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Sleep is a vital indicator of overall health and well-being. We spend up to one-third of our lives asleep, and the overall state of our "sleep health" remains an essential question throughout our lifespan.

Most of us know that getting a good night's sleep is important, but too few of us actually make those eight or so hours between the sheets a priority. For many of us with sleep debt, we've forgotten what "being really, truly rested" feels like.

To further complicate matters, stimulants like coffee and energy drinks, alarm clocks, and external lights-including those from electronic devices-interferes with our "circadian rhythm" or natural sleep/wake cycle.

Sleep needs vary across ages and are especially impacted by lifestyle and health. To determine how much sleep you need, it's important to assess not only where you fall on the "sleep needs spectrum," but also to examine what lifestyle factors are affecting the quality and quantity of your sleep such as work schedules and stress.

To get the sleep you need, you must look at the big picture.

How Much Sleep Do We Really Need: Revisited

The National Sleep Foundation released the results of a world-class study that took more than two years of research to complete - an update to our most-cited guidelines on how much sleep you really need at each age. You can read the research paper published in Sleep Health.

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Eighteen leading scientists and researchers came together to form the National Sleep Foundation's expert panel tasked with updating the official recommendations. The panelists included six sleep specialists and representatives from leading organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of Anatomists, American College of Chest Physicians, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Geriatrics Society, American Neurological Association, American Physiological Society, American Psychiatric Association, American Thoracic Society, Gerontological Society of America, Human Anatomy and Physiology Society, and Society for Research in Human Development. The panelists participated in a rigorous scientific process that included reviewing over 300 current scientific publications and voting on how much sleep is appropriate throughout the lifespan.

"Millions of individuals trust the National Sleep Foundation for its sleep duration recommendations. As the voice for sleep health it is the NSF's responsibility to make sure that our recommendations are supported by the most rigorous science," says Charles Czeisler, MD, PhD, chairman of the board of the National Sleep Foundation and chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, "Individuals, particularly parents, rely on us for this information."

How Much Sleep Do You Need?

Though research cannot pinpoint an exact amount of sleep need by people at different ages, our new chart, which features minimum and maximum ranges for health as well as "recommended" windows, identifies the "rule-of-thumb" amounts experts agree upon.

Nevertheless, it's important to pay attention to your own individual needs by assessing how you feel on different amounts of sleep.

Are you productive, healthy and happy on seven hours of sleep? Or does it take you nine hours of quality ZZZs to get you into high gear?

Do you have health issues such as being overweight? Are you at risk for any disease?

Are you experiencing sleep problems?

Do you depend on caffeine to get you through the day?

These are questions that must be asked before you can find the number that works for you.

Sleep Time Recommendations: What's Changed?

"The NSF has committed to regularly reviewing and providing scientifically rigorous recommendations," says Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, Chair of the National Sleep Foundation Scientific Advisory Council. "The public can be confident that these recommendations represent the best guidance for sleep duration and health."

A new range, "may be appropriate," has been added to acknowledge the individual variability in appropriate sleep durations. The recommendations now define times as either (a) recommended; (b) may be appropriate for some individuals; or (c) not recommended.

The panel revised the recommended sleep ranges for all six children and teen age groups. A summary of the new recommendations includes:

Newborns (0-3 months): Sleep range narrowed to 14-17 hours each day (previously it was 12-18)

Infants (4-11 months): Sleep range widened two hours to 12-15 hours (previously it was 14-15)

Toddlers (1-2 years): Sleep range widened by one hour to 11-14 hours (previously it was 12-14)

Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range widened by one hour to 10-13 hours (previously it was 11-13)

School age children (6-13): Sleep range widened by one hour to 9-11 hours (previously it was 10-11)

Teenagers (14-17): Sleep range widened by one hour to 8-10 hours (previously it was 8.5-9.5)

Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours (new age category)

Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours

Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours (new age category)

Improve Your Sleep Today: Make Sleep a Priority

To begin a new path towards healthier sleep and a healthier lifestyle, begin by assessing your own individual needs and habits. See how you respond to different amounts of sleep.

Pay careful attention to your mood, energy and health after a poor night's sleep versus a good one. Ask yourself, "How often do I get a good night's sleep?" Like good diet and exercise, sleep is a critical component to overall health.

To pave the way for better sleep, follow these simple yet effective healthy sleep tips, including:

If you or a family member are experiencing symptoms such as sleepiness during the day or when you expect to be awake and alert, snoring, leg cramps or tingling, gasping or difficulty breathing during sleep, prolonged insomnia or another symptom that is preventing you from sleeping well, you should consult your primary care physician or find a sleep professional to determine the underlying cause.

You may also try using the National Sleep Foundation Sleep Diary to track your sleep habits over a one- or two-week period and bring the results to your physician.

Most importantly, make sleep a priority. You must schedule sleep like any other daily activity, so put it on your "to-do list" and cross it off every night. But don't make it the thing you do only after everything else is done - stop doing other things so you get the sleep you need.
For more information on healthy sleep, visit National Sleep Foundation's new publication, , today! To view the full research report, visit SleepHealthJournal.org.

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View Larger >> Sleep is a vital indicator of overall health and well-being. We spend up to one-third of our lives asleep, and the overall state of our "sleep health" remains an essential question throughout our lifespan.

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Anatomy of Sleep
Sleep Stages
Sleep mechanisms
How Much Sleep Do You Need?
Dreaming
The Role of Genes and Neurotransmitters
Tracking Sleep Through Smart Technology
Tips for Getting a Good Night's Sleep
Hope Through Research
Where can I get more information?
Introduction

Sleep is an important part of your daily routine-you spend about one-third of your time doing it. Quality sleep - and getting enough of it at the right times -- is as essential to survival as food and water. Without sleep you can't form or maintain the pathways in your brain that let you learn and create new memories, and it's harder to concentrate and respond quickly.

Sleep is important to a number of brain functions, including how nerve cells (neurons) communicate with each other. In fact, your brain and body stay remarkably active while you sleep. Recent findings suggest that sleep plays a housekeeping role that removes toxins in your brain that build up while you are awake.

Everyone needs sleep, but its biological purpose remains a mystery. Sleep affects almost every type of tissue and system in the body - from the brain, heart, and lungs to metabolism, immune function, mood, and disease resistance. Research shows that a chronic lack of sleep, or getting poor quality sleep, increases the risk of disorders including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity.

Sleep is a complex and dynamic process that affects how you function in ways scientists are now beginning to understand. This booklet describes how your need for sleep is regulated and what happens in the brain during sleep.

Anatomy of Sleep

Several structures within the brain are involved with sleep.

The hypothalamus, a peanut-sized structure deep inside the brain, contains groups of nerve cells that act as control centers affecting sleep and arousal. Within the hypothalamus is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) - clusters of thousands of cells that receive information about light exposure directly from the eyes and control your behavioral rhythm. Some people with damage to the SCN sleep erratically throughout the day because they are not able to match their circadian rhythms with the light-dark cycle. Most blind people maintain some ability to sense light and are able to modify their sleep/wake cycle.

The brain stem, at the base of the brain, communicates with the hypothalamus to control the transitions between wake and sleep. (The brain stem includes structures called the pons, medulla, and midbrain.) Sleep-promoting cells within the hypothalamus and the brain stem produce a brain chemical called GABA, which acts to reduce the activity of arousal centers in the hypothalamus and the brain stem. The brain stem (especially the pons and medulla) also plays a special role in REM sleep; it sends signals to relax muscles essential for body posture and limb movements, so that we don't act out our dreams.

