Why Do I Feel Better When I Wake Up Instead of an Alarm?

We’ve all experienced it: You’re in the middle of a beautiful dream. Maybe you’re flying. While soaring in the air, you encounter an eagle. The eagle looks at you, opens its beak and – BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Your alarm is ringing. The dream is over, it’s time to get up.

Many people (both children and adults) find that they feel more alert when they wake up naturally from sleep than when an alarm or another person, such as a parent, wakes them up. Why?

I am a neurologist A person who studies the brain, especially what happens in the brain while we sleep. I also care for children and adults who are not sleeping well and want to sleep better. My research involves working with parents to help them teach their children good sleep habits.

To understand how to sleep better and why waking up naturally helps you feel more alert, you need to start by understanding sleep cycles.

Sleep Cycle

to sleep loop It consists of four stages. One of these is REM, which stands for rapid eye movements. The other three are non-REM stages. When you fall asleep, you first enter a room. status numbness It is called non-REM Stage 1.

This is followed by deeper stages of sleep, called non-REM stages 2 and 3. Each stage of non-REM is deeper than the previous one. Then, about 90 minutes after first falling asleep, you enter the fourth stage, REM sleep. This is a lighter sleep phase where you realize most of your dreams. After a few minutes, you return to non-REM sleep.

These cycles repeat throughout the night; Most people have four to six non-REM sleep cycles that alternate with REM sleep each night. As the night progresses, cycles include less non-REM sleep and more REM sleep. Therefore, it is important to get enough sleep so that the body can rest. enough for both REM sleep and non-REM sleep.

REM and Non-REM Sleep

How do researchers like me know when a person is in and out of REM sleep? In the sleep laboratory, we can understand this from brain waves, eye movements and the tension in muscles such as the jaw. These are measured by placing sensors called electrodes on the scalp, around the eyes and on the chin.

These electrodes capture brain activity, which varies from waves that are low in amplitude (the height of the wave) and relatively fast to waves that are high in amplitude (a longer wave) and relatively slow. When we are awake, the waves are low in height and move relatively quickly. On the contrary, during sleep the waves rise and slow down.

Non-REM Stage 3 has the longest and slowest waves of all sleep stages. In REM sleep, brain waves are low in amplitude and relatively fast, and eye movements are also fast. People need both non-REM and REM phases for a healthy brain so they can learn and remember.

Waking Up Naturally

When you wake up on your own in the morning, you are usually at the end of whatever stage of sleep you are in. Think of it like stopping at the station and getting off the train. But when an alarm or another wakes you up, it’s like jumping off the train between stops, and that can be jarring. Therefore it is good to wake up as naturally as possible.

People can actually train their brains to wake up at a consistent time each day, which is a natural stopping point. brains one internal 24 hours hour This determines when you first feel sleepy and when you wake up. It’s about us circadian rhythms.

You can adjust your circadian rhythm so that you wake up naturally every morning.

Training the Brain to Wake Up at a Consistent Time

First, it’s important to go to bed at a consistent time that ensures you get adequate sleep. If you stay up too late doing your homework or looking at your phone, this can prevent you from getting enough sleep and leave you dependent on an alarm or your parents to wake you up.

Other things that can help you fall asleep at a healthy time include getting physical activity during the day and avoiding coffee, soda or other beverages or foods containing caffeine. While physical activity increases brain chemicals that make it easier to fall asleep, caffeine does the opposite, keeping you awake.

Second, you need to be aware light in your environment. The light is too late in the eveningyour brain, including screens called chemical melatonin This promotes sleep. However, when you wake up in the morning, you need to be exposed to light.

Morning light helps synchronize or align your circadian rhythms with the outside world, making it easier to fall asleep at night. The easiest way to do this is to open your shades or curtains in your room. In the winter, some people use light boxes to simulate sunlight, which helps them align their rhythm.

Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep

A good sleep routine requires consistent bedtime and wake-up times and getting enough sleep on a regular basis. This usually means: 9-11 hours for school-age children who are not yet teenagers, and 8-10 hours for teenagers.

This will help you look your best. learn at school, boost your moodhelp you stay healthy weight, and encourage many other aspects of health.

Beth Ann Malow is Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University. This article is republished from: Speech under one Creative Commons license. Read original article.