Sleeping Tips and Why they're Helpful

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Sleep /sli:p/
noun
A condition of body and mind which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended.(Google definition)

Sleep. We spend a third of our lives doing it. But what actually is it and how can we make it even more beneficial?

Sleep Cycles

Sleep cycles can be divided into parts - non-REM and REM sleep, with REM standing for Rapid Eye Movement. Non-REM will generally come first, which will last for about 70-90 mins and has three stages to it.

Stage 1 is light sleep, where you're basically half asleep and half awake for the first ten minutes of shut-eye.
Stage 2 is known as true sleep as it is where the most time is spent - 20 mins. Your breathing pattern and heart rate slow, and your brain only carries out the simpler processes.
Stage 3 is deep sleep, where your breathing and heart rates are at their slowest. It is much more difficult to wake up from this stage of sleep!

REM sleep comes after that, and it's when your brain is most active. Your eyes dart around, and although you're not conscious, you dream as a way to process all the stimuli you've received through the past few days/any other time period. After 10-20 minutes of dreaming, non-REM sleep kicks in and the whole cycle starts again. There are between 3-5 REM sleeps each night.

Tips

As someone who does not sleep very well, I've been told many a thing about getting to sleep and staying asleep, and these are the ones I've found most useful.

1. Do not look at any computer screens at least 20 minutes before lying down. This can be quite difficult in our technology-filled world, but it is definitely worth it. Your brain has to work much harder to process all the stimuli from a screen than from a book or conversation, so allowing it to slow down will help you get to sleep faster.
2. Play relaxing music - nothing too fast! I have found that instead of songs sounds work much better, and the app Relax and Sleep is very useful as it will fade out the music when you want to so that it doesn't waste your phone battery. Listening to something while trying to get to sleep slows you brain down and helps you enter the first stage of non-REM sleep.
3. Find a comfortable mattress and bedding. This one's obvious, as when you're more comfortable your brain doesn't have to process any pain.
4. Empty your thoughts, or if you're having trouble purposefully think them. Sometimes it's hard to clear your head, so I found instead do the opposite and willingly help your brain to process them - that way you can get it over and done with and get to sleep. Alternatively try and think of something else: when I was younger, I'd imagine a "bedcar" where myself and my teddies would drive to unknown lands whilst living inside a car (the hot tub was the best bit). It worked!
5. Get enough of it! Scientists say you need around 8 hours of sleep as this is when you've finished a cycle. Of course, it does depend on the person and what you've been doing during the day, so it can range from 5-11 hours. I'm just glad I'm not a python who has to sleep for 18 hours a day!