Sleeping feels like a pretty cut-and-dry process, but your body goes through a lot when you drift off into dreamland. There are multiple stages of sleep, and you cycle through them multiple times during the night. While experts recommend getting seven to nine hours of sleep every night, what matters most is how you move through the sleep cycles.

Stage 1

The first stage is simple. It's when you first drift off to sleep. It's light and is considered to be a non-rapid eye movement phase.

Your body begins to relax, and your mind may start dreaming. If you ever jerk yourself awake, it usually occurs during this stage.

Stage 2

The second sleep stage is also relatively light. However, your body goes through some noticeable changes. Your breathing and heartbeat slow down. Meanwhile, the muscles relax as your brain becomes less active.

Stage 3

Stage 3 is also known as "deep sleep." Many experts consider deep sleep to be the most important of all stages of sleep. Your body goes in and out of this stage multiple times throughout the night, but those who get one to two hours of deep sleep are often the healthiest. Visit this website if you need to know about stages of sleep.

During this stage, your breathing, heartbeat, and brain activity are at their lowest. At this point, you become more difficult to rouse awake. You're at the peak of relaxation!

Stage 4

During stage 4, your body begins the recovery process. It's sometimes called the "healing stage" because it's when tissue growth and repair occur. The muscles heal, and your body releases many hormones to recharge your cellular energy.

Stage 5

Lastly, there's stage five. It's also known as the rapid eye movement (REM) stage. The REM cycle usually occurs about 90 minutes after you first fall asleep.

It's called the REM cycle because your eyes move rapidly behind your eyelids. Brain activity is also similar to that of a person who is awake. Most experts agree that this stage is when you encounter your most vivid dreams.

Read a similar article about trouble falling asleep here at this page.