Have you ever had the feeling wherein you just slept and woke up all blank? Without any dream and dozed off, that is what we call deep sleep. So, what are you? Snorlax from Pokémon? Or Kumbh Karan from Raavan? Anyways, to know more, let's scrutinize deep sleep in deep.
Waking up all muzzy and not being able to think accurately is what happens when you are in a deep sleep. So, what exactly is it? Deep sleep is also called slow-wave-sleep, wherein one's body automatically slows down while in sleep, which in turn contrasts to REM, that is rapid eye moment sleep, and thus, to know more about this, let's understand these terminologies precisely.
There are a lot of things that happen when we are in a sound sleep or dreaming about Hawaii. Thus, let's know what exactly goes on when we are in the process. But before that, let's get familiar with REM and NREM.(Goodenough, D.R., Lewis, H.B., Shapiro, A., Jaret, L. and Sleser, I., 1965)
Now that we are aware of REM and NREM let's look at the stages of sleep.
There are about four stages of sleep wherein one goes through the cycle of REM and NREM, which starts through:
This is the stage that lingers between sleeping and being awake; people are usually well aware of what is going on in the surroundings, wherein you shut your eyes but are still sharp and about to fall into a deep sleep. During this phase, your body reacts as follows-
Thus, now that you are half asleep, let's see what happens when we fall asleep.
This is the process where you are about to go into a deep sleep or more like the preparation period where your body goes through certain changes, namely:
Hence, this is what happens in stage two; now that we are about to go into a deep sleep, let's know what happens in stage three before we go zzz.
This is the phase where one doesn't know what is going on and is into blank sleep and thus is also called delta sleep, wherein the slow brain waves occur. During this process, the body tends to go through the following procedure:
Thus, this is what happens when in a deep sleep. It usually gets challenging to wake up from this sleep; however, NREM thus shifts to the fourth stage that is REM.
This is the stage wherein your brain kick starts its activity and might thus lead to light sleep. As previously mentioned, this stage usually occurs for about 90 mins. Therefore, let's see what goes on in this sleep:
Thus, this is what goes around when you reach the fourth stage and lead to the phase of awareness.
Hence, the stages are as follows stage 1 NREM, stage 2 NREM, stage 3 NREM, STAGE 4 REM, and stage 5 awareness.
Therefore, these are the stages of sleep, but why is it important? To know more, let's dive right into it.
Deep sleep is important is an aspect that keeps us refreshed when we wake up and re-energizes our body, which gives us strength to do activities and mental stability. Thus, let's know more about it in depth.
Deep sleep is vital as it not only refreshes our body but also gives us strength and energy to perform the activities. But how does this happen? When our bodies are in stages, there are a lot of activities that our body goes through. Such as
Thus, these are the few reasons why sleep is essential. Now that we are well-versed with what happens in the rest, let's come to an end.(Meisner, D. and Wenisch, T.F., 2012)
As it is very well quoted by Thomas Dekker, an American actor saying, "sleep is like the golden chain that binds our health and body together" thus, as sleep is also called beauty sleep, it stands by its name as it, therefore, makes our bodies healthy and beautiful.