Sleep Is Important

Every bodily function depends on sleep, which has an impact on our metabolism, risk of chronic diseases, immunity development, and the way our bodies and minds work the following day. Sleep affects nearly every aspect of health and goes hand in hand with fitness.

How Sleep Affects Exercise Performance

Sleep is essential to a person's ability to function and heal. Their physical talents can be severely impacted by sleep deprivation since it affects their precision, coordination, and reaction speed when executing difficult motions. In addition, because the body might not have enough time to adequately mend and rejuvenate itself, getting too little sleep raises weariness and the chance of becoming hurt. Therefore, in order to maximize performance and reduce the chance of injuries, people must receive adequate good-quality sleep. Prioritizing sleep is crucial for maximizing potential and accomplishing goals in any training program.

Muscle Recovery and Repair

Growth hormones and testosterone, which are vital for muscle healing and regeneration, are released by the body while you sleep. Sleep improves blood flow to the muscles, supplying vital nutrients and oxygen for recovery. It lessens the production of cortisol, a stress hormone that can limit the development and repair of muscles. Lack of sleep can prevent the body from having enough time to rebuild and repair muscle tissue, which would reduce the strength and endurance of the muscles. Thus, enough rest is essential for healthy muscle regeneration and peak physical performance. 

Consequences of Poor Sleep

Stress increases

Reaction times slows, impacting athletic performance, driving, and motor skills

Increase in weight gain

Short-term and long-term health consequences

Increase in mood difficulties, such as depression and anxiety

What Are the Stages of Sleep?

Your brain doesn't completely shut down when you're sleeping. Even if your awareness of your surroundings has decreased, there is still significant brain activity. There are recurring patterns in that brain activity. These patterns were categorized into phases by experts. The phases of sleep can be divided into two groups: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep.

NREM is divided into three stages. Normally, when you go to sleep, you go into NREM stage 1 and then alternate between stages 2 and 3. Then, you enter REM sleep and begin dreaming. You enter stage 1 or stage 2 of a new sleep cycle and restart it after the first REM session.

Usually, it takes 90 to 120 minutes for one cycle to end and start another. The majority of people experience four or five cycles every night, providing they sleep for the entire eight hours.

Stage 1 NREM Sleep

This is the lightest stage of sleep. The instant you nod off, you go into stage 1. This phase of sleep typically lasts only a few minutes and roughly 5% of your total sleep period. Once you pass that, your sleep gets deeper, and you go into stage 2 of NREM sleep.

Stage 2 NREM Sleep

Although stage 2 sleep is still light, it is deeper than stage 1. Your brain waves slow down and exhibit distinct intervals between brief yet intense electrical activity spikes during this phase. Experts think that those bursts are caused by your brain arranging information and memories from your waking time.

Approximately 45% of your sleep time is spent in stage 2 NREM sleep, which is the longest stage of all. You will experience many cycles of stage 2 NREM sleep, with the duration of each cycle often increasing. You either enter REM sleep or proceed deeper into stage 3 NREM sleep after stage 2. 

Stage 3 NREM Sleep

This is the deepest NREM sleep phase. For adults, it covers roughly 25% of total sleep time. However, babies and children need more stage 3 sleep, and as you get older, the less you will need.

Your brain waves are powerful but sluggish in stage 3. The body uses this really deep sleep stage to strengthen your immune system and heal wounds. Similar spikes in brain activity that occur in stage 2 can also occur in stage 3, and brain waves particular to stage 3 help regulate those bursts.

For a restful night's sleep, you must get stage 3 NREM sleep. Even after a lengthy night of sleep, you’ll feel exhausted and depleted if you don't get much stage 3 sleep. Your body naturally wants to fit as much stage 3 sleep as possible. Then, your body enters stage 2 NREM, the gatekeeper of REM sleep, after stage 3 NREM sleep. 

REM Sleep

The majority of dreams occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The way your eyes move behind your eyelids when you dream is how it gets its name. During this phase, your brain activity resembles a lot to when you’re awake. 

Approximately 25% of your overall sleep duration is spent in REM sleep. The first REM cycle of a sleep cycle is usually the shortest and last about ten minutes. The ones that come after last about an hour.

Sleep Disorders

Despite their best efforts, some people are unable to obtain enough, high-quality sleep due to medical issues. We refer to these issues as sleep disorders. There are six main categories of sleep disorders:

Central disorders of hyper-somnolence (like narcolepsy)

Circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders (such as jet lag or shift work sleep disorder)

Insomnia

Parasomnias

Sleep-disordered breathing (such as sleep apnea)

Sleep-related movement disorders (like restless leg syndrome) 

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

Newborns: 16-18 hours

Preschoolers: 11-12 hours

School-aged children and teens: 10 hours

Adults: 7-8 hours