People spend approximately 25% of their total time asleep in REM sleep.
This article discusses the signs and effects of REM sleep.
It also explores some steps you’re free to take to improve your REM sleep.
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During REM sleep, the muscles that prevent body movements become active, leading to temporary paralysis.
This is a normal function of REM sleep and prevents you from physically acting out dreams.
REM sleep is marked by the suspension of homeostasis, rapid eye movements, and increased brain activity.
NREM sleep includes three distinct stages characterized by gradually slowed brain waves.
There are also important physiological differences between REM and NREM sleep.
There are four different stages of sleep.
NREM sleep accounts for the first three stages, and REM sleep is considered the fourth stage.
It is important to note that these stages do not follow a perfectly sequential pattern as you sleep.
It is after this second occurrence of stage 2 sleep that REM sleep first appears.
A complete sleep cycle takes roughly 100 minutes to complete.
Four to five cycles may occur each night, depending on how long a person sleeps.
Sleep is essential for health and well-being.
Dreams
Dreams happen during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep.
Researchers do not fully understand the exact reasonswhy we sleep.
They do know that newborns dream and that depriving rats of REM sleep greatly shortens their lives.
Memory
Dreams may be one way that the brain consolidates memories.
Some researchers believe that dreams are more like a background noise that is interpreted and organized.
Thisactivation-synthesis theorysuggests that dreams are merely the brains attempt to make sense of random signals occurring during sleep.
Some people have more control over their dreams than others.
For these people, the last thoughts before going to bed may influence the content of a dream.
Emotional Processing
REM sleep is also believed to play an important part in emotional processing.
Dreaming may be a part of this process.
Research suggests that lack of sleep contributes to decreased emotional memory consolidation and poor encoding of emotional memory.
Interruptions to REM sleep can sometimes result in problems.
As a result, the lack of REM sleep is linked to several health concerns, including the following.
The areas of the brain that are turned on during REM sleep seem to help learning and memory.
Movement
REM sleep usually begins after a period ofdeep sleepknown as stage 3 sleep.
An area of the brain called the ponswhere REM sleep signals originateshuts off signals to the spinal cord.
That causes the body to be immobile during REM sleep.
When the pons doesn’t shut down the spinal cord’s signals, people will act out their dreams.
This condition is rare and different from more common sleepwalking and known as REM sleep behavior disorder.
Watch Your Alcohol Intake
Keep your alcohol intake light before going to bed.
Research has found that even moderate alcohol intake in the evening can interfere with REM sleep.
After a few weeks, yourability to remember your dreamswill improve.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
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