Healthy sleep is essential for overall wellness, yet insomnia is one of the most common sleep complaints, chronically affecting between 5 and 10% of Americans. For those of us not diagnosed with insomnia, restful and restorative sleep may still be difficult to achieve. Many elements play into whether or not you obtain a good night’s rest, including physical and mental factors, your lifestyle, and your environment. Understanding the dynamics of sleep—and how your choices may impact your sleep quality—is the first step in consistently promoting your own healthy, restful sleep. 
 
What is sleep?
Sleep—with its composition, depth, and intensity—varies from one person to the next. On average, we clock between six and nine hours of sleep a night, during which time we go through four or five separate sleep cycles, each one lasting approximately 90 minutes. Each of these sleep cycles in turn has five stages, which include drowsiness, light sleep, two stages of deep sleep, and REM sleep. The sleep of a healthy adult would include about 25% deep sleep, 50% light sleep, and 25% REM.

How does sleep benefit you?
You’ve certainly experienced how much less effectively you function on minimal sleep. Proper sleep offers distinct physical and mental advantages. Deep sleep is fundamental to repairing daily wear and tear on the body, and dreaming restores the efficiency of the brain. Learn more in Part Two of this series.

This entry was posted by Kiki Powers, MS, CNC on February 4th, 2008 under Health and Wellness with keywords .