Ultradian Rhythms: Your Nightly Sleep Cycles
Ultradian rhythms are shorter than 24 hours, and the most important one happens whilst you're sleeping. Your brain cycles through five stages of sleep approximately every 90 minutes throughout the night, each with distinct brainwave patterns.
Stages 1 and 2 involve light sleep with high-frequency, short waves - this is when you might wake up easily. Stages 3 and 4 are deep sleep, characterised by slow, powerful brainwaves that help your body recover. Stage 5 is REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), where your body becomes paralysed but your brain acts like it's awake - this is when most vivid dreams occur.
Understanding these sleep stages has revealed why older people often struggle with sleep quality. Deep sleep stages (3 and 4) naturally decrease with age, explaining why your grandparents might wake up more frequently than you do.
Research shows massive individual differences in sleep patterns, making it difficult to define "normal sleep". Whilst sleep labs help scientists control variables, people attached to monitoring equipment rarely sleep as naturally as they would at home.
Remember: Your sleep cycles repeat every 90 minutes - that's why you sometimes wake up naturally feeling refreshed whilst other times you feel groggy, depending on which stage you're in!