When does the REM sleep occur?

**Zelzahim** · 12-26-2011 08:42 PM

As the title says, does there exist some kind of chart when every REM begins and ends?
Since im a heavy sleeper, it would be perfect for me to wake up between each. It doesnt have to be too exact eighter.

Ev · 12-26-2011 11:36 PM

Hey,

The term that you are looking for is "Hypnogram". The trouble is that it is very personal, so images online would not help you much. Your REM episodes are determined by your diet, your body type, your genetics and the supplements you do or do not take. Check out figure 2 in this article: Sleep EEG study in healthy twins

I've been doing a little research into this question on my own, the results are summarized in this thread: http://www.dreamviews.com/f32/sleep-...search-125737/ . In short, the REM episodes slide over the course of the night, and I don't know the exact cause for that yet. There are some times when you are more likely to be dreaming, but it's not certain! If you have an iPhone, you can use the app that I'm referencing here to get better insight into your sleep cycles: App Store - Singularity Experience

I figured I'll post the image here:

**Zelzahim** · 12-27-2011 03:58 PM

Thank you very much! No, i dont own a Iphone sadly

i guess ill follow your links and do some research myself, because its not very pleasant to be waken in the middle of a rem.

Ev · 12-27-2011 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by Zelzahim

Thank you very much! No, i dont own a Iphone sadly

i guess ill follow your links and do some research myself, because its not very pleasant to be waken in the middle of a rem.

Waking up from REM is actually not so bad. The app woke me up today, and I even had a dream recall and a boner to confirm the REM state

**lifeinsteps** · 12-27-2011 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by Ev

Waking up from REM is actually not so bad. The app woke me up today, and I even had a dream recall and a boner to confirm the REM state

Haha, as far as I understand, waking up during REM cycle or very soon after is the easiest way to remember your dreams.

At OP, though, Ev has pretty much summed it up. It's very different for each person, and while your nights will be similar, there will be some minor differences from night to night. The best way to find out yours would be to have an app analyze them. But since you don't have an iPhone, you could always have someone watch you sleep and record your REM cycles, or record yourself and record them on your own.

REM is characterized by high brain-activity. You'll be moving around a little and you might even start to twitch a bit and move about a little. If you record your eyes though, with some way to see the time in the video, you'll be able to get fairly accurate readings of your REM cycles just by watching yourself and taking note of when each cycle starts and ends. Then you can assume they happen near those times on most nights, as long as your sleep schedule stays mostly the same from day to day.

**Zelzahim** · 12-27-2011 09:18 PM

Originally Posted by Ev

and I even had a dream recall and a boner to confirm the REM state

lol'd pretty hard on that one.
Anyway, the reason i wake up between each is more to make me not sleep so deep, rather than recall. Well well, if i can ill try record myself. Isnt there any app like that for Android? Because ill probably buy one soon.