Sleep Cycle

Before talking about sleep cycle first of all let me let me expose a basic philosophy of how the universe operates it self. There is a rhythm to everything. But concerning the human body (the scope of this article) everything is operating in cyclic patterns, which also applies to sleep. So let me just put things in simple terms. The definition - "a sequence of stages (in brain) which occurs while sleeping within a certain period of time frame and keeps occurring until the person wakes up."

And further more it is said that the lifetime of each occurrence takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Then it repeats itself again (for about five or six times while you sleep). And what really happens when we pass through each phase. Well, in another words these are actually mind states which goes deeper and deeper. And after reaching a certain point happens all over again.

There are two very popular terms comes when talking about this issue. They are called REM and N-REM (or non-REM). The REM mode is where one is still alert to the surroundings. For instance let's say you heard a sound and suddenly got up, that can only happen in the non-deep sleep or REM mode. While the NREM is the total opposite in which there are no dreams or any other obstacles and you won't react to the outside world either. This is the deep-mood and this occupies over 75% while the other only has about 25% of the total.

This is why that if you alarm is not that loud and you were in the deep mode for example you'd probably won't wake up (there are several technological methods such as the sleep cycle alarm clock utility for example, which automatically analyzes your sleep mode and wakes you up at the most appropriate moment!). And the REM usually occurs at early in the morning. This again nature working with your body to get yourself ready to wake up and help you to follow your daily activities. So it's more likely a warm up exercise to the brain.

What happens if you break a Sleep Cycle?

Well try to remember if you had similar experiences such as (we all have) you're trying to wake up but still you can hardly open your eyes and other sensors and then suddenly you're back to sleep. Again you try and fail. You're neither here or there. Have you ever experienced this?, this is what happens if you try to break the deep states of a sleep cycle (the NREM time-frame). And to be honest doing this once in a while won't effect your health but...

In simple terms I'll put it like this. If you don't have enough sleep then it means you haven't given any time to your body to re-activate, improve or create new cells. And as the time goes on the body will force you to go to sleep. So what are the effect. Simple, let's say you were driving a car what happens if suddenly REM occurs?, that's just one example.

Things You Can Do to improve your Sleep

Well there hundreds of things one can do to improve these stages but depending on the situation and the individual sometimes you most definitely need to get help from trained experts even before doing anything. However these are few basic things that almost all can do which are pretty safe.

1. Control your eating. Over eating under any circumstances isn't good for your health. If you take foods that contain more sugar for instance which not only will make the digesting process much harder but also will effect and certainly make it difficult to fall asleep.

2. Stay mentally fit. What this means is that try to make your mind calm and relaxed before going to bed at night. If you carry your fears, or "he did this to me so I'm going to come hard at you tomorrow Jeniffer" type mental states, they won't make it any better. So try to calm yourself down. For this you can use body and mind relaxing audio tracks or do something that makes you feel happy and peaceful, etc.

3. Do your daily exercises. Staying physical fit is one of the best ways to arrive at a powerful sleep cycle. But make sure to finish those exercises few hours before going to bed ( 3 or 4 hours before would be perfect).

4. Hypnosis - Yes there are both simple and complex techniques that are being used but since they need proper training and guidance I won't be revealing them in this article. But you can certainly try some of those methods which can be pretty effective in comparison.

So in all cases make sure to give your body the time to "heal" itself. This can be overlooked sometimes. For instance forget all this and just concentrate a sitting posture. If you're not giving any attention to what your body says or doesn't know its language in the long term you're going to have some serious problem. So every time while sitting or doing anything if pain arises try to be mindful to it. I'm not talking just about the pain after doing some rough work.This includes it too. But more importantly I'm talking about the pain that arises in a continues basis in your life while doing your daily activities.

Because using your body in a wrong manner once in a while won't have much of an effect but in the long run it can do some serious damage to your health. So learn to kind to your body and be sensitive. Learn its language and pay attention. While driving or doing something if a real to sleep arises stop it and get a nap. It doesn't matter how important that you should be somewhere as if you break the natural flow of the nature (while still by just being mindful you could have avoided many of them) or try to go against and break the natural flow and you'll be defeated by the nature at the end.

* There is also a Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock application even for your iPhone.