

This sleep stage is when your body carries out its housekeeping tasks: muscles are repaired, growth occurs, toxins that have built up during the day are removed and your immune system is strengthened.įinally, you enter rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Because of this, you become difficult to rouse during N3. Your heartbeat and breathing rate are at their lowest and your body is fully relaxed. During this sleep stage, your heartbeat and breathing rate slow down a little more and your muscles become more relaxed. While still light sleep, N2 is slightly deeper than N1. You then pass into the next stage of sleep, called N2. During this stage your heartbeat and breathing rate begin to slow down and your muscles start to relax. This explains why sometimes as you’re dropping off to sleep, a little noise like a creak or a disturbance from outside can wake you back up. This is your lightest stage of sleep and the easiest to wake from. When you initially fall asleep, you enter the first stage of sleep, called N1.

Your sleep’s made up of four different phases, each with their own distinct functions and features. So we’ll begin with a quick tour through the different stages of your sleep.

To understand how sound-based alarms can impact your health and wellbeing, we need to look at how they can affect your sleep. We’ll explain why using a sound-based alarm might not be the best way to start your day and what alternatives are available to you. In this article, we’ll look at the pros and cons of using sound to wake you up. You might be surprised to hear that this standard wake-up method can negatively affect how you feel as you wake up and throughout the day.ĭo you already hate the sound of your alarm and dread it going off each morning? Have you ever stopped to consider if there’s a better way to wake up? What wakes you up in the morning? Is it the first rays of sunlight gently creeping in through the window? A paw to the face from a pet that’s decided it’s definitely time you got up? Or maybe you wake up to the sweet sound of birds chirping outside.įor the vast majority of us, it’s none of the above.įigures vary, but somewhere around 80% of us are relying on a sound-based alarm clock to rouse us from our slumbers. where to turn if you’re waking up exhausted and unrefreshed every time your alarm goes off.
Natural light alarm clock how to#