The thalamus acts as a relay for information from the senses to the cerebral cortex (the covering of the brain that interprets and processes information from short- to long-term memory). During most stages of sleep, the thalamus becomes quiet, letting you tune out the external world. But during REM sleep, the thalamus is active, sending the cortex images, sounds, and other sensations that fill our dreams.

The pineal gland, located within the brain's two hemispheres, receives signals from the SCN and increases production of the hormone melatonin, which helps put you to sleep once the lights go down. People who have lost their sight and cannot coordinate their natural wake-sleep cycle using natural light can stabilize their sleep patterns by taking small amounts of melatonin at the same time each day. Scientists believe that peaks and valleys of melatonin over time are important for matching the body's circadian rhythm to the external cycle of light and darkness.

The basal forebrain, near the front and bottom of the brain, also promotes sleep and wakefulness, while part of the midbrain acts as an arousal system. Release of adenosine (a chemical by-product of cellular energy consumption) from cells in the basal forebrain and probably other regions supports your sleep drive. Caffeine counteracts sleepiness by blocking the actions of adenosine.

The amygdala, an almond-shaped structure involved in processing emotions, becomes increasingly active during REM sleep.

Sleep Stages
Chemical signals to sleep
There are two basic types of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep (which has three different stages). Each is linked to specific brain waves and neuronal activity. You cycle through all stages of non-REM and REM sleep several times during a typical night, with increasingly longer, deeper REM periods occurring toward morning.
Genes and sleep
Stage 1 non-REM sleep is the changeover from wakefulness to sleep. During this short period (lasting several minutes) of relatively light sleep, your heartbeat, breathing, and eye movements slow, and your muscles relax with occasional twitches. Your brain waves begin to slow from their daytime wakefulness patterns.
Sleep studies
Stage 2 non-REM sleep is a period of light sleep before you enter deeper sleep. Your heartbeat and breathing slow, and muscles relax even further. Your body temperature drops and eye movements stop. Brain wave activity slows but is marked by brief bursts of electrical activity. You spend more of your repeated sleep cycles in stage 2 sleep than in other sleep stages.

Stage 3 non-REM sleep is the period of deep sleep that you need to feel refreshed in the morning. It occurs in longer periods during the first half of the night. Your heartbeat and breathing slow to their lowest levels during sleep. Your muscles are relaxed and it may be difficult to awaken you. Brain waves become even slower.

REM sleep first occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep. Your eyes move rapidly from side to side behind closed eyelids. Mixed frequency brain wave activity becomes closer to that seen in wakefulness. Your breathing becomes faster and irregular, and your heart rate and blood pressure increase to near waking levels. Most of your dreaming occurs during REM sleep, although some can also occur in non-REM sleep. Your arm and leg muscles become temporarily paralyzed, which prevents you from acting out your dreams. As you age, you sleep less of your time in REM sleep. Memory consolidation most likely requires both non-REM and REM sleep.

Sleep mechanisms

Two internal biological mechanisms -circadian rhythm and homeostasis-work together to regulate when you are awake and sleep.

Circadian rhythms direct a wide variety of functions from daily fluctuations in wakefulness to body temperature, metabolism, and the release of hormones. They control your timing of sleep and cause you to be sleepy at night and your tendency to wake in the morning without an alarm. Your body's biological clock, which is based on a roughly 24-hour day, controls most circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms synchronize with environmental cues (light, temperature) about the actual time of day, but they continue even in the absence of cues.

Sleep-wake homeostasis keeps track of your need for sleep. The homeostatic sleep drive reminds the body to sleep after a certain time and regulates sleep intensity. This sleep drive gets stronger every hour you are awake and causes you to sleep longer and more deeply after a period of sleep deprivation.

Factors that influence your sleep-wake needs include medical conditions, medications, stress, sleep environment, and what you eat and drink. Perhaps the greatest influence is the exposure to light. Specialized cells in the retinas of your eyes process light and tell the brain whether it is day or night and can advance or delay our sleep-wake cycle. Exposure to light can make it difficult to fall asleep and return to sleep when awakened.

Night shift workers often have trouble falling asleep when they go to bed, and also have trouble staying awake at work because their natural circadian rhythm and sleep-wake cycle is disrupted. In the case of jet lag, circadian rhythms become out of sync with the time of day when people fly to a different time zone, creating a mismatch between their internal clock and the actual clock.

How Much Sleep Do You Need?

Your need for sleep and your sleep patterns change as you age, but this varies significantly across individuals of the same age. There is no magic "number of sleep hours" that works for everybody of the same age. Babies initially sleep as much as 16 to 18 hours per day, which may boost growth and development (especially of the brain). School-age children and teens on average need about 9.5 hours of sleep per night. Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep a night, but after age 60, nighttime sleep tends to be shorter, lighter, and interrupted by multiple awakenings. Elderly people are also more likely to take medications that interfere with sleep.

In general, people are getting less sleep than they need due to longer work hours and the availability of round-the-clock entertainment and other activities.

Many people feel they can "catch up" on missed sleep during the weekend but, depending on how sleep-deprived they are, sleeping longer on the weekends may not be adequate.

Dreaming

Everyone dreams. You spend about 2 hours each night dreaming but may not remember most of your dreams. Its exact purpose isn't known, but dreaming may help you process your emotions. Events from the day often invade your thoughts during sleep, and people suffering from stress or anxiety are more likely to have frightening dreams. Dreams can be experienced in all stages of sleep but usually are most vivid in REM sleep. Some people dream in color, while others only recall dreams in black and white.

The Role of Genes and Neurotransmitters

Clusters of sleep-promoting neurons in many parts of the brain become more active as we get ready for bed. Nerve-signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters can "switch off" or dampen the activity of cells that signal arousal or relaxation. GABA is associated with sleep, muscle relaxation, and sedation. Norepinephrine and orexin (also called hypocretin) keep some parts of the brain active while we are awake. Other neurotransmitters that shape sleep and wakefulness include acetylcholine, histamine, adrenaline, cortisol, and serotonin.

Genes may play a significant role in how much sleep we need. Scientists have identified several genes involved with sleep and sleep disorders, including genes that control the excitability of neurons, and "clock" genes such as Per, tim, and Cry that influence our circadian rhythms and the timing of sleep. Genome-wide association studies have identified sites on various chromosomes that increase our susceptibility to sleep disorders. Also, different genes have been identified with such sleep disorders as familial advanced sleep-phase disorder, narcolepsy, and restless legs syndrome. Some of the genes expressed in the cerebral cortex and other brain areas change their level of expression between sleep and wake. Several genetic models-including the worm, fruit fly, and zebrafish-are helping scientists to identify molecular mechanisms and genetic variants involved in normal sleep and sleep disorders. Additional research will provide better understand of inherited sleep patterns and risks of circadian and sleep disorders.

Your health care provider may recommend a polysomnogram or other test to diagnose a sleep disorder. A polysomnogram typically involves spending the night at a sleep lab or sleep center. It records your breathing, oxygen levels, eye and limb movements, heart rate, and brain waves throughout the night. Your sleep is also video and audio recorded. The data can help a sleep specialist determine if you are reaching and proceeding properly through the various sleep stages. Results may be used to develop a treatment plan or determine if further tests are needed.

