Kyli Rodriguez-Cayro is a Cuban-American writer, mental health educator, and sex work activist based in Salt Lake City. Currently, she is a Lifestyle reporter for Bustle. Kyli has written for numerous publications, including HuffPost, Allure, Healthline, NYLON, The Salt Lake Tribune, and more.
We’ve all been there: Maybe you were frantically packing for a trip and only got a few solid hours of sleep before it was time to wake up. Or perhaps you went to bed at a decent hour but were so stressed about work you didn’t get restorative rest.
Whether you tend to lie half-awake in bed for seven hours or completely zonk out for a few short ones, you may wonder how these different sleeping patterns are affecting your health.Simply put, experts agree that it’s not as straightforward as aiming for one kind of slumber over the other. “Neither short, deep sleep only nor long, light sleep only is sufficient to completely benefit from good restorative sleep,” Dr. Temitayo Oyegbile-Chidi, the chair of theinclude N1and N2, which are considered “light sleep.” The third stage is N3, which is also referred to as deep sleep and slow-wave sleep. And lastly is rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep. Over the course of the evening, a person cycles through these stages an average of four to six times.
“Rather than focusing on getting the ‘right’ stages of sleep, I think what’s important is asking ‘Am I getting enough sleep, and is the sleep that I’m getting refreshing?’” said Dr. Vishesh Kapur, a spokesperson for theand creating a restful environment don’t have to be complicated. “It really comes down to basics, including a minimum of seven hours in bed,” Kapur explained. “The second is to do it on a consistent schedule seven days a week.”, blackout shades or ear plugs can improve your sleep.
Weiss noted that common signs that you’re not getting enough restorative rest include “waking up tired or with a headache, dry mouth, mood swings, excessive daytime sleepiness, fatigue and frequent need to nap.” At this point, you may benefit from speaking with a sleep specialist and exploring if there is an underlying issue at play., with common conditions including insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.