Light Sleep Stage: 4 Ways to Encourage Restful Sleep

Light sleep is a non-rapid eye movement (or non-REM or NREM) sleep phase you enter shortly after falling asleep and return to regularly throughout your sleep cycle. In light sleep, it’s easier to wake up than if you were in a deep sleep phase (or slow-wave sleep). You’re more likely to experience grogginess or sleepiness after waking from a deeper level of sleep.

If you’re a light sleeper, you might spend more time in light sleep than you need to and rouse more easily than you should. However, there might be other reasons for your wakefulness issue, too.

Light sleep is the phase in which you spend most of your time dormant through the night. In general, adults’ total sleep time should range from seven to nine hours of sleep, and light sleep accounts for around fifty to sixty percent of that period.

In other words, light sleep serves as the sleep foundation upon which both the deep and REM stages of sleep build themselves. You can’t enter these more restorative phases of sleep without plenty of light sleep before, during, and after them.

Your body and brain have tasks to perform during each stage of your sleep pattern, including during light sleep. Here are four things that occur during the light sleep stage:

1. 1. Brain waves slow down. As you start to drift off at night, your brain activity begins to slow down. You might still feel cognizant enough to hear sounds and experience temperature changes in these early moments of light sleep, and you might even feel like you haven’t slept at all if you have to wake up from this phase. Still, your brain will slow down to recharge, although you might also experience brief bursts of brainwave activity (known as sleep spindles) during this phase, too.
2. 2. Heart rate decreases. As you begin your journey through the sleep-wake cycle, your heart rate begins to slow down. This helps regulate blood pressure and keeps your heart healthy. Your breathing rate will also start to slow, and your body temperature will decrease.
3. 3. Memories consolidate. Your brain is hard at work storing and discarding memories throughout all the different stages of sleep, but a lot of that work occurs during this initial light phase of rest. This helps you wake up refreshed and ready to go for the next day. You might dream during this phase of memory consolidation, but the vast majority of your dreaming will happen in the later REM stages.
4. 4. Metabolism regulates. During the light sleep phase, your metabolism regulates and your body continues to digest food. This is why experiencing consistent, quality sleep can contribute to lower rates of obesity and a strengthened immune system.

Understanding sleep is just the beginning—working to encourage healthy sleep through good sleep habits is even more important. Here are four ways to promote better sleep:

1. 1. Get evaluated for sleep disorders. Waking up during light sleep should be easy if you need to—but if you continually wake during the night, you could have a sleep disorder. A medical professional can perform a sleep study on you to diagnose whether you have a condition like sleep apnea or insomnia. They can then help you set out on a course to better your overall quality of sleep.
2. 2. Exercise regularly. Expending physical energy with regularity helps you to establish a steady circadian rhythm. Tiring out your body during the day will lead to a quicker transition into light sleep from wakefulness. Eating a well-balanced diet also helps encourage a well-rounded sleep cycle.
3. 3. Reduce blue light exposure. Cell phones, TV sets, and computer screens all emit a fair share of blue light, which will convince your brain it’s daytime when it’s actually time for bed. Stick to a routine sleep schedule and put all electronic devices away a few hours before bed to foster a swift shift from wakefulness to light sleep. Not all external stimuli are bad for ushering you into slumber, though—for instance, a white noise machine or some peaceful music might help you drift off more quickly.
4. 4. Try supplements. If you’re routinely not getting enough sleep, you can try a sleep supplement to help you get on track. Many sleep supplements, such as melatonin, are available over the counter; however, it’s always a good idea to consult your doctor about introducing a new supplement into your routine. Keep in mind any sleep medicine or supplement will likely have its fair share of side effects, and you should seek medical advice from a qualified professional before trying any of them.

Saw some of the best darn logs of your life with a MasterClass Annual Membership and exclusive instructional videos from Dr. Matthew Walker, the author of Why We Sleep and the founder-director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Between Matthew’s tips for optimal snoozing and info on discovering your body’s ideal rhythms, you’ll be sleeping more deeply in no time.