Sleep Stages

Waves

Before we dive into the world of insomnia and snoring, two very common afflictions that affect millions of people worldwide, we must first understand some basics of sleep. Think about it, you spend 1/3 of your life doing it; why not gather some information to give you the leg up? First off, we need to clear some terminology up. When I say high frequency brain waves, I am referring to the first picture. Notice the high number of repetitions. Some examples include beta and alpha brain waves.

This is how your brain waves might appear on an EEG (electroencephalogram) reading. An EEG is an instrument used commonly by neuroscientists to measure brainwave activity by hooking you up electrodes to different points on your scalp.

The 5 stages of Sleep

There are a total of 5 stages of sleep that you go through while asleep. You are not aware of these changes while you’re asleep and each stage serves a different function. As you go through them, you will get a clearer understanding of the different sensations you might feel before you sleep.
Full Consciousness – This is the point where you’re fully awake and going about your daily lives. It’s at this point that our wakefulness system is at its peak point during the day and your mind exhibits really high frequency Beta brain waves.

Stage 1 Sleep – Every one of us has gone through Stage 1 of sleep, though not many are aware of it. Do you remember the time when you were in a boring lecture, or in a movie theatre watching a really ‘draggy’ movie? The drowsy sensation, also known as ‘zoning out’ is the perfect way to describe this stage of sleep.

At this point, you enter Stage 1 of sleep and exhibit slightly lower frequency brain waves known as Alpha brain waves and some Theta brain waves. Your body relaxes, respiration and heart rate drops slightly, and our mind tends to drift into an altered state of relaxation where it simply feels good to be there! Hence, you can think of Stage 1 as the doorway to your sleep.

Stage 2 Sleep – During Stage 2 of sleep, we experience patterns of brain waves called sleep spindles. These are sudden bursts of brain activity which scientists believe are attempts by the brain to shut certain portions of itself down. Technically, however, your mind is still very active during sleep, helping you organize your thoughts and processing events that occurred during the day. During Stage 1 and 2 of sleep, you can still be easily awoken and many claim that they have not fallen asleep when woken up from these 2 stages.

Stage 3 & 4 Sleep – During Stage 3 & 4 of sleep, our brain waves are at their lowest frequency known as Delta brain waves. Our mind goes back and forth between Delta and Theta brain waves.

It is during these 2 stages that we are officially “asleep”, and it is known as deep sleep. Our blood pressure, heart and respiration rate dip to their lowest point in the day. Our blood vessels dilate and carry blood to muscles and organs for repair and recovery. Athletes depend on these stages to repair worn and fatigued muscles.

Stage 5 Sleep – Stage 5 sleep is the most fascinating segment of your snooze as science has not been able to ascertain its true purpose. It is known as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep.

During the 1950s, a scientist named Nathanial Kleitman discovered that when people are in this stage of sleep, their eyes moved rapidly in all directions. He also discovered that when people were awoken during this stage, they reported that they were actually in a dream moments before! It is believed that most of our dreaming is done during this REM sleep stage.

Surprisingly, our brain waves do not lower in frequency during this stage. In fact, they rise rapidly and are similar to brain waves exhibited when we are wide awake. If you think about it, it makes sense – while we are dreaming, our mind perceives the situation as a very real and vivid one. Don’t you remember the time when you woke up, certain that you had seen or experienced something so real it bothered you for the rest of the day?

That should give you a good idea of the stages of your sleep. This is the first step in understanding how to sleep better and cure insomnia. Head on to the next section to find out about the all-important sleep cycles!