REM sleep is the stage of sleep during which your most vivid dreams tend to happen, but is important for a variety of other reasons, too. It helps your brain grow and stay healthy, and process your emotions.
While scientists are still learning about REM sleep, we now know a lot more about what it does. Below, we’ll talk about how much REM sleep you need, why it matters, and how you can get more of it.
What is REM sleep?
REM sleep is one of the four stages of sleep. It’s the stage where your brain gets really active again-almost like you’re awake-even though you’re still sleeping. That’s also when your eyes move quickly under your eyelids, which is why it’s called rapid eye movement sleep.
Scientists didn’t take notice of REM sleep until the 1950s, when researchers began to observe babies’ eyes darting around while they slept. It was learned over time that most of our dreaming occurs during this stage, as well as that many animals experience REM sleep. This shows that it is an important part of how sleep works.
This stage can be tracked by sleep labs to better understand what happens in your brain and body during it.
Tracking REM Sleep
A lot of people use sleep trackers to see how much REM sleep they get. The trackers aren’t perfect, but they can show patterns and help you learn about your sleep. If yours shows low REM sleep often, it might be worth looking at your habits or asking a doctor.
What happens during REM sleep?
During REM sleep:
- Your brain becomes very active, and you usually have strong, clear dreams.
- Your body mostly goes limp, so you don’t move around.
- Your breathing and heartbeat speed up and become less steady.
Your brain is racing, yet your body remains motionless. It’s believed to occur as a way for one to not act out their dreams.
When does REM sleep occur?
Normally, you enter your first REM stage of sleep about an hour to an hour and a half after falling asleep.
During the night, you cycle through the four stages of sleep many times. A full cycle repeats every 1½ to 2 hours.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the stages:
- Stage 1: You’re just drifting off. It’s easy to wake up.
- Stage 2: Your body further relaxes. Your heart rate and breathing slow down.
- Stage 3: This is deep sleep. Your body repairs itself.
REM Sleep: Your brain becomes active again, you dream, and your eyes move quickly. The stages don’t always go perfectly in order; sometimes you go back to stage 2 before entering REM sleep.
REM vs Non-REM Sleep
REM sleep is quite unlike any other stage of sleep. Here’s what makes it unique:
- Your brain is almost as active as when you’re awake.
- Your body is basically “turned off,” so you can’t move much.
- Your breathing and heartbeat accelerate and become a little irregular.
- Your eyes dart about beneath your lids.
Why Is REM Sleep Important?
REM sleep plays a big part in staying healthy, both mentally and physically. Here’s why it matters:
Brain Health and Growth:
Your brain cleans out and prepares for the next day during REM sleep. It also helps your brain grow, which is why babies spend so much time in that stage.
Dreaming:
Most of your dreams happen during REM sleep, and they’re usually the ones that feel real or intense.
Emotional Health:
REM sleep helps you deal with emotions and stress. If you don’t get enough REM sleep, you may feel more moody or anxious, and it can even affect your long-term mental health.
Memory:
REM sleep helps your brain sort through everything you learned that day, saving the important stuff and getting rid of the rest. Waking Up: REM sleep readies your body to wake up by gradually increasing your activity so that you can feel refreshed in the morning. How Much REM Sleep Do You Need? For most adults, about two hours of REM sleep are needed each night. Kids-especially babies-need a lot more because their brains are still growing. Newborns can spend up to eight hours a day in REM sleep. Your REM sleep can be different every night. If you don’t sleep enough, you get less REM sleep, and the next night your body may try to make up for it by having extra REM sleep. This is called REM rebound.
What Happens If You Don‘t Get Enough REM Sleep?
A deficit of REM sleep can have effects on how you think and feel, and with time, it can have an overall impact on your health.
Short-term issues may include:
- Disturbances in your ability to focus
- Excessive tiredness during the day
- Forgetfulness
- A short temper and irritability
- An increased chance of accidents
Over the long term, inadequate sleep can weaken your immune function and increase the likelihood of developing diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and anxiety.
Naturally Increasing Your REM Sleep
It all begins with enough sleep because without it, you will not have enough REM sleep. When it comes to REM sleep, little changes can have a big impact.
Easy Habits to Improve REM Sleep
Establish a schedule: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and aim for 7–9 hours of sleep per night.
- Keep it dark: Reduce light as well as screen time prior to bed. Darkness prepares your brain to understand it is time for sleep.
- Unwind before bed: Stress, alcohol, or other substances can interfere with your REM sleep. Opt for relaxing instead.
When Sleep Problems Effect REM
Certain conditions make achieving a good REM state difficult: Acting out dreams: Our muscles do not relax in REM; causing movement or even shouting during REM.
- Narcolepsy: People who have narcolepsy have multiple sudden sleep attacks and abnormal REM.
- Nightmares: These vivid dreams interrupt REM naps.
- Sleep apnea or insomnia: Sleeping for extended duration causes the quantity of REM during the nap to be decreased.
- Skipping sleep: Short nights lead to less REM even if it is compensated by more sleep later.
Monitor your sleep, and use tools
A sleep tracker does a good job of capturing your sleep, and discovering patterns to help. Sometimes minor tweaks like going to bed earlier or decreasing screen time will likely enhance REM sleep. Over time changes likely lead to positive outcomes.
Seek help
If problems persist, become worse, or thoroghly interfere with life functioning, the next step should be visiting a physician. Physicians can evaluate for any underlying issues, and help you to establish strategies for improved sleep.
