Why do I feel more rested after I get up than when my alarm clock or another person wakes me up? – Calleigh H., age 11, Oklahoma
We've all been there: You're in the course of a ravishing dream. Maybe you're flying. As you fly through the air, you come across an eagle. The eagle looks at you, opens its beak and – BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Your alarm goes off. Keep dreaming, it's time to rise up.
Many people – children and adults alike – notice that they feel more awake once they get up naturally from sleep than when an alarm or one other person, similar to a parent, wakes them up. Why is that?
I’m a neurologist Who studies the brain and specifically what happens within the brain once you sleep? I also care for kids and adults who do stay awake well and wish to sleep higher. In my research, I work with parents to assist them teach their children good sleep habits.
To understand how you can sleep higher and why waking up naturally from sleep helps you are feeling more alert, you first need to grasp sleep cycles.
The sleep cycle
The Sleep cycle consists of 4 stages. One of them is REM, which stands for rapid eye movement. The other three are non-REM stages. When you go to sleep, you first enter a state of sleepiness called non-REM stage 1.
This is followed by deeper sleep phases, the so-called non-REM stages 2 and three. Each non-REM phase is deeper than the previous one. Then, about 90 minutes after you first go to sleep, you enter the fourth stage, REM sleep. This is a phase of lighter sleep where you dream loads. After a number of minutes, you’ll return to non-REM sleep.
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These cycles repeat throughout the night, with most individuals alternating 4 to 6 cycles of non-REM sleep and REM sleep each night. As the night progresses, cycles contain less non-REM sleep and more REM sleep. That's why it's necessary to get enough sleep in order that the body can sleep enough of each REM sleep and non-REM sleep.
REM vs. non-REM sleep
How do researchers like me know if an individual is in non-REM or REM sleep? In the sleep laboratory we will see this from their brain waves, eye movements and the strain of their muscles, for instance of their chin. These are measured by placing sensors called electrodes on the scalp, across the eyes and on the chin.
These electrodes detect brain activity starting from low-amplitude waves (the peak of the wave) and comparatively fast to high-amplitude waves (a bigger wave) and comparatively slow. When we’re awake, the wave height is low and the waves are relatively fast. When you sleep, nevertheless, the waves turn out to be higher and slower.
Non-REM stage 3 has the best and slowest waves of all sleep stages. During REM sleep, brain waves are low in amplitude and comparatively fast, and eye movements are also rapid. For a healthy brain, people need each non-REM and REM states to learn and remember.
Wake up naturally
When you get up on your personal within the morning, it normally happens at the top of your sleep period. Think of it like getting off the train once you stop on the station. But being woken up by an alarm or one other person is like jumping off the train between stops, which may feel jarring. That's why it's good to get up naturally at any time when possible.
People can actually train their brains to get up at a consistent time on daily basis, which is a natural stopping point. The brain has an internal 24-hour clock that dictates once you first feel sleepy and once you get up. This is said to ours circadian rhythms.
Train the brain to get up at a consistent time
First, it's necessary to go to bed at a consistent time so that you get enough sleep. Staying up too late doing homework or taking a look at your phone can affect your sleep and leave you counting on an alarm clock – or your parents – to wake you up.
Other things that may make it easier to go to sleep at a healthy time include physical activity through the day and avoiding coffee, soda, or other caffeinated drinks or foods. Physical activity increases the production of brain chemicals that make it easier to go to sleep, while caffeine does the other and keeps you awake.
Secondly, it’s worthwhile to concentrate to the sunshine around you. Too late within the evening light, including from screens, can affect the production of a in your brain Chemical called melatonin this promotes sleep. But within the morning once you get up, it’s worthwhile to be exposed to light.
Morning light helps you synchronize or harmonize your circadian rhythm with the surface world and makes it easier to go to sleep at night. The easiest technique to do that is to open the blinds or curtains in your room. In winter, some people use light boxes to simulate sunlight, which helps them adjust their rhythm.
Benefits of a superb night's sleep
A superb sleep routine features a consistent bedtime and wake-up time in addition to getting enough sleep frequently. That is, normally Sept. 11 hours for school-age children who will not be yet teenagers and 8-10 hours for teenagers.
This will make it easier to learn optimally at school, improve your mood, maintain a healthy weight, and promote many other features of health.
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