What is REM sleep?

REM sleep is Rapid Eye Movement sleep.

The eye movements that occur during REM sleep suggest that the dreaming process is similar to watching a film.

REM dreams are visual, usually containing involved and complicated plots whereas non-REM dreams tend to be based on thoughts that can be repetitive and obsessive – like worrying about something that you’ve lost during the day.

The most intense dream period occurs in the early hours of the morning.

Some people suffer from REM behaviour disorder. During REM sleep, most of us are unable to move. However people with the REM disorder may dramatically act out their dreams and injure themselves or others.

Why do we need REM sleep?

REM sleep helps the brain to construct long-term memories.  Information you have learnt, absorbed and acquired during the day is consolidated during this stage of sleep. This makes learning easier.

REM sleep also helps with the development of the central nervous system whichgoverns our reaction and sensitivity to physical pain.

Sleep, Dreams and Depression

Studies have shown that some people with depression may pass too quickly from Stage 3 and 4 into the REM stage of sleep. The REM stage of sleep for people with depressive disorders may last too long and can be much more intense.

This then affects the way that they construct their emotional memories and can make them prone to focusing more on painful memories and events during their waking hours.

Tests have shown that different types of meditation may help to ease some of the problems that are associated with depression and lack of sleep.

Guided meditation may be suitable for people who find it a challenge to quieten their minds.  With guided meditation, you carry out the process whilst listening to instructions as you go along, sometimes with a teacher or alternatively with an audio recording.

Listen to a short free sample meditation which is aimed at relaxing the body, mind and spirit.

To access the meditation, enter your email address in the box below:

Our Sleep Cycle: The Science Behind Sleep

The following excerpt is adapted from my ebook Banish Insomnia Now:

There are five stages of sleep.

Stage 1

This is a period of Light Sleep when you can easily be woken. Your eye and body movements slow down during this stage.

Stage 2

After about ten minutes of light sleep, we tend to move into Stage 2 where the brainwaves move slower and eye movements cease. The heart rate slows down and the body’s temperature decreases.

Stage 3

The period of deep sleep begins. During this stage, the brainwaves alternate between very slow and faster movements.

Exercise during the day helps to promote this stage of sleep. This is the rejuvenating stage of sleep that helps us to feel refreshed when we wake up in the morning.

This stage of sleep also releases the growth hormone in children.

Stage 4

This is the period of deepest sleep when the brain produces slow moving delta waves.

During deep sleep, the cortex, which is the largest part of the brain, enters a stage of recovery. The cortex helps to govern thought and action.

If we miss out on this stage of deep sleep, we are liable to wake up feeling moody, forgetful and irritable. Our concentration will be poor and we will be unable to give proper attention to tasks.

Sleepwalking, bedwetting and “sleep terror” may begin from this stage of sleep.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine combine Stages 3 and 4 into one category called Slow Wave Sleep.

Stage 5

This is the period of REM sleep when dreaming occurs. It starts about 90 minutes after we fall asleep.

During this period, we breathe faster and our eyes begin to move rapidly (hence the name Rapid Eye Movement sleep). Our brain activity intensifies and our muscles become motionless.

Dreams during the REM sleep stage tend to be very visual with the most vivid dreams occuring during the early hours of the morning.

REM sleep takes up about 20-25% of our sleeping time.

We should pass through the non-dream and dream stages of the sleep cycle about five times a night, although this varies from individual to individual.

To read more, purchase my ebook: Banish Insomnia Now.

Banish Insomnia Now Ebook

Learn to beat insomnia without drugs, pills or side effects. Natural remedies. A holistic approach. Instant download. Delivered by email.

Price: £7.97

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If you’d like general information about how to get fall asleep naturally, register for a free web seminar series made up of short audio and video presentations with tips for getting more sleep. To register, enter your email address in the form below:

HO’OPONOPONO song

Ho’oponopono Song for Healing

How a Stressed PA Beat Insomnia

Magda (not her real name) was 32 years old when she began to suffer from insomnia.

She was frustrated because she couldn’t get more than four hours sleep a night.

Read how Magda was able to go from sleeping less than four hours a night to sleeping for up to seven hours  just by adopting a few simple techniques.

The material includes a partial transcript from one of Magda’s coaching sessions plus an overview of the step-by-step process that Magda used to get herself to fall asleep naturally and easily.

To read the Case Study in full, click here:

http://ways-to-sleep.com/info/stressed-PA-beats-insomnia.pdf

Insomnia: The Fears and Frustrations

Here are some of the common challenges that people with sleeping difficulties experience.

If you have problems with sleeping deprivation, do any of the following fears and frustrations apply to you?

Frustrations

Many people with insomnia report an inability to switch off at the end of the day. They are unable to stop racing thoughts. Some are constantly “hyped up”  and mentally overstimulated. Others feel the need to burn the candle at both ends.

Even though some people feel constantly tired, they cannot sleep and then they have no energy during the day.

When they do manage to fall asleep, the slightest sound wakes them up again.

They feel very isolated because they spend nights lying awake while everyone else that they live with is asleep. A major issue is that the debilitating nature of sleep deprivation is sometimes not understood or is underestimated by the people around them.

They often feel obliged to paper over the cracks with prescribed medication as this seems to be the quickest way to get sleep but are worried that it may become habit-forming.

They feel constantly stressed due to lack of sleep.

They worry about the bags or dark circles around their eyes, feeling haggard and ageing prematurely.

Fears

Sleep deprivation affects the mood. Some fear the impact that their mood swings may have on their children, partners or family members.

They may worry that they could develop a psychological condition such as depression. Others have heard anecdotes about people who start hallucinating after a long period of chronic insomnia and they worry that the same thing could happen to them.

They also fear developing problems related to their physical health due to lack of sleep.

A big concern is that they may fall asleep at the wrong time such as at work during the day, when operating machinery or when they are driving.

They fear of making serious mistakes in the workplace that could cost them their career.

If they usually have bad dreams, they are afraid to go to sleep in case they experience nightmares.

Some people have somnophobia which is a fear of the act of sleeping itself.

Natural Solutions

These fears and frustrations can create a vicious circle as the more people worry about their situation, the more difficult it is for their brainwave frequencies to slow down and initate the sleep state.

There are many natural solutions that can help with sleeping difficulties.

Physical relaxation techniques and guided self-hypnosis can help to bypass the anxieties and fears that can prevent us from entering the sleep state.

To find out more about training the brain to enter the sleep state, visit the Guided Meditations page and find out about three guided meditation recordings that can help to induce physical relaxation, stress relief and sleep.

Meditations for Sleep, Stress Relief and Relaxation

Get a Free Guided Meditation

Meditation is a great way to help you to relax, sleep or release stress. But it can be a challenge to quiet down our minds to enter the focused state of meditation.

Guided meditations can often help with this sort of difficulty.

You can listen to a short sample guided meditation for relaxing your body, mind and spirit.

To access the free guided meditation, enter your email address in the form below: