Understanding Sleep Cycles
Learn about sleep cycles, stages of sleep, and how they affect your overall health and wellbeing.
Understanding Sleep Cycles
What is a Sleep Cycle?
A sleep cycle is a progression through various stages of sleep, from light sleep to deep sleep and then to REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. Each complete cycle typically lasts about 90 minutes in adults.
Throughout the night, you go through multiple sleep cycles. The first cycles of the night have longer periods of deep sleep, while cycles later in the night have longer periods of REM sleep.
The Stages of Sleep
- 1
Stage 1 (N1)
The transition between wakefulness and sleep. Easily awakened.
- 2
Stage 2 (N2)
Body temperature drops, heart rate slows. Makes up about 50% of total sleep.
- 3
Stage 3 (N3)
Restorative sleep that helps with physical recovery. Difficult to wake up from.
- 4
REM Sleep
Brain is active, dreaming occurs. Important for cognitive function and memory consolidation.
Sleep Cycle Visualization
This simplified graph shows how sleep cycles progress throughout the night, with alternating periods of deep sleep and REM sleep.
Recommended Sleep Duration
- Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours
- Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours
- Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours
- Preschoolers (3-5 years): 10-13 hours
- School-age (6-13 years): 9-11 hours
- Teenagers (14-17 years): 8-10 hours
- Adults (18-64 years): 7-9 hours
- Older Adults (65+ years): 7-8 hours
Tips for Better Sleep Cycles
- Maintain a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends
- Create a relaxing bedtime routine to signal to your body it's time to sleep
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and large meals close to bedtime
- Exercise regularly, but not too close to bedtime
- Create a sleep-friendly environment (cool, dark, quiet)
- Limit exposure to screens and blue light before bed