Since humans spend about one-third of our lives in bed, it seems reasonable to ask just what happens when our heads hit the pillow each night.

It was thought for generations that sleep was an inactive brain state. It was commonly believed that at night during sleep the brain simply shut down, only to restart the next morning.

Thanks to modern sleep research, we now know that is not true, and during the course of a normal night our brain goes through a series of sleep cycles.

Typically, a sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes, and during that span we move through five stages of sleep.

First, there is NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. As we drift off to sleep we gradually move through Stage 1, very light sleep, to Stage 4, very deep sleep. As we progress from Stage 1 to Stage 4 sleep, our eyes typically do not move, but all our muscles retain their ability to function.

From NREM our body progresses to REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. During this final stage of sleep, we have bursts of rapid eye movement, and it’s in this stage that dreaming occurs. Scientists are not sure why our eyes move, but some think it’s related to dreaming. Though our eyes are moving, the muscles that move our bodies are paralyzed, but our heart and diaphragm continue to work normally.

Beyond those basics, things get a bit more complicated during the course of a night’s rest. The length of each stage usually varies as we sleep our way through the night, patterns can vary depending on what time we go to bed, and there’s also the matter of age. Teenagers typically need nine hours or more of sleep while adults can often get by with six-seven hours per night.

Whatever you sleep habits, whatever your age, at Mattress Direct in Baton Rouge we want you to get the very best night’s sleep possible. We have a fantastic selection of all the top-brand mattresses at prices our competitors cannot begin to match.

Stop by any one of our Baton Rouge stores, 9469 Airline Highway, 7770 Bluebonnet Blvd or 5880 Siegen Lane, and let us introduce you to sleep luxury at its finest.

For the very best selection of mattresses in Baton Rouge, come see us at Mattress Direct today!

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