Tracking Sleep Through Smart Technology

Millions of people are using smartphone apps, bedside monitors, and wearable items (including bracelets, smart watches, and headbands) to informally collect and analyze data about their sleep. Smart technology can record sounds and movement during sleep, journal hours slept, and monitor heart beat and respiration. Using a companion app, data from some devices can be synced to a smartphone or tablet, or uploaded to a PC. Other apps and devices make white noise, produce light that stimulates melatonin production, and use gentle vibrations to help us sleep and wake.

Tips for Getting a Good Night's Sleep

Getting enough sleep is good for your health. Here are a few tips to improve your sleep:

Set a schedule - go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.

Exercise 20 to 30 minutes a day but no later than a few hours before going to bed.

Avoid caffeine and nicotine late in the day and alcoholic drinks before bed.

Relax before bed - try a warm bath, reading, or another relaxing routine.

Create a room for sleep - avoid bright lights and loud sounds, keep the room at a comfortable temperature, and don't watch TV or have a computer in your bedroom.

Don't lie in bed awake. If you can't get to sleep, do something else, like reading or listening to music, until you feel tired.

See a doctor if you have a problem sleeping or if you feel unusually tired during the day. Most sleep disorders can be treated effectively.

Hope Through Research

Scientists continue to learn about the function and regulation of sleep. A key focus of research is to understand the risks involved with being chronically sleep deprived and the relationship between sleep and disease. People who are chronically sleep deprived are more likely to be overweight, have strokes and cardiovascular disease, infections, and certain types of cancer than those who get enough sleep. Sleep disturbances are common among people with age-related neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Many mysteries remain about the association between sleep and these health problems. Does the lack of sleep lead to certain disorders, or do certain diseases cause a lack of sleep? These, and many other questions about sleep, represent the frontier of sleep research.

Where Can I Get More Information?

For information on other neurological disorders or research programs funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, contact the Institute's Brain Resources and Information Network (BRAIN) at:

BRAIN
P.O. Box 5801
Bethesda, MD 20824
(800) 352-9424
www.ninds.nih.gov

Prepared by:
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892

NIH Publication No. 17-3440c

NINDS health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke or any other Federal agency. Advice on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient's medical history.

All NINDS-prepared information is in the public domain and may be freely copied. Credit to the NINDS or the NIH is appreciated.

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National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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Anatomy of Sleep Sleep Stages Sleep mechanisms How Much Sleep Do You Need? Dreaming The Role of Genes and Neurotransmitters Tracking Sleep Through Smart Technology Tips for Getting a Good Night's Sleep Hope Through Research Where can I get more information? Sleep is an important part of your daily routine-you spend about one-third of your time doing it.

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Each year, there are more than 40 million people in North America who suffer from sleeping disorders. An additional 20 million have occasional sleeping problems.

There are many reasons for sleep deprivation: work, chores, babies, worry, parties or late night television are just a few.

Whatever the reason for sleep loss, research has shown that it takes a toll on us both mentally and physically. While we sleep, our bodies secrete hormones that affect our mood, energy, memory, and concentration. Testing has shown that with a driving simulator or a hand-eye coordination task, sleep deprived people may perform just as badly as intoxicated people. In addition, recent research has shown that chronic lack of sleep can cause high blood pressure and contribute to problems with diabetes.

Common Sleep Problems and Causes

Problem #1: Cannot Fall Asleep - Cannot Stay Asleep

Most people experience short term insomnia at some time. Insomnia includes having trouble falling asleep, having trouble getting back to sleep, and waking up too early. Insomnia is more common in females, people with a history of depression, and in people older than 60. Temporary insomnia can be caused by:

Hearing a noise

A stressful event like the loss of a job or a death in the family or even catastrophic world events

Certain medications could keep you awake, particularly those that treat colds and allergies, heart disease, high blood pressure, and pain

Bad habits that sabotage our sleep including drinking alcohol and eating too close to bedtime

Short-term insomnia lasts only a few days and is usually not a cause for concern. For example, with jet lag or even seasonal time changes, your internal body clock will readjust itself within several days. Insomnia is considered chronic when it lasts most nights for a few weeks or more. This longer-term condition deserves professional attention. If you are unsure whether you have chronic insomnia, experts suggest looking at it like you would a headache. If it goes on day after day, and nothing you do seems to help, you should see a health care professional, particularly if you cannot find a cause.

Sometimes insomnia is caused by an underlying illness that needs treatment, such as:

Thyroid disorders

Anxiety

Depression

Arthritis

Asthma

Restless leg syndrome

Problem #2: Sleepy During the Day

Feeling tired every now and then during the day is normal. But it is not normal for sleepiness to interfere with your routine activities. For example, you shouldn't be dozing off while reading the newspaper, during business meetings, or while sitting at a red light. Slowed thinking, trouble paying attention, heavy eyelids, and feeling irritable are other warning signs.

If you're feeling sleepy frequently during the day, you might simply need to make more time to sleep. Experts say that most adults need at least eight hours of sleep every night to be well rested, but this varies from person to person. The bottom line is that you should sleep for the number of hours it takes for you to feel rested, refreshed, and fully alert the next day. If you've had a good sleep, you shouldn't feel drowsy during the day. Naps can be good, but the American

Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends napping before 3 p.m. and for no longer than an hour so that it doesn't interfere with falling asleep at night.

If you are sleeping an adequate amount and you still feel drowsy going about your day to day routine, or if adjusting your sleeping habits hasn't helped, then you should talk with your health care provider. Overwhelming daytime sleepiness could be due to a number of sleep disorders. For example, people with narcolepsy experience excessive sleepiness even after a full night's sleep.

Problem #3: Snoring

Snoring is noisy breathing during sleep that occurs when relaxed structures in the throat vibrate and make noise. Most snoring is harmless, though it can be a nuisance that interferes with the sleep of others. Some snoring can be stopped with lifestyle changes such as:

Losing weight

Cutting down on smoking and alcohol

Changing sleeping positions. This generally means keeping snorers off their backs and on their sides as a way to keep the airway more open during sleep.

There are over the counter nasal strips that are placed over the nose to widen the space in the nose and make breathing easier. Read labels carefully because these strips are only intended to treat snoring. The labels point out certain symptoms that require a doctor's care.

The trick is figuring out the cause of snoring. It could be related to allergies or structural abnormalities such as nasal polyps or enlarged adenoids, which are lymphoid tissue behind the nose. If your snoring is loud and frequent and you also have excessive daytime sleepiness, you could have sleep apnea. People with sleep apnea tend to also be overweight, and it's more common among men than women.

When a person with sleep apnea tries to breathe in air, it creates suction that collapses the windpipe and blocks the flow of air. Blood oxygen levels fall and the brain awakens the person, who then snorts or gasps for air and then resumes snoring. This cycle is typically repeated many times during the night. It results in frequent awakenings that prevent people from reaching the deepest stages of sleep, which leaves them sleepy during the day.

How to get a good night's sleep

First, is it helpful to understand the stages of sleep. We usually pass through five stages of sleep.

Stage 1: Light sleep. We drift in and out and can be awakened easily. Our eyes move slowly and muscle activity slows.

Stage 2: Our eye movements stop and our brain waves become slower with occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles.

Stage 3: Deep sleep. Extremely slow brain waves called delta waves appear, interspersed with smaller, faster waves.

Stage 4: Deep sleep. The brain produces mostly delta waves. There are no eye movements and no muscle activity.

