Normal Sleep Patterns: How Important is Sleep?

While we all know that getting enough sleep is important, many of us aren't getting the sleep we need. According to the Apollo Health Organization, a leader in sleep research:
  • About 75 percent of adults don't get enough sleep.
  • Lack of sleep costs an estimated $150 billion annually due to lowered worker productivity.
  • Sleep deprivation is known to contribute to health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure and depression.

The Importance of Sleep

Biologically, our bodies operate on a 24-hour clock. The entire cycle, transitioning from wakefulness to sleep and back to wakefulness, is known as a person's circadian rhythm. During this cycle, people experience daily hormonal changes, body temperature fluctuations and a host of other changes in bodily functions. This "rhythm" allows us, in most cases, to achieve normal sleep patterns.

Individuals who experience normal sleep patterns generally feel more energetic during the day. In fact, studies have shown that sleep disruptions cause people to operate more slowly, reducing productivity in classrooms and the workplace.

Along with feeling more alert, those who get adequate sleep tend to have stronger immune systems, making them better able to stave off disease and infection. Experts also state that adequate sleep is important for resisting disease and is intrinsic in children's mental and physical growth.

So why don't many of us get enough sleep? The answer to this question is complicated. Simply put, many factors affect a person's sleeping patterns including his or her mental and physical health, lifestyle and age. Gaining knowledge of your personal habits, often with the aid of a sleep diary, may help you focus on creating an ideal environment for achieving adequate rest.

How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?

Lifestyle, health, age and genetics factor greatly into an individual's sleep requirements. For example, while an infant spends nearly 50% of his or her non-waking time in REM sleep, adults generally spend about 20% of their sleep time in the REM stage.

Experts recommend the following guidelines by age:
  • Infants: as many as 16 hours, including naps
  • Ages 3-6: 10 to 12 hours
  • Ages 6-9: about 10 hours at night
  • Ages 9-12 and teenagers: about 9 nighttime hours
  • Adults: While the adult range can vary anywhere from 5 to 10 hours, it averages at about 7 to 9 hours.
  • Seniors: Older adults tend to require as much sleep as children, including daytime napping.

Basics of Average Sleep Patterns

During a night of sleep, the brain experiences periods of intense activity in different parts of the sleep cycle while the body's muscles are in a paralyzed state. Experts suggest this occurs simultaneously to prevent physical movement in the dream stage.

Two types of sleep emerge during an average night: rapid eye movement (REM) preceded by non-REM (NREM). The latter comprises four stages in which individuals slide from drowsiness toward a deep sleep into the REM stage that involves dreaming.
  • The waking stage is a precursor to NREM staging.
  • Stage 1: An individual becomes drowsy and is easily awakened. Muscles begin to relax and eye activity is slow.
  • Stage 2: Also known as the "light sleep" stage, stage 2 is characterized by no eye movement while internal temperature drops and heart rate decreases.
  • Stages 3 and 4: The deep sleep cycles, known as "delta" or "slow-wave," are progressively intense. In these stages, a person is difficult to wake and is also more like to sleepwalk or wet the bed.
  • REM sleep: As the most erratic sleep stage, the REM part of the sleep cycle involves rapid eye movement and dreaming, making the brain as almost as active as if it were awake. A person may experience this cycling up to five times each night.
While stages one through four typically last up to two hours, each cycle can vary from five minutes to 15 minutes. However, the stages aren't necessarily sequential, meaning that sleep may not progress from stage one to four and then to REM. For example, you may experience this: waking, 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, and then REM. As morning nears, most sleep activity remains in Stages 1-2 plus REM to create the healthiest possible balance to prevent fatigue and irritability during waking hours.

Those who are sleep deprived or are getting less than ideal sleep may want to consider seeing a sleep consultant and/or therapist to discover the cause of their disruptions. At the first sign of variance from these patterns, experts recommend keeping a sleep diary that may quickly identify problems. For persistent sleep problems, consult a licensed practitioner to identify any specific health threats.

Building Your Sleep Environment

One of the most important aspects to getting adequate sleep is to create a sleep environment free from distractions. Similarly, your body needs to be prepared for sleep, meaning that both you brain and muscle activity need to be slowed down.

Along with making sure that you sleep in comfortable surroundings, eliminate objects that provide stimulus to the brain. Other steps to getting good sleep include:
  • Exercise early: Intense physical activity later in the day provides too much stimulation in the evening.
  • Maintain consistency: Keep a regular schedule both on weekdays and weekends to get your body used to a routing.
  • Perform rituals: Develop relaxation techniques before bedtime that you associate with resting, such as drinking a cup of hot tea and reading a book.
  • Restrict food, alcohol and caffeine before bed: Each of these stimulates physical and/or mental activity, making it harder for you to get to sleep.
  • Save worrying for the next day: Most problems cannot be solved while you're asleep. Try to put stressful thoughts aside. If you have trouble doing this, consider writing down your worries in a diary. This is a good way to process these thoughts and release them for a while.

If you still have trouble falling asleep, try taking a hot bath about an hour before bedtime. This forces your body to reduce its temperature and may help you enter NREM sleep more efficiently. If in bed lying restlessly, don't stay in bed tossing and turning. Move around, read a book and try to create the right mood for a full nighttime of restorative rest.

Resources

Sleep Channel (1998-2007). Sleep Stages. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from the Sleep Channel Web site: http://www.sleepdisorderchannel.com/stages/index.shtml#stage.

Helpguide.org (2006). Getting the Sleep You Need: Sleep Stages, Sleep Tips, Sleeping Aids and Pills. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from the Helpguide Web site: http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm.

Sleepfoundation.org (nd). ABCs of ZZZZ – When you Can't Sleep. Retrieved January 13, 2007, from the Sleep Foundation Web site: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleeplibrary/index.php?
secid=&id=53.