East Suffolk Well Minds - Flipbook - Page 7
7
Section 2: Sleep
Sleep is essentially the sixth way to wellbeing!
Broadly speaking, there are two
kinds of sleep: rapid eye movement
(REM) and non-REM sleep. Deep
sleep is a phase of non-REM sleep
and takes care of our physical
health. The brain and body recover
and grow, and our immune system
is strengthened.
REM sleep takes care of our emo琀椀onal
health and is when we dream. Dreaming is
the brain’s way of processing the emo琀椀ons
we haven’t dealt with during the day,
returning them to their normal levels by
the 琀椀me we awake.
Most deep sleep occurs in the 昀椀rst half of
the night, and more REM sleep happens
in the second half. If we go to bed late,
we miss our deep sleep and might feel
physically 琀椀red and groggy the next day. If
we get up very early, we’re missing out on
some of our REM sleep, so we might be a
li琀琀le more agitated and less able to cope
with stress the next day.
Adults need between seven and
nine hours of sleep, but quality is
as important as quan琀椀ty!