Stage 5: REM sleep. Breathing becomes more rapid, irregular, and shallow. Eyes jerk rapidly, limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Dreams almost always happen in this stage, but may occur in other sleep stages as well.

Each cycle takes about two hours. Then the cycle starts over again with stage 1. As the cycles repeat, deep sleep periods get shorter and periods of REM sleep lengthen. Adults spend half of their sleep time in stage 2, 20 percent of the time in REM sleep, and 30 percent in the other stages. Infants start out spending about half of their sleep time in REM sleep.

It may seem obvious, but we often seem to miss the basic fact that these stages take time; so one of the first things you can do to help yourself is to give yourself enough time to actually sleep. Many people count the time they get in to bed until they get up as their "8 hours". But if you spend 20 minutes reading and another 20 minutes watching television, and then have to figure another 10 to 15 minutes to get to sleep, you just cut 1 hour out of your sleep time.

Additional Sleep Tips

Keep a regular sleep-wake cycle. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine in the four to six hours before bedtime.

Don't exercise within two hours of bedtime. Exercising five or six hours before bedtime may help you sleep more soundly.

Don't eat large meals within two hours of bedtime.

Don't nap later than 3 p.m.

Sleep in a dark, quiet room with a comfortable temperature.

If you can't fall asleep within 20 minutes, do a quiet activity somewhere else and return to bed when you're sleepy.

Wind down in the 30 minutes before bedtime with a relaxing pre sleep ritual such as a warm bath, soft music, or reading.

If consistently applying these tips doesn't work, see your health care professional and discuss your sleep problems. It is important to make sure that your sleep problems are not caused by a serious physical illness. You should also review the medications you are taking to make sure that they are not causing your sleep problems. Last, but not least, there are medications that can help you sleep that are safe when prescribed by a physician and taken as directed.

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There are many reasons for sleep deprivation: work, chores, babies, worry, parties or late night television are just a few. Whatever the reason for sleep loss, research has shown that it takes a toll on us both mentally and physically.

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© 2004-2022 Healthline Media UK Ltd, Brighton, UK, a Red Ventures Company. All rights reserved. MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional. See additional information.

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© 2004-2022 Healthline Media UK Ltd, Brighton, UK, a Red Ventures Company. All rights reserved. MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.

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Chances are, you know what snoring sounds like and how annoying it can be to listen to. But why does it happen? That is less well-known. The basic reason for the rumbling is tissue in and around the upper airways that, during the act of breathing, vibrates. Those vibrations are what produce the sound. It isn't always the same body part vibrating-it can be the tongue, soft palate, uvula, tonsillar pillars, or other areas. And although it seems obvious, it's worth noting that nobody snores when they are awake. This is because when you sleep, the muscles relax in your body, including the muscles in your neck and throat area. Relaxation decreases how much space is in your airways, which can sometimes lead to snoring.

That's the biological background on snoring, but it doesn't explain why some people snore and others don't. Other factors can contribute; the most common is that there's too much tissue in the throat and nasal areas. That's why weight gain is often connected to snoring-many people who never snored in the past will begin to do so when they put on a few pounds. Gaining weight can add to the weight of your neck, which presses down on the throat during sleep.

Positioning is also an issue. Having poor posture while sleeping can narrow your airway while a simple readjustment-say, going from your back to your side or raising your head slightly-might nip snoring in the bud. Other causes include a tongue that slides back in your mouth and narrows the airway, regular consumption of alcohol or tobacco, allergies, or nasal obstruction (perhaps due to an issue with the nasal septum, which separates your nostrils). Snoring can also be a clue that someone has sleep apnea, although the two don't always go hand in hand. Even pregnancy can cause neck tissue to swell! Speaking to a sleep specialist or your doctor can help you pinpoint your specific cause and figure out a treatment plan, all of which is bound to improve your sleep and your romantic relationships.

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Chances are, you know what snoring sounds like and how annoying it can be to listen to. But why does it happen? That is less well-known. The basic reason for the rumbling is tissue in and around the upper airways that, during the act of breathing, vibrates.

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In the past, sleep was often ignored by doctors and surrounded by myths. Now, though, we are beginning to understand the importance of sleep to overall health and well-being. We've learned, for example, that when people get less than 6 to 7 hours of sleep each night, they are at a greater risk of developing diseases.

All the more reason to get some sleep, right? Here are 10 reasons why you should call it an early night.

Heart attacks and strokes are more likely to occur during the early morning hours, which may be due to the way sleep interacts with the blood vessels. Lack of sleep has been associated with worsening of blood pressure and cholesterol, which are risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Your heart will be healthier if you get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night.

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In the past, sleep was often ignored by doctors and surrounded by myths. Now, though, we are beginning to understand the importance of sleep to overall health and well-being. We've learned, for example, that when people get less than 6 to 7 hours of sleep each night, they are at a greater risk of developing diseases.

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Is your teen getting enough sleep? The answer might be different than you think. Learn more about your teen's sleeping needs.

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Dreams are stories and images that our minds create while we sleep. They can be entertaining, fun, romantic, disturbing, frightening, and sometimes bizarre.

Why do dreams occur? What causes them? Can we control them? What do they mean?

You will see introductions at the end of some sections to any developments that have been covered by Medical News Today's news stories. Also look out for links to information about related conditions.

The second part of this article, discussing how we dream and why we have nightmares is available here.

Fast facts on dreams

Here are some key points about dreams. More detail and supporting information is in the main article.

Though a few people may not remember dreaming, it is thought that everyone dreams between 3 to 6 times per night.

It is thought that each dream lasts between 5 to 20 minutes.

Around 95% of dreams are forgotten by the time a person gets out of bed.

Dreaming can help you learn and develop long-term memories.

Women dream more about family, children and indoor settings when compared with men.

Recalling something from last week that has appeared in your dream is called the "dream-lag effect."

There is a difference in the quality and quantity of dreams experienced in rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement sleep.

48% of people that feature in a dream are recognized by the person dreaming.

Blind people dream more with other sensory components compared with sighted people.

Both sleep and dream quality are affected by alcohol.

Causes

There are several hypotheses and concepts as to why we dream. Are dreams merely part of the sleep cycle or do they serve some other purpose?

Possible explanations for why we dream include:

From converging evidence and new research methodologies, researchers have speculated that dreaming:

Is offline memory reprocessing - consolidates learning and memory tasks.79,90,91

Is a subsystem of the waking default network, which is active during mind wandering and daydreaming. Dreaming could be seen as cognitive simulation of real life experiences.²⁴

Participates in the development of cognitive capabilities.¹⁷

Is psychoanalytic; dreams are highly meaningful reflections of unconscious mental functioning.⁷⁹

Is a unique state of consciousness that incorporates three temporal dimensions: experience of the present, processing of the past, and preparation for the future.⁵⁶

Provides a psychological space where overwhelming, contradictory, or highly complex notions can be brought together by the dreaming ego that would be unsettling while awake. This process serves the need for psychological balance and equilibrium.⁶⁷

As with many things concerning the brain and unconscious thought, there is so much that remains unknown about dreaming. Dreams are difficult to study in a laboratory. As technology and new research techniques are developed, the understanding of dreams will continue to grow.

