A sleep-cycle-related question

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 (the body could logically assume that I'm done sleeping for the night), 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 I 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 very grateful.

Cheers

I don't know much about the science on this....but I know that I woke up in the middle of the night and before that had a dream and I fell asleep after 10 minutes then and had another sleep which didn't seem to be less longer. Anyway if you are doing this on purpose waking up please don't and if you just wake up it's okay :)

Well, I do it on purpose so that I can consciously enter another dream OBE-style.

I'd like to find out if the brain sort of keeps track of the stages it has already been through, and knows that it's not supposed to start fresh with the first cycle, but pick up where it left off, that is with the third cycle (I want to know if the next cycle is going to provide a longer lasting dream environment, or the first cycle - where there's not much REM sleep - is going to kick in for the second time). I suppose it does that through some chemistry which changes with every cycle, and just like when you're running and feel tired, you know there's no going back: you can only become more tired; you can't just rest for a few minutes and you're as fresh as when you began. [Not exactly the most accurate metaphor, but still ;) ]

Karloky, you seem to have woken up in the middle of a dream and it continued when you went back to sleep. But I don't know if you just lay there after you woke up or moved around a little bit. If the first is true, then I guess that's what's expected. I'm talking about a situation where you get out of bed and seemingly start your day. That should confuse your mind just enough. But again, maybe the brain remembers how much you sleep on average and doesn't get fooled? I don't know. That's why I'm seeking help ;)

Cheers