How many hours should deep sleep last for an adult?

For an adult, the norm of sleep reaches 7-8 hours, while for children it is somewhat more and is in direct proportion to their age. However, the body of people is individual and some need only 4-6 hours to restore vitality, while others need 9-10 hours a day to take to rest.

But regardless of this, any dream consists of two periods - superficial and deep, each of which has its own characteristics. Deep sleep is a full-fledged night's rest, which allows a person to restore his emotional and physical state, as well as working capacity.

The rate of deep sleep for adults is 90-120 minutes, which is gained over several nightly cycles.

The time of dreams is conditionally divided into 2 phases: slow and fast. Normally, falling asleep begins with non-REM sleep, which is much longer than the REM phase. However, closer to the moment of awakening, the duration of the phases changes in a different direction.

If you look at the time, then, consisting of four stages, lasts 90-120 minutes, while a quick rest "flies" in 5-10 minutes. The sum of these numbers represents one sleep cycle in an adult. In children (infants, adolescents), the duration of this cycle is different, depending on their age.

As we approach morning, with each repetition of the cycle, the duration of the slow phase becomes shorter, while that of the fast one increases. During the night, a sleeping person is gradually replaced by 4-5 cycles. An important stage during the night period is deep sleep, which helps to restore the physical and intellectual strength of a person.

Features of the slow stage of rest

How long should deep sleep last? This is a question that interests people who have problems with restoring vitality at night. It is worth knowing that during the night there are 4-5 sleep cycles, and they begin with a slow phase. In turn, the slow phase consists of 4 stages:

• nap;
• falling asleep;
• deep rest;
• delta.

During these stages, the body of an adult and a child relaxes, its functions fade, and the brain rests. It is at this time that the body is charged with energy and restores its strength.

You can learn more about what changes can be with the body during each stage if you familiarize yourself with their characteristics:

nap

During this period, a person falls asleep, but his brain continues to work and create dreams intertwined with reality. A special feature is that in this state it is possible to solve problems that previously seemed unsolvable.

falling asleep

This continuation of the slow phase is characterized by a gradual shutdown of consciousness, but the brain still continues to respond. At this stage, a person is easily awakened by any noise.

deep stage

Changes appear in the body, it relaxes, all functions and processes slow down in it.

delta stage

During this period, it is difficult to wake a person up, since he is completely immersed in sleep, the body temperature drops, it is completely relaxed, blood circulation and respiratory rate slow down. It is quite difficult to wake a sleeping person in this stage - a person will need to shake or call loudly.

Slow rest is the longest in time, and it completely depends on the characteristics of the body. If a person can get enough sleep, it will have a positive effect on mental activity, well-being and physical endurance.

When a person does not get enough sleep, he will feel rather bad, but if he develops insomnia, this condition greatly exhausts the body, leading to numerous diseases.

An equally important function of the period delta is the transition of information from short-term memory to long-term memory. This process takes place in a special structure of the brain (the hippocampus) and lasts for several hours.

The latest scientific data have established that during deep sleep, metabolic processes in the body are normalized, its cells and tissues are restored - this leads to the fact that the internal organs have time to fully prepare for the new day.

If the REM sleep phase prevails over the slow one, then any person, regardless of his age and gender (man, woman, newborn or older child), will feel bad. The main symptom of this condition will be muscle weakness, deterioration of memory and brain function, as well as other negative phenomena.

Sleep disturbance and causes of this condition

Surely every fourth person has problems with, which are divided into several groups:

• difficulty falling asleep;
• deterioration of night rest;
• problems with well-being after waking up.

What is considered a sleep disorder? In fact, this is a temporary disorder of any phase of nocturnal dreams that lead to mental disorders while awake. If this condition continues for a long time, the person may develop depression. Therefore, it is important to identify the cause of a sleep disorder in time, but this is not always easy to do.

If the violation of normal rest has no reason, then most often it goes away on its own after 1-2 nights. Otherwise, when the sleep disorder lasts for a long time, this condition can be caused by the most serious causes:

• violation of the psycho-emotional sphere - chronic stress, bipolar disorder, depression, etc .;
• diseases of the internal organs and pain associated with them;
• emotional experiences;
• mental stress.

When falling asleep is disturbed or it is impossible to do this, the phase of deep and delta sleep is reduced or does not occur at all. There are several ways to restore healthy rest that can help when the first signs of insomnia appear.

Otherwise, a person must definitely seek medical help, otherwise sleep disturbance can lead to serious health consequences.

Restoration of a good rest

In order for the stage of deep and delta rest to come on regularly and last the necessary time for which a person will have time to restore his inner strength, you should use the following tips:

• adherence to the daily routine - if you go to bed and get up at the same time, you will be able to normalize night rest and facilitate awakening (the body itself will let you know that it is time for it to sleep);
• refusal of food, smoking, alcohol, invigorating drinks before rest - 1-2 hours before going to bed, you can eat an apple or drink a glass of kefir;
• Adequate physical activity will help increase the duration of deep sleep;
• it is imperative to eliminate light and noise sources that interfere with normal sleep;
• ventilation - falling asleep in a cool room is much easier than in a stuffy room;
• listening to light music - this measure allows a person to relax, rest and fall asleep faster (cricket singing, binaural rhythm, the sound of the sea, the rustle of leaves, etc.);
• watching light entertainment programs before going to bed - allow you to be distracted;
• refusal of mental work in the evening (2-3 hours before bedtime) - techniques such as relaxation and meditation can help eliminate obsessive thoughts in the head that prevent you from falling asleep.

These measures will improve falling asleep and normalize night rest in adults and infants. In severe cases, an adult may need hypnosis to help restore the normal "schedule" of the body. However, only a specialist who has extensive experience and has the necessary knowledge can introduce a patient into a trance.

Also, the elimination of sleep problems is the treatment of diseases in the patient, if they are the cause of insomnia.

In the presence of depression, a person is recommended to visit a psychotherapist who will conduct a course of treatment and prescribe antidepressants to the patient to eliminate disorders in the psycho-emotional sphere (sometimes they appear after a person is put into anesthesia).

If you have problems with rest, you should not immediately take sleeping pills, since only a doctor should prescribe them. Important: sleeping pills can have a negative impact on the quality of recovery of the physical and emotional state of a person during rest.