If sleep does not come easy for you comprehending the mechanics behind sleeping and how it recharges you could help you resolve the issue of what is keeping you conscious. Comprehending sleep is not so simple because you are not necessarily conscious or asleep. There are numerous rest processes that happen once your head falls on to the pillow and you shut your eyes that determines how relaxing that slumber is to you.

Feeling utterly dopey is the first phase of sleep and this is where your muscles relax, you start to feel tired, and you can no longer keep your eyes open. This stage usually lasts only a few minutes usually between five and ten. Stage two of sleep is a very faint sleep and at this point your respiratory system and body temperature retreat. Your heart rate should also lag at this point in the sleep process.

Stages three and four are easily classified as deep sleep and are where it should be hard to wake up. You may feel groggy and be unable to adjust quickly but this stage allows the brain to rest and as a result blood flow actually decreases, at which time the nutrient rich blood nourishes your body. There is also a heightened level of immune action during these two important stages of rest.

Stage five is considered REM sleep and is generally thought of as the dreaming phase of the REM sleep cycle. Entering and exiting this cycle happens many times during sleep so you might have anywhere from three to five 70-90 minute long sessions during your period of REM. This intricate stage of sleeping is determined by several physical conditions such as various types of breathing that are both shallow and deep. You could also show signs of a rise in heart rate and blood pressure.

This particular portion of the entire sleep cycle is good for helping your mind process heavy emotions, stress reduction and generally benefiting the person getting a good rest. Light sleepers are usually in stage two and rarely go into three and four where they need to be in order to obtain the most rest possible. People who have difficulty waking up likely are stuck in the deeper parts of sleep and rise quickly upon waking rather than running through each stage.

Sleep stages can become random based upon the time you have spent in each sleep stage through the previous week, so if you spend too much time in a heavy sleep one night the next night you may spend more time in REM or light sleep. It really balances out over time and you spend the same about of time on average in each part of sleep, hopefully resulting in good sleep patterns. That is why it is more accurate to say that you won’t catch up on sleep but you can catch up on rest.