{"id":3472,"date":"2024-10-11T00:24:09","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T00:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/?p=3472"},"modified":"2024-11-23T00:26:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T00:26:02","slug":"stages-of-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"The Stages of Slumber: The Different Types of Sleep and Why They\u2019re Important"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg\" alt=\"Lady sleeps\" class=\"wp-image-3473\" style=\"width:306px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Everyone loves a good night\u2019s sleep, but many people don\u2019t have an accurate idea of how sleep works. After you close your eyes for the evening, your brain cycles through four distinct phases, and each one plays a different role in how the body heals and recovers after a day\u2019s activities. Three of these stages are categorized as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, or quiet sleep, and the last one is called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, or active sleep. Here\u2019s a brief guide to each of these stages and why they are so <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/sleep-apnea-treatment.html\">important for your health<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NREM Stage 1: Dozing Off<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first stage of sleep is NREM stage 1, and it is the transitional phase between the waking state and sleep. If you\u2019ve ever awakened a sleeper only for them to claim that they were not asleep, it is quite likely that they were in this stage. During NREM stage 1, several things happen in the body:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Brain activity slows down<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Heartbeat, eye movement, and breathing rate decrease<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Muscles relax and may twitch<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This stage lasts for only about five to ten minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NREM Stage 2: Light Sleep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You spend about half of your time sleeping in NREM stage 2, which lasts for about twenty minutes a cycle. During this stage, the brain produces a rapid series of rhythmic bursts of activity, which are also called sleep spindles. Scientists believe that this is part of the process of memory consolidation, during which your brain organizes the data gathered from the day\u2019s experiences. During NREM Stage 2, a few changes happen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The sleeper becomes less aware of their surroundings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Their body temperature falls<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eye movements cease<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The heart rate and breathing patterns become regular<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NREM Stage 3: Deep Sleep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>During NREM stage 3, the body recovers from the stress of the previous day while the brain continues to consolidate memories. A person in NREM stage 3 sleep will experience the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Complete muscle relaxation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Decreased blood pressure and breathing rate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Becoming much harder to wake up<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">REM Sleep: Dreaming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The REM stage begins roughly 90 minutes after you fall asleep, and it involves increased brain activity while the muscles are immobilized. The sleeping brain most closely resembles its awake self during REM sleep, and this stage is when sleepers experience dreams. During this stage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The brain experiences a flurry of activity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The body relaxes and becomes temporarily paralyzed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Breathing patterns become faster and more irregular<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The eyes move rapidly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists believe that the brain uses REM sleep to process emotions and solidify information into memories. The body also heals, restores its muscle and bone tissue, and bolsters its immune system during this stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sleep apnea is a condition that can interrupt your sleep more than one hundred times in a single night, which greatly diminishes the body\u2019s ability to spend ample time in each of these stages for optimum rest. If you have trouble staying asleep throughout the night, your dentist may be able to help you breathe easier and rest more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Beck Dental Care of Columbia offers comprehensive oral healthcare as well as sleep apnea treatments to the Columbia community. Led by Drs. Matthew Hart, Kyle Williams, and Philip Matthews, the staff treats each patient with utmost courtesy and sincere compassion in a clean and welcoming office environment. Areas of expertise include general, restorative, and cosmetic dentistry as well as oral appliance therapy. If you suspect that you have sleep apnea, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/contact-us.html\">contact the office online<\/a> or dial <strong>(931) 388-8452<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everyone loves a good night\u2019s sleep, but many people don\u2019t have an accurate idea of how sleep works. After you close your eyes for the evening, your brain cycles through four distinct phases, and each one plays a different role in how the body heals and recovers after a day\u2019s activities. Three of these stages [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Are The Stages Of Sleep? | Beck Dental Care of Columbia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A good night\u2019s sleep can be divided into several different stages. Here\u2019s a brief guide to each stage and what it does for your overall health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"What Are The Stages Of Sleep? | Beck Dental Care of Columbia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"A good night\u2019s sleep can be divided into several different stages. Here\u2019s a brief guide to each stage and what it does for your overall health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"drbeck\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1634cfb25a27567d83d40b5036e351e9\"},\"headline\":\"The Stages of Slumber: The Different Types of Sleep and Why They\u2019re Important\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-11T00:24:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-23T00:26:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":596,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/\",\"name\":\"What Are The Stages Of Sleep? | Beck Dental Care of Columbia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-11T00:24:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-23T00:26:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1634cfb25a27567d83d40b5036e351e9\"},\"description\":\"A good night\u2019s sleep can be divided into several different stages. Here\u2019s a brief guide to each stage and what it does for your overall health.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/stages-of-sleep\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Stages of Slumber: The Different Types of Sleep and Why They\u2019re Important\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Beck Dental Care Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.beckdentalcare.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1634cfb25a27567d83d40b5036e351e9\",\"name\":\"drbeck\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Are The Stages Of Sleep? | Beck Dental Care of Columbia","description":"A good night\u2019s sleep can be divided into several different stages. Here\u2019s a brief guide to each stage and what it does for your overall health.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"What Are The Stages Of Sleep? | Beck Dental Care of Columbia","twitter_description":"A good night\u2019s sleep can be divided into several different stages. Here\u2019s a brief guide to each stage and what it does for your overall health.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/"},"author":{"name":"drbeck","@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1634cfb25a27567d83d40b5036e351e9"},"headline":"The Stages of Slumber: The Different Types of Sleep and Why They\u2019re Important","datePublished":"2024-10-11T00:24:09+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-23T00:26:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/"},"wordCount":596,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/","name":"What Are The Stages Of Sleep? | Beck Dental Care of Columbia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-11T00:24:09+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-23T00:26:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1634cfb25a27567d83d40b5036e351e9"},"description":"A good night\u2019s sleep can be divided into several different stages. Here\u2019s a brief guide to each stage and what it does for your overall health.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/AdobeStock_566920832__1714513055_85680.jpg","width":800,"height":533},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/stages-of-sleep\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Stages of Slumber: The Different Types of Sleep and Why They\u2019re Important"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/","name":"Beck Dental Care Blog","description":"","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1634cfb25a27567d83d40b5036e351e9","name":"drbeck"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3472"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3474,"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3472\/revisions\/3474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beckdentalcare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}