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Normal Sleep

Sleep is a basic necessity of life. In their lifetime, 2/3 of North Americans will complain of sleeping problems. There are over 80 recognized sleep disorders.

Sleep is composed of 2 Sleep Stages:

Non-rapid eye movement sleep (non-REM)
Rapid eye movement sleep (REM)

non-REM Sleep

The type of sleep not associated with dreams. There is some thinking in non-REM sleep but it is usually simple and fragmented. There are 4 sub-stages to non-REM sleep:

Stage 1 sleep: Is a transition from being awake to being asleep. Is almost worthless in terms of restorative value. Although you may be asleep you may also still be partially conscious.
Stage 2 sleep: Deeper than Stage 1 and is thought to aid in body recovery.
Stages 3 and 4: Also called Delta sleep. Delta sleep is a very deep sleep that is primarily associated with restoration / body recovery.

REM Sleep

The type of sleep associated with dreaming. Our eyes move rapidly when we are looking around in our dreams. It appears that our brain does not know we are sleeping and therefore continues to command our muscles to move. Luckily, most people's muscles are very relaxed while they dream so that very little movement occurs.

In most people, REM sleep occurs every 90 minutes throughout the night. The first REM period may only be 5 minutes long, second is about 10 minutes, and the third may be 15 minutes in length. The final dream of the night for most people last for 30 minutes but sometimes for up to 60 minutes. You may or not remember dreaming but everyone does dream.

The following picture shows how a normal sleep is composed. You usually enter Stage 1 sleep, work your way down into the deeper Stages 3 or 4 sleep followed by a dream. This person has 5 Sleep Cycles, or periods of non-REM and REM sleep, during the night.




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Sleep Centre Home OSA Diagnostic Tests OSA Treatments Online Sleep Class Suggestions for Better Sleep SnoreSat Instructional Video New Telehealth Insomnia Management Program Referral Process Referral Form Download Form Physician Training Respirology Residents Rotation Sleep Fellowship CPAP Providers Research Projects Links Contact Us	Sleep Centre Foothills Medical Centre Online Sleep Class Page 1 of 16 Normal Sleep Sleep is a basic necessity of life. In their lifetime, 2/3 of North Americans will complain of sleeping problems. There are over 80 recognized sleep disorders. Sleep is composed of 2 Sleep Stages: Non-rapid eye movement sleep (non-REM) Rapid eye movement sleep (REM) non-REM Sleep The type of sleep not associated with dreams. There is some thinking in non-REM sleep but it is usually simple and fragmented. There are 4 sub-stages to non-REM sleep: Stage 1 sleep: Is a transition from being awake to being asleep. Is almost worthless in terms of restorative value. Although you may be asleep you may also still be partially conscious. Stage 2 sleep: Deeper than Stage 1 and is thought to aid in body recovery. Stages 3 and 4: Also called Delta sleep. Delta sleep is a very deep sleep that is primarily associated with restoration / body recovery. REM Sleep The type of sleep associated with dreaming. Our eyes move rapidly when we are looking around in our dreams. It appears that our brain does not know we are sleeping and therefore continues to command our muscles to move. Luckily, most people's muscles are very relaxed while they dream so that very little movement occurs. In most people, REM sleep occurs every 90 minutes throughout the night. The first REM period may only be 5 minutes long, second is about 10 minutes, and the third may be 15 minutes in length. The final dream of the night for most people last for 30 minutes but sometimes for up to 60 minutes. You may or not remember dreaming but everyone does dream. The following picture shows how a normal sleep is composed. You usually enter Stage 1 sleep, work your way down into the deeper Stages 3 or 4 sleep followed by a dream. This person has 5 Sleep Cycles, or periods of non-REM and REM sleep, during the night.
	E-mail comments to Web Communications. Page last updated on: January 05, 2010