Sleep is one of the essential parts of your day. You might think it isn’t because you’re just unconscious, but there’s a lot more that goes on than you think.
When you’re asleep, your body works on repair and recovery. Your cells, such as in your muscles, repair any damage that your body sustained throughout your day. Your neurons also start making new connections, helping you retain any information you’ve learned in the past day. Of course, these are only some of the things that happen when you’re asleep, but these can already highlight why sleep is essential.
Because of how important sleep is, it only fits that you do your best to get as much quality sleep as possible. Now, people think you need to get at least 8 hours of sleep to do this. But nowadays, it’s becoming more apparent that quantity doesn’t necessarily equate to quality.
Some people, for example, can still wake up feeling disoriented or groggy even after sleeping for 8 hours. Other people may also have difficulty waking up at certain times, especially when they really need to. That’s why you need to do more than just get your hours in.
Doing things such as finding the ideal time to wake up and training your body clock are also just as crucial as getting the hours in. Fortunately, there is a way to help you do all that. All you need is to make use of a REM sleep calculator.
What Happens During Sleep?
Before you learn how you time your sleep, it’s good to understand what goes on during sleep. Specifically, you have to understand the stages of sleep. By doing so, you can then better understand how you can time your sleep better.
You might have heard the phrase “sleep cycle” get thrown around a lot. It’s this phrase that more or less describes how sleep takes place. It goes on in a cycle. Within each sleep cycle, your sleep is divided into two states. First, there’s the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) state, and then there’s the rapid eye movement (REM) state. The NREM state is then subdivided into three more states.
When you sleep, you go through all three NREM stages first. Then, with each progressing stage, your brainwaves slow down more progressively. Finally, after going through all three NREM stages, you then reach the REM state. Usually, you get to this state 60 to 90 minutes after falling asleep.
During the NREM state, specifically the NREM 3 stage, you achieve deep sleep. It is here where your body focuses on recovery, making new neural connections, and building up your immune system. While this is good, what isn’t good is when you are awoken from sleep during this state. That is because you’ll end up feeling disoriented. That wouldn’t be such a great way to wake up.
Fortunately, you can wake up without feeling terrible. All you need to do is wake up during your REM state. You see, during the REM state, your brainwaves resemble that of when you are conscious. Because of this, you can wake up feeling refreshed when roused from the REM stage. But, of course, it isn’t that easy either.
When waking up from REM sleep, there are certain times when you’d still feel disoriented if roused from sleep. That means you’ll have to find that particular “sweet spot” in the REM stage where it’s the most ideal to wake up. This is where a sleep calculator can be helpful.
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What Does A Sleep Calculator Do?
A sleep calculator helps you figure out the best time for you to go to sleep and wake up. To help you calculate this, it will have to take into account the number of sleep cycles you want to complete following your sleep schedule.
While it’s said that getting 8 hours a day is the best way to get quality sleep, it isn’t exactly true for everyone. Just like how everyone is different, the amount that a particular person needs to feel energized and well-rested will differ from another person. Fortunately, a sleep calculator can help you adjust to your sleep goals or meet the sleep schedule that you want.
Aside from helping you reach your sleep goals, a sleep calculator can also help you find the best time to wake up. To do this, it first takes into account how long you intend to sleep. Then, based on the number of sleep cycles that’ll take, it’ll find the right time for you to wake up. Ideally, this calculator will give you a wake-up time towards the end of your REM cycle. This can then help you wake up feeling refreshed, not groggy and confused.
With the help of a sleep calculator, you can help get your body adjusted to sleeping and waking at certain hours as well. Think of it as a habit of sorts, where you train your body clock to get used to your sleep and wake times.
The more and more you get to train your body, consistently going to sleep and getting up at specific times, the easier it is for you to do this without an alarm clock. Soon enough, you won’t even need an alarm to help you get up on some days.
So, not only does a sleep calculator help you find the optimal time to get up, but it helps you work out your body clock too!
Sleep is essential for us because it can help us recover from the day we just had, both physically and mentally. There is a lot that we can do to help maximize our sleep. But, the best way to help maximize your sleep is to get the right amount of hours in.
While these can differ from person to person, improving your sleep quality can be done by waking up at the right time. Preferably, this is towards the end of your REM cycle. Fortunately, with the help of a sleep calculator, you can do just that!
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