Thread: REM! How do I know when mine is?

Well apart from going to one of those sleep clinics or whatever they are called... you will just have to experiment. I highly doubt that you personally will have REM after 2-3 hours. Typically that only happens if the person hadn't slept at all the previous night or something.

If you want you could have someone sit there and watch you sleep.. REM is characterised by rapid eye movements.

I would...except I doubt anyone I know would be willing to sit their all night while I sleep. But there are sleep clinics you say? Ill have to look into that. Or just experiment.

There are five stages of sleep, four non-REM stages and the REM stage. Stage 1 sleep, or drowsiness, is often described as first in the sequence, especially in models where waking is not included. There is a 50% reduction in activity between wakefulness and stage 1 sleep. The eyes are closed during Stage 1 sleep, but if aroused from it, a person may feel as if he or she has not slept. Stage 1 may last for five to 10 minutes.

Stage 2 is a period of light sleep the heart rate slows, and body temperature decreases. At this point, the body prepares to enter deep sleep.

Stages 3 and 4 are deep sleep stages, with Stage 4 being more intense than Stage 3. These stages are known as slow-wave, or delta, sleep.

The period of non-REM (NREM) sleep is comprised of Stages 1-4 and lasts from 90 to 120 minutes, each stage lasting anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. Surprisingly, however, Stages 2 and 3 repeat backwards before REM sleep is attained. So, a normal sleep cycle has this pattern: waking, stage 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM. Usually, REM sleep occurs 90 minutes after sleep onset.

Stage 5, REM sleep is distinguishable from NREM sleep by changes in physiological states, including its characteristic rapid eye movements. Intense dreaming occurs during REM sleep as a result of heightened cerebral activity, but paralysis occurs simultaneously in the major voluntary muscle groups. The first period of REM typically lasts 10 minutes, with each recurring REM stage lengthening, and the final one lasting an hour.