Getting a good night’s sleep is important for everyone of all ages! Sleep is an essential part of daily life as it affects every process in the body from physical and mental health to the ability to fight disease and build immunity. The body, including the brain, uses sleep as a time to repair and remove waste from the system [1]. Experts recommend that most adults need at least seven hours or more of sleep each night, school-age children should get at least nine hours a night, and teens should aim for eight and 10 hours [1-3].
Benefits of Sleep
There are four stages of the sleep cycle that our bodies follow once we fall asleep. Each sleep stage plays a role in helping the brain and body recuperate after each day. Every night a person goes through about four to six sleep cycles, and while each cycle is not the same length, they roughly last about 90 minutes on average [4]. Three of the stages have non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and one has rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
The 4 Stages of the sleep cycle [4]
Stage | Type | Length | Stage Details |
Stage 1 (N1) | REM | 1-7 minutes | -when a person falls asleep |
Stage 2 (N2) | NREM | 10-25 minutes | -more relaxed state |
Stage 3 (N3) | NREM | 20-40 minutes | -aka deep sleep, delta sleep |
Stage 4 (REM) | REM (Rapid eye movement) | 10-60 minutes | -brain activity picks up |
Many factors ranging from age to alcohol consumption can affect the lengths of each individual stage and the overall cycle. If one’s sleep cycle is affected, and they are unable to obtain enough deep sleep and REM sleep, they might experience some negative effects on the ability to think, emotions, and overall physical health.
Impacts of not enough sleep:
Below are some tips to help improve sleep [2,5]:
- Establish a realistic bedtime and stick to it every night, even on the weekends.
- Try to limit caffeine, alcohol, and large meals in the hours leading up to bedtime.
- Keep the room you sleep in cool and dark and layer on blankets that you can remove.
- Avoid viewing bright lights – especially bright overhead lights between 10pm and 4am.
- Exercise during the day; this can help you wind down in the evening and prepare for sleep.
- Limit daytime naps to less than 90 minutes.
- Try to get bright light (ideally sunlight) in your eyes (without sunglasses) ideally in the first 30 minutes and up to 1 hour after waking.
So just remember, even if your life is super busy and stressful, it is important to prioritize getting enough sleep each night. Getting enough sleep can help you feel more energetic, have better concentration and ability to perform daily tasks, and improve your overall mood.
Be Smart. Take care of yourself. And check on your teammates.
Sources:
[1] Jansen, E. (2020, March 2). Sleep 101: Why sleep is so important to your health. Copyright 2022 the Regents of the University of Michigan. https://sph.umich.edu/pursuit/2020posts/why-sleep-is-so-important-to-your-health.html
[2] #Sleep for good health. (2022, September 19). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/features/getting-enough-sleep.html
[3] Good sleep for good health. (2022, July 15). NIH News in Health. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2021/04/good-sleep-good-health#:~:text=Good%20sleep%20improves%20your%20brain,stroke%20to%20obesity% 20and%20dementia
[4] Suni, E., & Suni, E. (2023, December 8). Stages of sleep: What happens in a sleep cycle. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/stages-of-sleep
[5] Pacheco, D., & Pacheco, D. (2023, December 8). Why do we need sleep? Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/why-do-we-need-sleep