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What is REM Sleep?

Can Hypnosis Help with REM Sleep

You may have heard the term, but do you know what it means? Understanding the importance of REM helps explain why a solid night’s sleep is so important.

Most people climb into bed at night without ever thinking about the different stages of sleep that their brain and body cycle through or how these stages can affect their health. But understanding the role of REM sleep is important. This particular stage of sleep has a major impact on your memory, mental focus, and mood.

In this article you’ll learn about what REM is, why the REM portion of your sleep is so important, and how to make sure you’re achieving the right amount every night.

Know Your Sleep Stages

Ever wonder why you are tired despite getting a full night’s sleep? Maybe you didn’t spend enough time in the deep sleep stage of your sleep. Sleep is generally divided into two stages: REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement). NREM is further split into three parts: starting to fall asleep, light sleep, and deep sleep. During deep sleep, your breathing slows down, your blood pressure drops, and your energy is renewed.

During a typical night, your sleep alternates through cycles of REM and NREM sleep about every 90 minutes. The REM stage accounts for approximately 25 percent of sleep time, while the NREM stage takes up the other 75 percent. If you get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night, you might move through five to six full sleep cycles. Because sleep cycles begin and end with lighter sleep, you may feel more refreshed and rested if you wake up at the end of a cycle, instead of in the middle of a cycle when you might be in a deep sleep.

Understanding REM Sleep

While you’re in the REM stage of sleep, your eyes move rapidly (giving this stage its name), darting back and forth under your closed lids. It is during this state that most of your vivid dreaming takes place. At the same time, your muscles become temporarily paralyzed—important so that you don’t attempt to act out those dreams. REM sleep involves more brain activity than NREM and is considered a more “wakeful” state, as your heart rate and blood pressure increase to levels close to what you experience when you are awake.

Why Is REM Sleep Important?

REM sleep plays a significant role in helping your brain consolidate and process new information. REM sleep also helps to ensure better mental concentration and mood regulation, two things that are critical to both your daily work performance and overall quality of life.

The negative effects from lack of REM sleep are serious: Without this critical sleep stage, your overall health  including brain function and cellular repair can suffer. Poor REM sleep may be due to sleep disorders such as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea, which causes you to wake during the night.

Improving Your REM Sleep 

By focusing on getting a solid night of sleep, you will likely improve your chances of getting a sufficient amount of the all-important REM stage, too. Seven to nine hours of sleep is recommended for most adults. In addition to ensuring adequate time to sleep, by setting regular bed and wake times you can help your body anticipate and optimize the sleep period.

How to make sure you get the sleep you need? Wind down gradually in the evening, without TV or computers to distract you with their active content and sleep-inhibiting blue light. Limit caffeine and alcohol before bed to improve your overall sleep. To prevent middle of the night interruptions that can disrupt your REM sleep, maintain a cool, dark, and quiet sleep environment.