Sleep cycles

**Radek** · 08-11-2012 07:07 PM

Hi

For a long time I've been pondering a sleep-related problem. I wish there was someone who could shed some light on the subject. The problem is this:

Let's say I go to bed at 0-00 and sleep for three hours and a quarter (which corresponds to 2 full sleep cycles: stages 1 through 3 of Non-REM sleep and REM sleep). I wake up, stay awake for a half hour, then go to sleep again. Now:

*What happens when I fall asleep again? Since I spent some time being awake again, is the entire process going to start again? I mean... Let me explain.

During the first full sleep cycle, there is little REM sleep, like 5 or 10 minutes. In the next cycle it is expanded. (after which I wake up and stay awake for a half hour). If didn't wake up, yet another cycle would occur with still more REM sleep, maybe 20-25 minutes.

*But, since I disrupted the continuity of the cycles, is my mind going to start over, beginning again with the cycle with the least REM sleep?

*Or, is it somehow going to know where it left off, pick up there and continue with the third cycle where there's about 20-25 minutes of REM sleep?

If someone could help me out with this, I would be so grateful.
Cheers

**melanieb** · 08-11-2012 09:34 PM

It might help to look at this:

File:Sleep Hypnogram.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You go in and out of the stages in a sequence several times a night. If you do wake you will still go through the stages.

I found that here: Sleep - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Radek** · 08-12-2012 06:38 AM

Thanks for your reply.

I don't usually go to Wikipedia to read bigger articles, just when I want to check some name or something like that. To tell you the truth, I haven't found anything that would help me with my problem there.

You say I will still go through the stages if I wake up and go back to bed. Sure. That's something I didn't have doubts about. I don't suppose the sleep will just cease after I wake up

What I wanted to know is whether I'm going to go through the 3rd cycle (after having gone through the previous two and having woken up and STAYED UP FOR A WHILE - this is very important). And if so, how do the mind know where to start again, since I was awake for a while (maybe even a longer while, but not too long).