Sleep: Are you REM deficient?

Sleep is a natural cycle that all humans share. This simple act is incredibly powerful, supporting multiple systems and bodily functions. It's foundational for our health and wellbeing, and we can gain a lot by improving our sleep, including;

⦁ Immune system function

⦁ Tissue repair

⦁ Ageing

⦁ Pain perception

⦁ Hormone production and regulation

⦁ Mental capacity - focus, learning, memory

⦁ Mental health

Despite sleep being such a natural part of our 24-hour circadian rhythm, many people have difficulty sleeping well. Sometimes this is due external factors, like a newborn baby waking during the night, shift work or noisy neighbours. There are many people however that don't have these external factors who suffer from insomnia (difficulty falling asleep), waking during the night, excessive dreams/nightmares, hot sweats, sleep apnea or waking during the night to urinate.

People who don't sleep well are often acutely aware of it, and may even have anxiety around their restless nights. There are also many people who may not be aware that they are suffering from poor quality sleep, they just wonder why they are tired all the time. Poor quality sleep may contribute to issues or worsen their symptoms (e.g. fibromyalgia, poor memory).

Sleep Cycles = Sleep Quality

I used to think that sleep was only about quantity and that as long as I was unconscious for eight hours then I would be golden, but this isn't the full picture. While we are asleep dynamic sleep cycles are occurring, and it's these sleep cycles that are the key to quality sleep. Have you ever woken up tired after getting your eight hours? Perhaps your sleep cycles are being disturbed and you're not accessing two of the five stages of sleep that are critical to wellbeing - deep sleep and REM Sleep.

While we are asleep we move through a different sleep cycle every ninety minutes to two hours, so in an average seven to nine hours of sleep we could move through four to six sleep cycles each night. Each cycle has a longer period of REM. If the sleep cycle is disrupted (eg; waking up at 3am) the overall cycle starts again. If you don't get the longer REM sleep, over time we will become REM deficient.

Reference: The Stages of Sleep

Deep Sleep

During deep sleep our blood pressure and body temperature drops and our brain activity is low. Lots of cellular activity occurs during deep sleep and tissues are repaired - this is where the term "beauty sleep" comes from. During deep sleep the following is occurring;

⦁ Immune cells are active

⦁ Body produces hormones

⦁ Tissues alkalise

⦁ We breathe out more CO2

⦁ Wounds heal

⦁ Build muscle

⦁ Discs repair

⦁ Detoxification - elimination organs like kidneys and intestines are active at night

REM Sleep

During REM sleep we have an increase in eye movement, heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and temperature. On average we move into REM around 90 minutes after feeling sleepy. REM sleep is a more active stage of sleep than deep sleep where we are more alert and where dreaming occurs. Part of dreaming is processing what we have learned that day, ascribing meaning to events and hard wiring learned skills into the brain. REM sleep supports;

⦁ Mental health - REM deficiency can exacerbate mental health conditions such as depression, psychosis, anxiety and post-natal depression

⦁ Hormonal Balance - which in turn affects mood and pain perception

⦁ Memory

⦁ Learning

⦁ Understanding meaning

Reference: Sleep Basics - Cleveland Clinic

How to cultivate healthy REM Sleep

• Sleep Habits - develop a consistent bedtime, create a calm and comfortable sleeping environment including a good room temperature, which should be between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius for adults

• Light - minimise blue light (e.g. computers, phones, TV) before bed as it send a signal to your brain that it is the middle of day not night time. Use candlelight and low lighting at least an hour from bedtime, but ideally from sundown

• Reduce stimulants (e.g. caffeine, alcohol, smoking)

• Calm your sympathetic nervous system (SNS) - an activated SNS makes us more alert and makes it more difficult to fall asleep. We can be more sensitive to noise and may sleep lighter. An activated SNS means that we are producing more cortisol and tend to produce less serotonin and melatonin.

• Blood/Yin Deficiency - in Traditional Chinese Medicine Blood/Yin Deficiency relates to a lack of nurture of self, including yin activities that are relaxing and nourishing. A lack of yin often relates to an overly intense lifestyle (exercise, work, mind/thinking) and this intensity can affect us by depleting our nutrients, which can in turn affect our hormones and mood. Some key signs of blood/yin deficiency include difficulty staying asleep, difficulty getting back to sleep, sleeping lightly, and getting hot and sweaty at night. Introducing more yin activities in your life, rest and self-nurture can affect the quality of your sleep.

Mind Body Medicine sessions with Ray Holistic Health can support quality sleep by calming the sympathetic nervous system, understanding and balancing the motivators behind a blood/yin deficiency and supporting lifestyle changes and sleep habits. Modalities such as kinesiology, Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupressure and holistic counselling may be used.

Appointments can be booked in-person or online.

Cover image: Ethan Medrano