How Rem Sleep Impacts Your Dreams And Feelings

Sleep is a complex and mysterious process that is essential for the body and brain to rest and recover. During sleep, the body cycles between different stages of sleep, including rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep. REM sleep is characterized by rapid eye movement, increased brain activity, irregular breathing, and elevated heart rate. While dreams can occur during both REM and non-REM sleep, REM sleep is typically associated with more vivid dreams. REM sleep plays a crucial role in memory consolidation, emotional processing, brain development, and dreaming. It is also important for mental and emotional recovery, as it helps convert short-term memories into long-term ones and suppresses troubling memories. The amount of REM sleep varies throughout an individual's life, with newborns spending about half their sleep in REM, gradually decreasing to about 20% for young adults, and further decreasing to about 17% by age 80.

REM sleep is important for brain health and function

Secondly, REM sleep aids in mood regulation by helping the brain process emotional memories, including those associated with fear. The amygdala, a part of the brain involved in processing emotions, becomes more active during this sleep stage.

Thirdly, REM sleep is crucial for brain development, particularly the development of the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. This may explain why infants, especially newborns, require a significant amount of REM sleep.

Additionally, REM sleep may offer protection against dementia. Research suggests that a decrease in REM sleep is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia.

REM sleep also plays a role in dreaming, with most dreams occurring during this stage. While the exact purpose of dreaming is unknown, it may facilitate emotional processing and help in wakefulness preparation, making it easier to wake up as the night progresses.

During REM sleep, your muscles are temporarily paralysed

During REM sleep, your eyes continue to move, but the rest of the body's muscles are stopped, potentially to prevent injury. This paralysis involves most skeletal muscles and excludes muscles that help with breathing, digestion, and some eye movements. The brain remains active during this stage, with brain activity resembling that of a waking brain.

The temporary paralysis of REM sleep prevents people from acting out their dreams and causing potential harm to themselves or their bed partner. Without this paralysis, people might physically act out their dreams, a phenomenon known as REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD). RBD is a rare condition that often coexists with other neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia.

Two powerful brain chemical systems, involving the neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine, work together to paralyse skeletal muscles during REM sleep. This was discovered by researchers at the University of Toronto, who found that these neurotransmitters caused REM sleep paralysis in rats by "switching off" the specialised cells in the brain that allow muscles to be active.

While the temporary paralysis of REM sleep is generally a protective measure, it can be disrupted by certain medications and substances. For example, antidepressants and the withdrawal from drugs or alcohol have been linked to a disruption of REM sleep paralysis, leading to RBD.

The amount of REM sleep you need changes as you age

The amount of REM sleep a person needs does change as they age. Newborns spend about half their sleep time in REM sleep, which starts to decrease by about six months and continues to decline throughout childhood and the teen years. By age 20, most people spend just over 20% of their total sleep time in REM sleep. In older adults, time spent in REM sleep decreases slightly, to about 17% by age 80.

REM Sleep and Brain Development

REM sleep is thought to aid in brain development, which may be why infants, especially newborns, require so much of it. Researchers have hypothesized that the amount of REM sleep needed decreases as we age because our brains are less developed when we are young. Animals born with less developed brains, such as humans and puppies, spend more time in REM sleep during infancy than those born with more developed brains, like horses and birds.

There is no official agreement on how much REM sleep is needed, but this stage of sleep is important for dreaming, and experts believe that dreaming helps us process emotions. For most adults, REM sleep takes up about 25% of sleep, which seems to be healthy during average sleep cycles.

The amount of sleep we need varies from person to person and can change throughout our lives. In general, recommended sleep amounts by age are:

• Newborns (birth to 3 months): Between 14 and 17 hours
• Infants (4 months to 12 months): Between 12 and 16 hours (including naptime)
• Young children (ages 1 to 5): Between 10 and 14 hours (including naptime)
• School-aged children (ages 6 to 12): Between 9 and 12 hours
• Teenagers (ages 13 to 18): Between 8 and 10 hours
• Adults (18 and older): Seven to nine hours

REM sleep helps with emotional processing and mood regulation

REM sleep is a stage of sleep associated with dreaming and memory consolidation. During REM sleep, your brain processes emotions and emotional memories, including ones associated with fear. This is known as emotional processing.

REM sleep is thought to aid in the development of the central nervous system, which includes your brain and spinal cord. This may be why infants, particularly newborns, require so much REM sleep.

REM sleep deprivation has been linked to an increase in negative emotions and a decrease in positive emotions. It has also been associated with an increased reactivity towards aversive emotional information.

REM sleep deprivation can also disrupt the brain's ability to generate new cells. This can lead to difficulties in emotion regulation, such as increased irritability and reactivity.

On the other hand, a good night's sleep that includes adequate REM sleep can improve your mood and energy levels.

How to Get More REM Sleep

• Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends and when you're on vacation.
• Limit alcohol and caffeine. A nightcap or caffeine can interfere with your REM sleep and a good night's rest.
• Stay active. Regular physical activity can increase the amount of deep, restorative sleep you get, which in turn boosts mood and energy. Try to exercise outside in the morning, as natural light helps to set your body's sleep/wake cycle.
• Relax before bed. Try listening to soft music, taking a warm bath or shower, or reading a book.

The Bottom Line

REM sleep plays a crucial role in dreaming, memory, emotional processing, and healthy brain development. Getting enough REM sleep can help regulate your emotions and improve your mood.

Lack of REM sleep can cause trouble concentrating and coping with emotions

Sleep is a complex and mysterious body process that is vital for the health of both the body and the brain. During sleep, the body "powers down", and most body systems, including the brain, become less active. Lack of sleep can therefore cause a variety of issues, including trouble concentrating and coping with emotions.

REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep, is the fourth of four stages of sleep. It is characterised by relaxed muscles, quick eye movement, irregular breathing, elevated heart rate, and increased brain activity. Dreaming mostly takes place during REM sleep, and dreams during this stage tend to be more vivid.

REM sleep is important for several reasons. Firstly, it plays a role in memory consolidation, with the brain processing new learnings and motor skills from the day, and deciding which to commit to memory. Secondly, it is important for emotional processing, with the brain activating the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotions, during this stage. Thirdly, it is important for brain development, with newborns spending most of their sleep time in REM. Finally, it may help us prepare for wakefulness, as we spend increasing amounts of time in REM sleep as the night progresses, and are easier to wake up during this stage.

A lack of REM sleep can therefore cause issues with both memory and emotions. Studies have shown that being deprived of REM sleep interferes with memory formation, and that REM sleep deprivation disrupts the brain's ability to generate new cells. This can lead to difficulty concentrating during the day, and forgetfulness or poor memory.

REM sleep also plays a role in emotional processing, and a lack of it can cause issues with mood and emotional regulation. Signs of sleep deprivation can include difficulty concentrating during the day, excessive daytime sleepiness, and forgetfulness or poor memory. Over time, chronic sleep deprivation is linked to health conditions like diabetes, depression, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

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