Most people associate Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep with a period of sleep in which dreams are most vivid. While this is often the case, there is much more to REM sleep than dreams.
Most people never think about sleep cycles until they begin feeling the impact of not getting an adequate amount of sleep. In fact, there are some people who only know of REM sleep because they hear about it in movies, read about it in books, or watch shows on television that mention it. However, they have little knowledge of what it means or how different sleep cycles impact their mental and physical health and well-being.
If your bed looks like a war zone when you wake up, then you may be suffering from the sleep-related parasomnia disorder known as Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, or PLMD. Another clue of the disorder is thread bare spots on your bedsheets in the area that you normally position your feet. While anyone can suffer from the disorder, it is more common in middle- and older-aged people.
Sleep is composed of natural sleep cycles of brain activity, and is made up of two basic phases with individual stages within. These include rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.
What is Non REM Sleep?
Non REM sleep occurs during the first four sleep phases, and before REM sleep, which is the final stage before the sleep cycle repeats itself. On average each stage lasts from five to 15 minutes. A typical night’s sleep is comprised of 75% non-REM sleep and 25% REM sleep.