Opinion: '8 hours sleep is the best amount to have' - Primary research

When you fall asleep are there like different phases you go through? like light sleep, heavy sleep, etc. if so, what are they and how long is each?


" Hello,

Following are the stage of sleep we have:

Stage 1 (Drowsiness) – Our brain gives the signal to our heart to beat at a slower rate, give signal to our body for a drop in body temperature , to our muscles for a slow in muscle activity and our eyes to more slowly under the eyelids. During this stage, it takes about 5 – 10 minutes for us to fall asleep. 

Stage 2 (Light Sleep) – After a while, we are in light sleep. Our heart beat has slows, body temperature has drops, muscles has slow and eyes movement has stop. We can be easily waken up during this stage.

Stage 3 (Slow Wave Sleep) – We are now in deeper sleep and cannot be waken up easily. Some people may have a sleepwalk while Children may experience bedwetting at this stage. 

Stage 4 (Deep Sleep) – We are in deepest sleep and is very difficult to wake up at this stage. If being awaken, we can be confused and disoriented for a few minutes.

Stage 5 (REM Sleep or Dream Sleep) – REM stand for rapid eye movement. We enter into REM Sleep after 90 minutes in our sleep cycle. Our eyes will move back and forth rapidly beneath our eyelids, our heart will beat faster and breathe less regularly. We can have 2 – 5 REM every night. We dream during REM sleep."