Phases of sleep

There are five phases of sleep in a sleep cycle:

1. Stage 1 - light sleep, eyes move slowly, and muscle activity slows. This stage forms 4-5% of total sleep

2. Stage 2 - eye movement stops and brain waves (fluctuations of electrical activity that can be measured by electrodes) become slower, with occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles. This stage forms 45-55% of total sleep

3. Stage 3 - extremely slow brain waves called delta waves begin to appear, interspersed with smaller, faster waves. 4-6% of total sleep

4. Stage 4 - the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. It is very difficult to wake someone during stages 3 and 4, which together are called "deep sleep." There is no eye movement or muscle activity. People awakened while in deep sleep do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes after they wake up. This forms 12-15% of total sleep

5. Stage 5 - REM - breathing becomes more rapid, irregular and shallow, eyes jerk rapidly in various directions, and limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, and males develop penile erections. When people awaken during REM sleep, they often describe bizarre and illogical tales - dreams. Forms 20-25% of total sleep time.

Slow-wave sleep refers to stages 3 and 4 of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.

What are dreams?

Dreams are a universal human experience that can be described as a state of consciousness characterized by sensory, cognitive and emotional occurrences during sleep. ²⁷ The dreamer has reduced control over the content, visual images and activation of the memory. ⁴²

There is no cognitive state that has been as extensively studied and yet as misunderstood as much as dreaming. 40,42

There are significant differences between the neuroscientific and psychoanalytic approaches to dream analysis. A neuroscientist is interested in the structures involved in dream production and dream organization and narratability. However, psychoanalysis concentrates on the meaning of dreams and on placing them in the context of relationships in the history of the dreamer. ⁹⁶

Reports of dreams tend to be full of emotional and vivid experiences that contain themes, concerns, dream figures, objects, etc. that correspond closely to waking life. 27,28 These elements create a novel "reality" out of seemingly nothing, producing an experience with a lifelike timeframe and lifelike connections. ²⁸

Neuroscience offers explanations linked to the rapid eye movement (REM) phase of sleep as a pinpoint for where dreaming occurs. ²⁸

Nightmares

Nightmares are distressing dreams that cause the dreamer to feel a number of disturbing emotions. Common feelings include fear and anxiety.

Nightmares or bad dreams occur in both adults and children and can be caused by:

Lucid dreams

Lucid dreaming is a state of sleep where the dreamer knows they are dreaming. As a result, the dreamer may have some measure of control over their dream.

The measure of control a dreamer has can vary from lucid dream to lucid dream. They often occur in the middle of a regular dream when the sleeping person realizes suddenly that they are dreaming.

Some people experience lucid dreaming at random while other people are able to increase their capacity to affect how their dreams unfold.

Interpretations

What goes through our minds just before we fall asleep could affect the content of our dreams. For example, during exam time, students may dream about course content; those in relationships may dream of their partner; web developers may see programming code. These circumstantial observations suggest that during the transition from wakefulness to sleep, elements from the everyday re-emerge in dream-like imagery. ⁵⁸

Characters

Studies have examined the "characters" that appear in dream reports and how they are identified by the dreamer.

A study of 320 adult dream reports found: ¹

48% of characters represented a named person known to the dreamer

35% of characters were identified by their social role (e.g., policeman) or relationship to dreamer (e.g., a friend)

16% were not recognized.

Among named characters:

Elements of bizarreness were reported in 14% of named and generic characters.

Another study investigated the relationship between dream emotion and dream character identification. Affection and joy were commonly associated with known characters and were used to identify them even when these emotional attributes were inconsistent with those of the waking state.

The findings suggest that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, associated with short-term memory, is less active in the dreaming brain compared to the awake brain, while the paleocortical and subcortical limbic areas are more active. Also proposed was that limbic areas have minimal input from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the dreaming brain. ²⁵

Memories

The concept of 'repression' dates back to Freud, whereby undesirable memories can become suppressed in the mind. Dreams ease repression by permitting these memories to be reinstated.

A study showed that sleep does not benefit the forgetting of unwanted memories. Instead, REM sleep might even counteract the voluntary suppression of memories, making them more accessible for retrieval. ¹⁵

Two types of temporal effects characterize the incorporation of memories into dreams:

The day-residue effect, involving immediate incorporations of events from the preceding day

The dream-lag effect, involving incorporations delayed by about a week.

The findings of one study are consistent with the possibility that processing memories into dream incorporation takes a cycle of around 7 days, and that these processes help to further the functions of socio-emotional adaptation and memory consolidation. ⁵

A recent study aiming to explore autobiographical memories (long-lasting memories about the self) and episodic memories (memories about discrete episodes or events) within dream content amongst 32 participants found that:

One dream (0.5%) contained an episodic memory

The majority (80%) was found to contain low to moderate incorporations of autobiographical memory features.

Researchers suggest that memories for personal experiences are experienced fragmentarily and selectively during dreaming, perhaps in order to integrate these memories into the long-lasting autobiographical memory. ²²

A hypothesis stating that dreams reflect waking-life experiences is supported by studies investigating the dreams of psychiatric patients and patients with sleep disorders, i.e., their daytime symptoms and problems are reflected in their dreams. ⁵³

In 1900, Freud described a category of dreams - "biographical dreams" - that reflect historical infantile experience without the typical defensive function. Many authors agree that some traumatic dreams perform a function of recovery.

One paper hypothesizes that the predominant aspect of such traumatic dreams is the communication of an experience that the dreamer has in the dream, but does not understand. ⁶⁰

Themes

The themes of dreams can be linked to the suppression of unwanted thoughts and, as a result, an increased occurrence of the suppressed thought in dreams.

Fifteen good sleepers were asked to suppress an unwanted thought 5 minutes prior to sleep. The results demonstrated increased dreams about the unwanted thought and a tendency to have more distressing dreams. Moreover, the data imply that thought suppression may lead to significantly increased mental disorder symptoms. ⁹

Research has indicated that external stimuli presented during sleep can affect the emotional content of dreams. For example, the positively-toned stimulus of roses in one study yielded more positively themed dreams, whereas the negative stimulus of rotten eggs was followed by more negatively themed dreams. ¹⁰

Typical dreams are defined as dreams with similar contents reported by a high percentage of dreamers. Up to now, the frequencies of typical dream themes have been studied with questionnaires and these have indicated that a rank order of 55 typical dream themes has been stable over different sample populations. ⁸² The 55 dreams themes are:

1. School, teachers, studying

2. Being chased or pursued

3. Sexual experiences

4. Falling

5. Arriving too late

6. A person now alive being dead

7. Flying or soaring through the air

8. Failing an examination

9. Being on the verge of falling

10. Being frozen with fright

11. A person now dead being alive

12. Being physically attacked

13. Being nude

14. Eating delicious food

15. Swimming

16. Being locked up

17. Insects or spiders

18. Being killed

19. Your teeth falling out/losing your teeth

20. Being tied, unable to move

21. Being inappropriately dressed

22. Being a child again

23. Trying again and again to do something

24. Being unable to find, or embarrassed about using a toilet

25. Discovering a new room at home

26. Having superior knowledge or mental ability

27. Losing control of a vehicle

28. Fire

29. Wild, violent beasts

30. Seeing a face very close to you

31. Snakes

32. Having magical powers

33. Vividly sensing, but not necessarily seeing or hearing, a presence in the room

34. Finding money

35. Floods or tidal waves

36. Killing someone

37. Seeing yourself as dead

38. Being half awake and paralyzed in bed

39. Lunatics or insane people

40. Seeing yourself in a mirror

41. Being a member of the opposite sex

42. Being smothered, unable to breathe

43. Encountering god in some form

44. Seeing a flying object crash

45. Earthquakes

46. Seeing an angel

47. Creatures: part animal, part human

48. Tornadoes or strong winds

49. Being at a movie

50. Seeing extra-terrestrials

51. Traveling to another planet

52. Being an animal

53. Seeing a UFO

54. Someone having an abortion

55. Being an object.

Authors have hypothesized that one cluster of typical dreams (object endangered, falling, being chased or pursued) is related to interpersonal conflicts; another cluster (flying, sexual experiences, finding money, eating delicious food) is associated with libidinal motivations; and a third group (being nude, failing an examination, arriving too late, losing teeth, being inappropriately dressed) is associated with superego concerns.

