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Secrets of the Bedroom: What Happens When You Sleep?

Summary & Participants

We all know how a restless night can lead to a terrible day. Everyday tasks become difficult; we get irritable and just feel crummy. But why? What's going on in your body when you sleep, and how does it affect how you feel during the day? What is the difference between good and bad sleep? Join our panel of experts as they discuss the biology of sleep, and what you should know to succeed in the quest for rest.

Medically Reviewed On: July 17, 2008

Webcast Transcript

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Welcome to our webcast. I'm David Folk Thomas.

Now there are all kinds of sleep problems. Some people can't get to sleep at night, while others can't wake up in the morning. We all want good sleep, but what is good sleep and how many hours do you really need? What are REM sleep and circadian rhythms and how do they affect what you feel like in the morning?

Well, here to explain the many facets of sleep are two experts. On my left, is Dr. Daniel Wagner. He's the medical director of the Sleep-Wake Disorder Center at the New York Presbyterian Hospital here in New York. And on Dr. Wagner's left is Dr. Shelley Zak. She's an attending physician at the Sleep-Wake Disorder Center at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. Doctors, welcome, thanks for joining us.

Is there a normal amount of sleep out there?

DANIEL WAGNER, MD: Well, there's not a specific "normal." There's, instead, a range of normal. Just like there's a normal range of height or weight. In adults it's probably somewhere between six and nine hours per night. Most people need somewhere around eight. Seven-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half-- that ballpark-- to really be well-rested.

A lot of people don't get that much. Because of staying up late and getting up early to go to work and so forth. And so as a nation, we've sometimes been called chronically sleep-deprived. That we really don't get as much sleep as we should.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: What are the different types of sleep?

SHELLEY ZAK, MD: Well, we generally divide sleep into two main types. REM, or rapid-eye-movement sleep, and non-REM sleep. And within the category of non-REM sleep, we further divide it in terms of depth. There's light sleep and deep sleep, and that's really, "How easy is it to rouse someone?" That's all that depth really means. You have cycles during the night. Each cycle last anywhere between an hour-and-a-half, a little under two hours, of non-REM, REM, non-REM, REM.

And, in fact, it's very common for people to wake up at the end of each cycle, after a REM period. Though most people aren't aware of the wakenings. You wake up, roll over, go right back to sleep and have no memory of it. Sometimes, though depending on circumstances, people might wake up and they'll realize, "Oh, I've been waking up after my dreams." But that actually can be normal.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: And REM is the deeper sleep?

SHELLEY ZAK, MD: Well, it's not really deeper. It's actually totally different. Everything kind of flies out the window when talking about REM sleep. And it's actually not as deep as quote "deep sleep." Again depth is defined as, "How difficult is it to wake you up from?"

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