What Does a Healthy Sleep Pattern Look Like?

If you’ve been reading our blog on a regular basis you already know that sleep is vital to your physical, emotional, and mental health. You don’t just need to sleep; you need to sleep well. How can you tell whether or not you’re doing so?  On average, adults should get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night, but even those needs vary individually. For example, some people feel best with eight consecutive hours of sleep, while others do well with seven hours at night and a daytime nap. 

What does Normal Sleep Look Like? 

Here are some statements about your sleep. If these apply to you, it’s a good sign that your sleep is on track.

#1 You fall asleep within 15 to 20 minutes of lying down to sleep.

#2 You always or almost always sleep a total of seven or eight hours in a 24-hour period.

#3 Your sleep is continuous, without long periods of lying awake or tossing and turning.

#4 You wake up feeling refreshed.

#5 You feel alert and are able to be fully productive throughout the waking hours. 

#6 Your sleeping partner does not notice any disturbing or out of the ordinary behavior from you while you are asleep. These include snoring, pauses in breathing, and restlessness.

Did most or even all of these sound familiar? Great! This is a good sign that your sleep is on track. If you notice one or a few of these that don’t apply to you, it is important to look into this further. Let’s begin by discussing your sleep cycle. 

Understanding Sleep Cycles at Night 

There are four different stages of sleep; each is important and each is unique. These are Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3, and REM sleep. This cycle doesn’t occur just once. It repeats itself as you sleep throughout the night. If you get a full night of sleep, you will go through each stage up to five times.

Deep Sleep is extremely important to a person’s overall health, because it’s during this sleep stage in which the body naturally heals itself. During Stage 3, your body replaces cells, heals wounds, and builds muscle tissue. Your immune system also gets a boost in this stage.

You generally enter Rapid Eye Movement, or REM, sleep about 90 minutes after initially falling asleep. During this final phase of sleep, your brain becomes more active and dreams occur. That’s not all that is happening, though. REM sleep restores your brain and is important for your learning as well as your memory. This is when your brain consolidates and processes information from the passing day in order to store it in your long-term memory, meaning this stage plays a very important role.

While all four are important in their own way, the most vital to your health and happiness are Stage 3 (Deep Sleep) and REM. If you are restless and wake up early, these important stages are the ones you’re missing out on!

Why Disruptions are Unhealthy

Let’s say you lay in bed for a total of 10 hours. However, every hour you wake up for 15 minutes and then fall back asleep and start Stage 1 all over again. You can probably already guess how you’d feel in the morning. Waking up before you get the Deep Sleep and REM your body requires means you aren’t getting the right quantity of good sleep, even if the clock says it’s been enough time. If you’re waking up throughout the night, you may only be entering the first few stages each time and that’s a big problem! Our bodies require sleep in order to maintain proper function and health. If you’re moving around during sleep and waking up, it is quite possible you need a better mattress! 

Choosing a high-quality mattress made from top-tier materials is crucial if you want a positive, restful experience. Quality materials and construction also ensure you’ll get a durable, reliable product that’s worth the money and will last as long as you’d like it to. PranaSleep luxury mattresses feature varying densities of our proprietary blend of Talalay latex foam- providing core and comfort layers with firm, yet supple support that are uniquely comforting and conforming to your body’s individual curves. This means our mattresses are both soft and supportive. Our mattresses also feature other luxurious materials to enhance every aspect of your sleep experience. For instance, our Om Collection features natural silk, wool, and cashmere, as well as a core and comfort layers composed of this 100% natural Talalay latex. Our Karma Collection is made from high-quality, individually-wrapped coils that are ideal for stomach sleepers and those who like a firm sleep surface. We also have an Organics Collection, featuring high-quality, eco-friendly mattresses. 

Our bodies are programmed to sleep each night as a means of restoring our physical health, immune system, and brain power. That is why it is so important to give your body everything it needs in order to sleep well. Everyone needs a supportive and high-quality mattress, as well as pillows that cradle your head and neck properly. Others may have more individual needs, like an adjustable bed base to raise them up and keep them from snoring.

If you think you’re waking up too often throughout the night and therefore not entering REM the way you need to, don’t let another night go by without giving your body the rest and rejuvenation it needs. Look into buying a new premium PranaSleep mattress! A high-quality, premium mattress made by a well-known luxury brand means more time in your needed sleep cycles and healthier sleep. It’s what your body craves and what you deserve!