Senses

Dreams were evaluated in people suffering different types of headache. Results showed people with migraine had increased frequency of taste and smell dreams.

This may suggest that the role of some cerebral structures, such as amygdala and hypothalamus, are involved in migraine mechanisms as well as in the biology of sleep and dreaming. ¹⁹

Music in dreams is rarely reported in scientific literature. However, in a study of 35 professional musicians and 30 non-musicians, the musicians experienced twice as many dreams featuring music compared with non-musicians. Musical dream frequency was related to the age of commencement of musical instruction but not to the daily load of musical activity. Nearly half of the recalled music was non-standard, suggesting that original music can be created in dreams. ⁷⁷

Pain

Although it has been shown that realistic, localized painful sensations can be experienced in dreams - either through direct incorporation or from memories of pain - the frequency of pain dreams in healthy subjects is low.

Twenty-eight non-ventilated burn victims were interviewed for five consecutive mornings during their first week of hospitalization. Results found:

More than half of the sample did not report pain dreams, but these results could suggest that pain dreams occur at a greater frequency in suffering populations than in normal volunteers. ⁸⁷

Self-awareness

Recent findings link frontotemporal gamma EEG activity to conscious awareness in dreams. The study found that current stimulation in the lower gamma band during REM sleep influences ongoing brain activity and induces self-reflective awareness in dreams. Researchers concluded that higher order consciousness is related to synchronous oscillations around 25 and 40 Hz. ²⁰

Relationships

Recent research has demonstrated parallels between romantic attachment styles and general dream content.

Assessment results from 61 student participants in committed dating relationships of six months duration or longer revealed a significant association between relationship-specific attachment security and the degree to which dreams about romantic partners followed. The findings illuminate our understanding of mental representations with regards to specific attachment figures. ⁴¹

Flying

There has been an increase in the percentage of people who report flying in dreams from 1956 to 2000; investigators have proposed this increase may reflect the increasing amount of air travel. ⁶⁸

Death

The dream content of psychiatric inpatients who had been admitted because of suicidal attempts was compared with three inpatient control groups who had been admitted for:

Depression and suicidal ideation without attempt

Depression with no suicidal ideation

Commission of a violent act without suicide.

Results confirmed that both suicidal and violent patients have more death content and destructive violence in their dreams, but also that this was a function of the severity of depression and certain character traits such as impulsivity, rather than being specific to the behavior itself. ¹⁰⁰

Children

A study investigating anxiety dreams in 103 children aged 9-11 years observed: ⁸⁶

Girls reported a higher frequency of anxiety dreams than boys, although they could not remember their dreams more often.

Girls dreamt more often than boys about the loss of another person, of falling, of socially disturbing situations and small animals, of animals as aggressors, of family members (mainly siblings) and other female persons of known identity.

A study of older children and adolescents aged 10-17 years, comparing those with neurotic disorders with healthy subjects, found in left-handers:

Subjects expressed less novelty factor and frequent appearance of rare phenomena, such as "déjà vu in wakefulness," reality, "mixed" (overlapped) dreams, prolonged dreams in repeat sleep, frequent changes of personages and scenes of action.

Dream peculiarities detected only in neurotic patients but not in healthy subjects emerged as lucid phenomena deficit, "dream in dreams" and "dream reminiscence in dream" syndrome, only found in left-handers.

Right and left hemispheres seem to contribute in different ways to a dream formation. Authors from the study believe that the left hemisphere seems to provide dream origin while the right hemisphere provides dream vividness, figurativeness and affective activation level. ⁸⁸

Pregnancy

During studies comparing the dreams of pregnant and non-pregnant women: 34,92

Caregivers

Those that give care to family or patients often have dreams related to the person or care given. A study following the dreams of adults that worked for at least a year with patients at US hospice centers noted: ³⁶

Patients were generally manifestly present in participants' dreams, and dreams were typically realistic.

In the dream, the dreamer typically interacted with the patient as a caretaker but was also typically frustrated by the inability to help as fully as desired.

Bereavement

It is widely believed that oppressive dreams are frequent in bereavement. A study analyzing dream quality, as well as the linking of oppressive dreams in bereavement, discovered: ³⁸

Oppressive dreams occurred at a significantly higher frequency in the first year of bereavement

Oppressive dreams were significantly associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms.

In another study of 278 bereaved persons: ³⁷

Can dreams predict the future?

Some dreams may seem to predict future events. Experts suggest that when this happens, it is usually due to coincidence, a false memory, or the unconscious connecting together known information.

Dreams may help people to learn more about their feelings, beliefs, and values. Images and symbols that appear in dreams will have meanings and connections that are specific to each person.

People looking to make sense of their dreams should think about what each part of the dreams mean to them. Books or guides that give specific, universal meanings to images and symbols may not be useful.

Does everyone dream in color?

Researchers discovered in a study that about 80% of participants younger than 30 years old dreamed in color. At 60 years old, 20% said they dreamed in color. The number of people aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s dreaming in color increased through 1993 to 2009. Researchers speculated that color television might play a role in the generational difference. ¹¹⁴

Another study using both questionnaires and dream diaries found older adults also had more black and white dreams than the younger participants. Older people reported that both their color dreams and black and white dreams were equally as vivid. However, younger participants said that their black and white dreams were of poorer quality. ¹¹⁵

Mistakes and misidentification

During neuroimaging studies looking at brain activity in REM sleep, scientists found that the distribution of brain activity during REM sleep might also be linked to specific dream features. Several bizarre features of normal dreams have similarities with well-known neuropsychological syndromes after brain damage, such as delusional misidentifications for faces and places. ²⁶

Drug abusers

A study following the dream content of crack cocaine abusers in Trinidad and Tobago during abstinence detailed: ⁸⁹

41 patients reported drug dreams during the first month, mainly of using the drug (89.1%).

28 had drug dreams at six months follow-up, mainly of using or refusing the drug (60.9%).

Forgetting dreams

Researchers estimate that 5 minutes after a dream, people have forgotten 50 percent of its content, increasing to 90 percent another 5 minutes later. Most dreams are entirely forgotten by the time someone wakes up.

It is not known precisely why dreams are so hard to remember. However, there are several steps that people can take to improve their dream recall. These include:

Who dreams?

Evidence from laboratory studies indicates that everyone dreams. Although a small percentage may not remember dreaming at all or claim that they do not, it is thought that most people dream between 3 to 6 times a night, with each dream lasting between 5 to 20 minutes.

There are factors that can potentially influence who can remember their dreams, how much of the dream remains intact and how vivid it is.

Age

Ageing is often associated with changes in sleep timing, structure and electroencephalographic (EEG) activity.

