By Nikhail Thakker, Dr. Christine Wong, PhD
When the going gets tough, we’ve probably all thought back to our more tender years where our lives had less worries, less responsibilities, less bills to pay. And above all, perhaps something we took for granted the most: longer, better, and more deep sleep. That blissful sleep may feel impossible to achieve at times, with our minds and emotions racing with any and all kinds of imaginable distractions.
Fortunately, sleeping like a baby, even years into adulthood, is more achievable than you might think. A few tweaks in habits and you’re well on your way to getting some high-quality shut-eye, along with reaping the rewards. In fact, better sleep is essential for memory, enabling more effective learning and retention of information, and boosting your mood and energy throughout the daytime. Join us as we explore the science of how we sleep, what hinders our sleep, and what steps we can take to make those hours in bed count.
The Sleep Cycle and its Phases
Although it might feel like a blink of an eye between when you hit the hay and rise the following morning, your body actually undergoes a cycle of different phases of sleep, multiple times throughout the night. Each cycle lasts between 90 minutes and 2 hours, so you may experience between 4 and 6 cycles nightly (1).
Light to Deep Sleep - NREM (non rapid eye movement)
The first phase that you experience a matter of minutes after going to bed is NREM sleep, or non rapid eye movement. NREM can be divided into 3 further sub-phases labeled N1 to N3 in chronological order.
N1 is the lightest and quickest phase comprising just 5% of NREM time and in which your brain only slowly descends into a state of rest. Next up is phase N2, where sleep becomes deeper, and lasts around 45% of the night in total. Here, your body temperature decreases as well as your heart rate, as you prepare to enter what is truly the purest form of rest. And finally, we reach N3, which is what we know colloquially as ‘deep sleep.’ During this time—lasting for about a quarter of each slumber—it may be difficult to be woken up, even through loud noises and physical touch.
PHOTOGRAPH BY IFTIKHAR ALAM, VECTEEZY
The Dream Phase - REM (rapid eye movement)
The REM (rapid eye movement) phase follows (or Stage 4), which in stark contrast to N2 and N3, marks a rise in bodily and neural activity. Varied respiratory rhythms and blood pressure go hand in hand with REM sleep. At this time, dreams occur often involving recall of experiences that happen during your waking hours. You are also most likely to wake up during REM. As cycles elapse and the night goes on, each REM phase is longer than the one before. This phase is particularly important for storing our memories, from short-term memories to long-term storage for future recall.
You might be wondering how these sleep phases occur. Let’s explore brain waves and their impact on our state of mind.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHANCHAI PHEDTDIKHAI, VECTEEZY
Brain Waves - Theta, Alpha, Delta, and Beta
As bizarre as it might sound, and though you’ve probably heard that ‘our brains are wired’. There is in fact actual electricity in our brains. Brain cells interact and send messages using electrical pulses. These are called brain waves (2), and can be classified by their frequencies using greek letters.
Alpha waves:
Signify passiveness and a more relaxed state of mind. This can happen during meditation and would be at its highest voltage when you’re relaxed and just starting to fall asleep but are still awake.
Theta waves:
Occur during the lightest stage of sleep (first stages of NREM sleep), where you’re transitioning from wakefulness to sleep. You may experience drifting thoughts or mild sensations of heaviness. It’s a brief period where theta waves begin to dominate.
Theta wave K-complexes:
Are active most in N2, these waves are responsible for stimulating the consolidation of memories from information gathered during the waking hours of the day, emphasizing why a good night’s sleep is ever so crucial to maximize learning and productivity.
Delta waves:
Come next, and happen during your deepest and most restorative sleep. During this phase, it is particularly important for healing and growth. Detoxification occurs in your mind and body, allowing recovery from daily stresses. Muscle growth and memory consolidation is also active during these signals.
Mixed waves (Alpha, Beta, and Theta):
Occur during REM sleep, often linked to dreaming. Although these waves are typically associated with wakefulness and mental activity, the body remains mostly still to prevent acting out dreams. REM sleep is crucial for cognitive functions like memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and learning.
PHOTOGRAPH BY OLEG GAPEENKO, VECTEEZY
Music for Deep Sleep:
Did you know that music in these specific wavelengths can also encourage the functional benefits we discussed? That’s right! If you’re looking for deep sleep, try listening to music tuned to delta waves.
That was a lot of information, so let’s wrap up this first part of the series to let the information sink in. Follow the link here to read more about: Sleep Science: Proven Tips for Better Rest and Health (Part 2).
PHOTOGRAPH BY FLOJO DRINKS
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Works Cited
- Patel, A. K.; Reddy, V.; Shumway, K. R.; Araujo, J. F. Physiology, Sleep Stages. Nih.gov. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526132/ (accessed 2024-08-24).
- Abhang, P. A.; Gawali, B. W.; Mehrotra, S. C. Technological Basics of EEG Recording and Operation of Apparatus. Elsevier eBooks 2016, 19–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-804490-2.00002-6.
- Circadian Rhythm | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica; 2024.
- Good Sleep Recipe. Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. Yale School of Medicine. https://medicine.yale.edu/internal-medicine/pulmonary/news/national-sleep-week/good-sleep-recipe. (accessed 2024-08-25).
- Nadia Aalling Jessen; Sofie, A.; Iben Lundgaard; Maiken Nedergaard. The Glymphatic System: A Beginner’s Guide. Neurochemical Research 2015, 40 (12), 2583–2599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-015-1581-6.
