What happens to your body when it falls asleep? While it certainly seems like it simply ‘turns off’ or shuts down, the truth is that your rest occurs in cycles that have four primary stages to allow your body time to recover and grow.
Unfortunately, when you have a sleep disorder, you can easily miss some of these important stages, causing a litany of issues while asleep and awake. Here’s a closer look at them, why they’re so vital, and how treating sleep apnea can help ensure you’re experiencing them all correctly.
Stage 1 (N1)
This is the first and lightest stage of sleep. It typically lasts around seven minutes. During N1, your body has still not completely relaxed, and it is very easy to wake up; however, it is also quite easy to advance to stage two from here.
Stage 2 (N2)
During stage two, your body becomes more relaxed, your temperature drops, and your heartrate and breathing slow down. Your brain will now experience slight bursts of activity to prevent outside forces from waking you. Stage two typically lasts between 10 and 25 minutes.
Stage 3 (N3 or Deep Sleep)
This is the deepest and most useful sleep stage. During stage 3, it is more difficult to wake up. This is where your body recovers and grows. Your muscle tone, breathing, and pulse decrease, and your brain generates delta waves. It is also the most beneficial for your immune system, and it is believed that it also encourages insightful thinking.
Although most of your deep sleep happens during the first half of the night, early stages only last between 20 and 40 minutes. As you continue to sleep more throughout the evening, they will decrease and more of your time will be spent in REM.
Stage 4 (REM Sleep)
REM sleep is probably the most famous sleep stage, and where most of your dreams happen. During this portion of rest, your brain activity increases with the exception of your breathing muscles and eyes, and your body becomes paralyzed.
REM sleep is extremely important for cognitive function, including your memory. Under ideal circumstances, your body won’t enter the REM stage until you’ve been asleep for about 90 minutes; however, as the night continues, REM will get longer. Thus, while your first REM stage may only last a few minutes, later in the night it could last an hour and account for up to 25 percent of your total sleep!
The Dangers of Sleep Apnea
To receive proper sleep and fully restore your body, you need to complete all four stages. Unfortunately, if you suffer from sleep apnea, you may not be able to get enough total, quality rest to accumulate the necessary time in each stage. This can be harmful to both your mental and physical health, affecting your mood, memory, cognition, and your body’s ability to heal and regenerate itself.
The Importance of Treating Sleep Apnea
Remember, it’s very important to experience each of the sleep stages to get a useful, quality rest. Failure to do so could cause a variety of dangerous side effects that could be harmful to your mental and physical health and even worsen some medical conditions including hypertension and diabetes. Thus, if you are struggling to get proper sleep, it’s extremely important to speak to a specialist about treatment. An oral appliance from your dentist may be the solution you need to help get the comfortable, quality rest you deserve to stay healthy around the clock.
If you’re ready to learn more about how a sleep appliance could help you get the rest you need more comfortably than traditional methods like CPAP, speak to your xdddentist today!
About Dr. Schumacher
A nationally board-certified prosthodontist, Dr. Rob Schumacher is passionate about providing a variety of solutions to help his patients live better lives. He is proud to offer sleep appliance options for patients suffering from sleep disorders, to assist them in getting the quality sleep they deserve. Dr. Schumacher is a member of the American Dental Association, Massachusetts Dental Association, American College of Prosthodontics, North Shore Dental Society, and the Tri County Study Club. To schedule an appointment at Schumacher Dental for sleep apnea treatment, please visit our website or call us today at 781-334-3400.