Scientific literature agrees that dream recall progressively decreases from the beginning of adulthood - not in old age - and that dream reports become less intense. This evolution occurs faster in men than women, with gender differences in the content of dreams. ⁵⁵

According to a small number of research papers, patients suffering degenerative dementia dream less than healthy older people. In Alzheimer's disease, this could be linked to the decrease of REM sleep and wasting of associative sensory areas of the brain's outer layer.

Gender

A study of 108 male and 110 female dreams found no differences between the amount of aggression, friendliness, sexuality, male characters, weapons, or clothes that feature in the dream's content. However, women's dreams featured a higher number of family members, babies, children, and indoor settings than men. 98,99

In another study, men reported more instances of dreaming about aggression than women. Women had marginally longer dreams with more characters than men. The men in the study dreamt about other men twice as often as they did about women while women dreamt about both sexes equally.

Sleep disorders

Dream recall is heightened in patients with insomnia and their dreams reflect the stress associated with their condition. The stressor of breathing-related dreams in sleep apnea patients is rare, whereas those with narcolepsy have more bizarre and negatively toned dreams. ⁶²

Well-being

One study tested the hypothesis that dream recall and dream content would imitate the dreamer's social relationship status. College student volunteers were assessed on measures of attachment, dream recall, dream content and other psychological measures. Participants who were classified as "high" on an "insecure attachment" scale were significantly more likely (when compared with participants who scored low on the insecure attachment scale) to:

Report a dream

Dream "frequently"

Have more intense images that contextualize strong emotions in their dreams.

Older volunteers whose attachment style was classed as "preoccupied," were significantly more likely (when compared with participants classified as "securely" attached, as "avoidant" or as "dismissing") to:

Report a dream

Report dreams with a higher mean number of words per dream.

Dream recall was lowest for the "avoidant" subjects and highest for the "preoccupied" subjects. ²

Dream-lag

Have you ever noticed that often the images, experiences or people that emerge in dreams are images, experiences or people you have seen recently?

Frequently, details from a dream have been seen before, perhaps the previous day or a week prior to the dream. Recalling something from a week ago is known as the "dream-lag effect." The idea is that certain types of experiences take a week to be encoded into long-term memory, and some of the images from the consolidation process will appear in a dream.

Memory theorists suggest that the hippocampus (an area deep in the forebrain that helps regulate emotion, learning, and memory) takes events from the previous day, selects some to be consolidated into long-term memory and then begins to transfer these over to the neocortex (the top layer of the brain that is divided into four major lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital) for permanent storage.

The transfer process takes about a week. Dreaming may participate in the relocation of memory storage from hippocampus to neocortex over time.

Events experienced while we are awake are said to feature in 1-2% of dream reports, although 65% of dream reports reflect aspects of recent waking life experiences.

Authors of one study found a significantly higher rate of correspondence between waking life experiences and dream reports when the experiences occurred 1-2, or 5-7 days before the dream, in comparison with when the experiences occurred 3-4 days before the dream. 44,55

The dream-lag effect has been reported in REM but not NREM stage 2 dreams (sleep stages are explained in the next section). These results may provide evidence for a 7-day sleep-dependent memory consolidation process that is specific to REM sleep, and would highlight the importance of REM sleep for emotional memory consolidation. 44,84

What do blind people dream about?

Studies have shown that blind participants have fewer visual dream impressions compared with sighted participants. Congenitally blind participants reported more auditory, tactile, gustatory, and olfactory dream components compared with sighted participants. Blind and sighted participants did not differ with respect to emotional and thematic dream content. ²¹

Paraplegic and those unable to hear or speak

One study explored the dream diaries of 14 people with impairments; four were born with paraplegia and 10 were born deaf and unable to speak. When compared with 36 able-bodied individuals, findings showed that around 80% of the dream reports of the deaf participants gave no indication of their impairment.

Many spoke in their dreams, while others could hear and understand spoken language. The dream reports of the people born paralyzed revealed something similar; they often walked, ran or swam, none of which they had ever done in their waking lives. ¹¹²

There was no difference between the number of bodily movements in the dream reports of the people with paraplegia and those of the deaf and able-bodied subjects.

A second study found similar results. Researchers looked at the dream reports of 15 people who were either born with paraplegia or had it later in life due to a spinal-cord injury. Their reports revealed that 14 of the participants with paraplegia had dreams in which they were physically active, and they dreamed about walking just as often as the 15 able-bodied control participants. ¹¹³

Recent dream studies suggest that our brain has the genetically determined ability to generate experiences that mimic life, including fully functioning limbs and senses, and that people who are born deaf or paralyzed are likely tapping into these parts of the brain when they dream about things they cannot do while awake.

Recent developments on dream content from MNT news

Link between acting out dreams and development of dementia

The strongest predictor of whether a man is developing dementia with Lewy bodies - the second most common form of dementia in the elderly - is whether he acts out his dreams while sleeping, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered. Patients are five times more likely to have dementia with Lewy bodies if they experience a condition known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder than if they have one of the risk factors now used to make a diagnosis, such as fluctuating cognition or hallucinations, the study found.

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Most people dream 3-6 times per night, although many people will not remember dreaming at all. This article looks at some of the recent theories about why people dream, what causes them, what dreams are, and lists the most common things that people dream about, including falling, swimming, dying, and many others.

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What to Do If You're Not Getting Enough Sleep

Whether you're scrambling to meet the demands of a busy schedule or just finding it hard to sleep at night, getting by on less sleep may seem like the only answer. But even minimal sleep loss can take a substantial toll on your mood, energy, mental sharpness, and ability to handle stress. And over the long-term, chronic sleep loss can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health. By understanding your nightly sleep needs and how to bounce back from sleep loss, you can finally get on a healthy sleep schedule and improve the quality of your waking life.

Why is sleep so important?

The quality of your sleep directly affects your mental and physical health and the quality of your waking life, including your productivity, emotional balance, brain and heart health, immune system, creativity, vitality, and even your weight. No other activity delivers so many benefits with so little effort!

Sleep isn't merely a time when your body shuts off. While you rest, your brain stays busy, overseeing biological maintenance that keeps your body running in top condition, preparing you for the day ahead. Without enough hours of restorative sleep, you won't be able to work, learn, create, and communicate at a level even close to your true potential. Regularly skimp on "service" and you're headed for a major mental and physical breakdown.

The good news is that you don't have to choose between health and productivity. By addressing any sleep problems and making time to get the sleep you need each night, your energy, efficiency, and overall health will go up. In fact, you'll likely get much more done during the day than if you were skimping on shuteye and trying to work longer.

Myths and Facts about Sleep

Myth: Getting just one hour less sleep per night won't affect your daytime
functioning. Fact: You may not be noticeably sleepy during the day, but losing even one hour of sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond quickly. It also compromises your cardiovascular health, energy balance, and ability to fight infections.

Myth: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules.
Fact: Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately timed cues-and even then, by one or two hours per day at best. Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust after traveling across several time zones or switching to the night shift.

Myth: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with excessive daytime fatigue.
Fact: The quantity of sleep you get is important, sure, but it's the quality of your sleep that you really have to pay attention to. Some people sleep eight or nine hours a night but don't feel well rested when they wake up because the quality of their sleep is poor.

Myth: You can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the
weekends.
Fact: Although this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep. Furthermore, sleeping later on the weekends can affect your sleep-wake cycle so that it is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday nights and get up early on Monday mornings.

Source:
Your Guide to Healthy Sleep, The National Institutes of Health

How many hours of sleep do you need?

