Feeling Tired after you wake up? It could be because trying to sneak in a few more "snooze" minutes might make you more tired. But, if I am sleeping more minutes, how can that be?
I went to a Day-Long seminar on Restless Leg Syndrome, Depression and Sleep Disorders in Peoria. While Mommy enjoyed a day-off..I really did learn alot.
One of the interesting things I learned, is about sleep cycles. The study of sleep is extremely complicated....but there are some basics that made sense. There are 5 re-curring stages of sleep, and we go through all of the stages a few times a night.
Stage I: 5-10min of drowsiness, if awakened, you might have thought you never went to sleep.
Stage II: Light Sleep, easily arousable. Heart Rate and Body Temp start to decrease to prepare for deep sleep. I think this is the stage my husband is in when we are watching a movie together!
Stage III & IV: Sleep is Deep, with IV being deeper. Your eyes are not rapidly moving yet (REM).
{Stage I-IV lasts about 90min-120min long total}
{A POWER NAP (about 20min) will get you through Stage I-II and usually makes you feel rested, if you wake up before the Deep Sleep stages }
Stage V "REM": (Rapid Eye Movement) Rapid breathing, increased heart rate, brain activity etc. This is when begin dreaming! Your dreams seem so real, that you may want to act them out..and so your body is temporarily "paralyzed" so you don't move about. It is believe that REM is when you have body restoration, healing, learning, memory and concentration basics. The time in REM varies, but Babies and Elderly have the greatest time spent in REM sleep. Jealous!
Everyone varies, and every night varies, as far as how long a person is in each stage. But, regardless of how long you spend in each stage, you do still have to complete each one in order, everytime. You may complete all 5 stages, many times in one night. You may remember your dreams, and maybe you never do. (I almost always get to! but my Husband never does... lucky me! I kinda think its because he wakes up to an alarm, and I do not*)
When you are awakened by an alarm every morning, you rush right out of REM sleep and are awake. When you hit "SNOOZE" you are back to the beginnning of Stage I. Those 5-10minutes of snoozing, do not allow you to complete your 5 stages of sleep, and therefore you keep waking up and keep starting all over again. Messing with your sleep stages, is enough to make you wake up and not feel Rested.
If you want to feel more rested, set your alarm for the time you need to get up, and when it goes off, turn it off and actually stay UP. I think you would be surprised at how much better you will feel!
*Please note, it is not because I sleep-in that I do not wake up to an alarm. Its because, I always wake up at the same time everyday, 7:30. I just do. Anyone can train themselves to wake up at the same everyday too! Its pretty cool if it works. Thats another topic!
Happy Sleeping!!
