Frequency of changes between sleep stages?

How many times is it normal to have stage shifts in sleep?

I had a sleep study done and it said I had 53 stage shifts and no Delta sleep, total sleep time was 394 minutes, REM sleep accountd for 13.1% of that time in two distinct periods; and predominated by stage 2 sleep. The report also said I have prolonged REM latency of 224 minutes.

Can anyone help shed some light on how often "normal" people change states in sleep?

I've already read the page here at dreamviews about the stages of sleep, but I didn't see any clear information on how often it is normal to shift between stages.

Thank you.

Hey, welcome back to the site! (For those of you who don't know, HardAnxiety was the second person to join this place after myself.) Oh, btw, I used to be "icedawg."

As for your question: that's a tough one. My scope of knowledge on the subject extends not much further from the page here. I'm surprised you skip delta sleep; I didn't think that was really possible, because the stages lead into each other. I'm also surprised that you only had 2 REM periods within the timespan of 6.5 hours. What sort of effect does all that have on you, if you know?

As for the normal number of stage shifts, as stated here the cycle repeats itself every 90 to 100 minutes. In each cycle there are 4 preliminary stages, and they occur in order and then quickly reverse before the first REM. So, I guess if you consider entering stage 1 a shift, that's 4 in total when moving in order; then 4 more when moving backwards and entering REM. So, 8 shifts every 90 or so minutes. Of course, I don't know how accurate that really is. Just a guess. :)

again, welcome back.

Thanks for the welcome! :D I haven't posted in a long time, but do occasionally come back to read up on things. I haven't posted much yet because sleep problems are preventing me from effectively doing my lucid dreaming like I used to do... I know how to do it effectively from past experience, but with my anxiety disorder, and medications and other problems, I haven't been able to get back to lucid dreaming yet... anyway I guess that's just a short way of saying why I haven't been a frequent poster, and thanks for remembering me! :)

Anyway, to reply to your question of how my REM periods effect me, well, I do seem to dream a lot before waking. My dreams are vivid, I am just on the edge of being able to control some events on my dream in subtle ways, but nothing near what I used to be able to do. I am almost always able to recall my dreams, without having to use a journal anymore, that ability still remains from my previous experiencs of using lucid dreaming techniques. But I do often feel "haunted" by my dreams for hours after waking, often my dreams are about people I care about, it is difficult to put the dream content aside and focus on my daily activities. When I awake, it takes a long time, often hours, to fully awake and be alert and aware of my surroundings. :?

When I wake up, I feel no more refreshed than I do when I fall asleep, ninety percent of the time or more, I feel groggy all the time. Partly from meds and my disorder and such, partly because I don't go through normal sleep stages, partly has something to do with diet and excerices and stuff like that too, they all contribute.

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Originally posted by HardAnxiety
Thanks for the welcome! :D I haven't posted in a long time, but do occasionally come back to read up on things. I haven't posted much yet because sleep problems are preventing me from effectively doing my lucid dreaming like I used to do... I know how to do it effectively from past experience, but with my anxiety disorder, and medications and other problems, I haven't been able to get back to lucid dreaming yet... anyway I guess that's just a short way of saying why I haven't been a frequent poster, and thanks for remembering me! :)

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haha. well thanks for checking in every now and then. i seem to go through fazes of sleeplessness, depending on what is going on in my life at the time. for the past couple months i've been having a lot of trouble sleeping, so it's been a while since i've had a LD.

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Anyway, to reply to your question of how my REM periods effect me, well, I do seem to dream a lot before waking. My dreams are vivid, I am just on the edge of being able to control some events on my dream in subtle ways, but nothing near what I used to be able to do. I am almost always able to recall my dreams, without having to use a journal anymore, that ability still remains from my previous experiencs of using lucid dreaming techniques. But I do often feel \"haunted\" by my dreams for hours after waking, often my dreams are about people I care about, it is difficult to put the dream content aside and focus on my daily activities. When I awake, it takes a long time, often hours, to fully awake and be alert and aware of my surroundings. :?
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perhaps if your dreams are haunting you that much you should try to get yourself out of the habit of remembering them? that may sound strange, but if one can will one's self to remember his or her dreams, then the opposite is true as well. i dunno. it's likely a case of your anxiety affecting your dreams; perhaps you could benefit from attempting to practice dream control once again? or, try to clear your mind of apprehensiveness while falling asleep, and think of pleasant and serene settings and situations.

If you have no Delta Sleep that sounds odd. Maybe you were anxious that night and didn't get delta sleep. that is the deepest sleep, where your body replenishes the most. that is likely why you feel groggy! It seems that the institution that did your sudy should be able to provide averages.

I think I almost want that ability...

How did you figure out you have no delta sleep?

I found I had no delta sleep by having a sleep study done at a nearby hospital, you can usually get refered to a sleep study by your regular doctor.

Personally, I find it hard to believe I NEVER have any delta sleep, my guess would be that just most nights I don't have delta sleep, and that is why I feel so groggy.