There is a big difference between the amount of sleep you can get by on and the amount you need to function optimally. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average adult sleeps less than seven hours per night. In today's fast-paced society, six or seven hours of sleep may sound pretty good. In reality, though, it's a recipe for chronic sleep deprivation.

Just because you're able to operate on six or seven hours of sleep doesn't mean you wouldn't feel a lot better and get more done if you spent an extra hour or two in bed.

While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best. Children and teens need even more. And despite the notion that our sleep needs decrease with age, most older people still need at least 7 hours of sleep. Since older adults often have trouble sleeping this long at night, daytime naps can help fill in the gap.

The best way to figure out if you're meeting your sleep needs is to evaluate how you feel as you go about your day. If you're logging enough sleep hours, you'll feel energetic and alert all day long, from the moment you wake up until your regular bedtime.

Think six hours of sleep is enough?

Think again. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, discovered that some people have a gene that enables them to function well on six hours of sleep a night. This gene, however, is very rare, appearing in less than 3% of the population. For the other 97% of us, six hours doesn't come close to cutting it.

The importance of deep sleep and REM sleep

It's not just the number of hours you spend asleep that's important-it's the
quality of those hours. If you give yourself plenty of time for sleep but still have trouble waking up in the morning or staying alert all day, you may not be spending enough time in the different stages of sleep.

Each stage of sleep in your sleep cycle offers different benefits. However,
deep sleep (the time when the body repairs itself and builds up energy for the day ahead) and mind and mood-boosting
REM sleep are particularly important. You can ensure you get more deep sleep by avoiding alcohol, nicotine, and being woken during the night by noise or light. While improving your overall sleep will increase REM sleep, you can also try sleeping an extra 30 minutes to an hour in the morning, when REM sleep stages are longer. See The Biology of Sleep to learn more.

Signs that you're not getting enough sleep

If you're getting less than eight hours of sleep each night, chances are you're sleep deprived. What's more, you probably have no idea just how much lack of sleep is affecting you.

How is it possible to be sleep deprived without knowing it? Most of the signs of sleep deprivation are much more subtle than falling face first into your dinner plate. Furthermore, if you've made a habit of skimping on sleep, you may not even remember what it feels like to be truly wide-awake, fully alert, and firing on all cylinders. Maybe it feels normal to get sleepy when you're in a boring meeting, struggling through the afternoon slump, or dozing off after dinner, but the truth is that it's only "normal" if you're sleep deprived.

You may be sleep deprived if you...

Need an alarm clock in order to wake up on time

Rely on the snooze button

Have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning

Feel sluggish in the afternoon

Get sleepy in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms

Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving

Need to nap to get through the day

Fall asleep while watching TV or relaxing in the evening

Feel the need to sleep in on weekends

Fall asleep within five minutes of going to bed

The effects of sleep deprivation

While it may seem like losing sleep isn't such a big deal, sleep deprivation has a wide range of negative effects that go way beyond daytime drowsiness. Lack of sleep affects your judgment, coordination, and reaction times. In fact, sleep deprivation can affect you just as much as being drunk.

The effects include:

Fatigue, lethargy, and lack of motivation

Moodiness and irritability; increased risk of depression

Decreased sex drive; relationship problems

Impaired brain activity; learning, concentration, and memory problems

Reduced creativity and problem-solving skills; difficulty making decisions

Inability to cope with stress, difficulty managing emotions

Premature skin aging

Weakened immune system; frequent colds and infections; weight gain

Impaired motor skills and increased risk of accidents; hallucinations and delirium

Increased risk of serious health problems including stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and certain cancers

How sleep deprivation can add to your waistline

Ever noticed how when you're short on sleep you crave sugary foods that give you a quick energy boost? There's a good reason for that. Sleep deprivation has a direct link to overeating and weight gain.

There are two hormones in your body that regulate normal feelings of hunger and fullness. Ghrelin stimulates appetite, while leptin sends signals to the brain when you are full. However, when you don't get the sleep you need, your ghrelin levels go up, stimulating your appetite so you want more food than normal, and your leptin levels go down, meaning you don't feel satisfied and want to keep eating. So, the more sleep you lose, the more food your body will crave.

How to get the sleep that you need

Whether you're looking to resolve a specific sleep problem, or just want to feel more productive, mentally sharp, and emotionally balanced during the day, experiment with the following sleep tips to see which work best for you:

Rule out medical causes for your sleep problems. A sleep disturbance may be a symptom of a physical or mental health issue, or a side-effect of certain medications.

Stick to a regular sleep schedule. Support your biological clock by going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, including weekends.

Get regular exercise. Regular exercise can improve the symptoms of many sleep disorders and problems. Aim for 30 minutes or more of activity on most days-but not too close to bedtime.

Be smart about what you eat and drink. Caffeine, alcohol, and sugary foods can all disrupt your sleep, as can eating heavy meals or drinking lots of fluids too close to bedtime.

Get help with stress management. If the stress of managing work, family, or school is keeping you awake at night, learning how to handle stress in a productive way can help you sleep better at night.

Improve your sleep environment. Keep your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool, and reserve your bed for just sleeping and sex.

Develop a relaxing bedtime routine. Avoid screens, work, and stressful conversations late at night. Instead, wind down and calm your mind by taking a warm bath, reading by a dim light, or practicing a relaxation technique to prepare for sleep.

Postpone worrying. If you wake during the night feeling anxious about something, make a brief note of it on paper and postpone worrying about it until the next day when it will be easier to resolve.

Recommended reading

Authors: Melinda Smith, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, and Robert Segal, M.A. Last updated: October 2018

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Sleep Needs What to Do If You're Not Getting Enough SleepWhether you're scrambling to meet the demands of a busy schedule or just finding it hard to sleep at night, getting by on less sleep may seem like the only answer. But even minimal sleep

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Healthy Sleep Overview

Good sleep is necessary for optimal health and can affect hormone levels, mood and weight. Sleep problems, including snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, sleep deprivation, and restless legs syndrome, are common.

Healthy Sleep News

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Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

The amount of sleep a person needs depends on many factors, including age. In general:

Infants (ages 0-3 months) require 14-17 hours a day.

Infants (ages 4-11 months) require 12-15 hours a day

Toddlers (ages 1-2 years) require about 11-14 hours a day.

Pre-school children (ages 3-5) require 10-13 hours a day.

School-age children (ages 6-13) require 9-11 hours a day.

Teenagers (ages 14-17) need about 8-10 hours each day.

Most adults need 7 to 9 hours a night for the best amount of sleep, although some people may need as few as 6 hours or as many as 10 hours of sleep each day.

Older adults (ages 65 and older)need 7-8 hours of sleep each day.

Women in the first 3 months of pregnancy often need several more hours of sleep than usual.

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Good sleep is necessary for optimal health and can affect hormone levels, mood and weight. Sleep problems, including snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, sleep deprivation, and restless legs syndrome, are common. latest headlines Are You Getting Enough Sleep? The amount of sleep a person needs depends on many factors, including age.

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Here at Sleep.org by the National Sleep Foundation we are dedicated to starting a movement about the positive benefits of sleep health. | Sleep.org

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Sleep health is a relatively new field of research exploring how we sleep and factors that impact it. Explore and learn from our sleep health articles.

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National Sleep Foundation - Sleep Research & Education

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Explore the National Sleep foundation, your source for sleep research and education from sleep disorders and problems to polls and maximizing energy.