2 cups of coffee—affected REM sleep in young healthy men.
Stay energetic. Exercise itself has been shown to barely decrease REM sleep. But a 2024 study Published in Journal Scientific reports Regular physical activity has been found to extend the quantity of deep, restorative sleep you get, which in turn boosts mood and energy. Try to exercise outside within the morning, as natural light helps set your body's sleep/wake cycle.
Relax before going to bed. Try the next calming rituals an hour or two before bed.
- Listen to soft music.
- Take a warm bath or shower.
- to tug
- Read on. However, avoid doing this in your phone or tablet, as those devices emit blue light that may disrupt sleep.