


Accuracy: In the study above, accuracy was reduced in individuals who had less REM sleep.Research suggests more REM sleep and fewer awakenings during the night are significantly associated with better performance tests measuring executive function. Executive function: This includes working memory, self-control, and flexible thinking.Pain response: One study found that when we don’t get enough REM sleep, our response to pain increases the next day.Creativity: REM may enhance creativity and a lack of sleep lowers it.Brain development and learning motor skills.And that includes REM - it’s not just for dreams! While deep sleep sounds like the most needed stage of sleep, every stage is in fact important. Each cycle could last between 70 to 120 minutes. When you’ve moved through all of the sleep stages, you’ll begin a new cycle from the beginning. This is why you need to get enough sleep overall to get enough REM, as most REM happens in the second half of the night. In the first sleep cycle, we may only spend one to five minutes in REM, and the amount of time we spend in REM usually increases as the night progresses. Brain wave activity, breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure all rise. If you wake up remembering a vivid dream, you were probably in this stage.


That is why doctor recommend that you get seven to nine hours of sleep every night to avoid having so much REM sleep and suffering from these consequences. This sleep disorder is something that needs to be checked by a doctor. Why? Because there are chances that a sleepwalker or those who hit in their sleep to physically hurt themselves and others around them. This disrupts your partner's sleep while endangering your life as well. Sometimes it can be sleepwalking, other times, you are talking or even shouting and hitting your partner. Some people would enter REM sleep almost right after they fall asleep!Īnd when this happens, the body will not begin it's paralysis state and will have the sleeper act out their dreams. It can pose a risk when you are handling heavy machinery or while driving to work.Įxcessive amounts of REM sleep can reduce the amount of time you spend when in a deep sleep. As a result, the sleepiness doesn't only affect your productivity, but your mood as well. And we all know that too much sleep can also cause lack of concentration and daytime drowsiness.
