If you work a daytime schedule, a brief (<20-minute) nap is recommended. Generally speaking, though, an ideal nap lasts about 20 to 30 minutes. Base your sleep cycle start time on the time you need to be up. The key to successful power napping is its length. 16-20 hours: 50/50 split of sleep between night and day, waking every 2-4 hours to feed. It is the perfect nap length because you wake up feeling refreshed from the nap and not dizzy. or what we call a 'worrying time' for 20 to 30 minutes before. Avoid caffeine and nicotine late in the day and. To wrap up – the 90 minute sleep cycle plays a crucial role in ensuring optimal sleep quality and recovery. Sleep cycles are 90-minute sequences which move through the four different sleep stages and each sleep stage lasts between 5-15 minutes. Set an alarm for 15 to 30 minutes to wake up. Telsa also followed the Uberman sleep cycle and claimed to never sleep for more than two hours a day. ”. The. Each cycle after that, your REM sleep gets longer and longer. If you really want to nap for more than 20 minutes, you should instead nap for 90 minutes. Deep sleep (or slow-wave sleep) Starts about 90 minutes into sleep cycle: About 10 minutes: About 30-60 minutes: About 20-40 minutes: First REM stage is about 10 minutes. ” If your sleep lasts less than 20 minutes, you are still in the first stage of your sleep. FYI everyone, the 90 minute thing is a very rough estimate. Getting as much REM sleep as possible – around 10-20 minutes each cycle – is important for a healthy brain and helps with memory function and even creativity levels. Each stage has a different duration, and for some of the stages, their duration will change throughout the course of the night. The later the stage, the deeper the sleep — and the more restorative it becomes. When you sleep, you cycle through two phases of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep. Go to another room and read or do other quiet activities until you feel sleepy. In the 1950s, sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman discovered that the human body moves through. They also found that power naps eliminated microsleeps, which is the tendency to nod off (while flying!). If you typically take more or less time to fall asleep, add or subtract those minutes from the projected wake-up time. At 20 months, we want to aim for 2-3 hours of daytime sleep. sometimes 10 to 20 minutes a day, while awake. Most races are Non-stop, while a few require you just finish the fastest. Each night, you have between four and six sleep cycles. Two words: sleep inertia. Some people may last longer in a certain stage of sleep than others. If you nap in the morning, the sleep consists primarily of light NREM (and possibly REM) sleep. The amount and timing of sleep and sleep architecture (sleep stages) are determined by several factors, important among which are the environment, circadian rhythms and time awake. People who have lost their sight and cannot coordinate their natural wake-sleep cycle using natural light can stabilize their sleep patterns by taking small amounts of melatonin at the same time each day. As your sleep allotment extends, the amount of time each sleep. Sleep cycles are not perfect 90-minute periods. The first 20 or so minutes of a nap are light sleep, or REM sleep. These natural processes respond primarily to light and dark and affect most living things, including animals, plants, and microbes. Napping for longer than 20 minutes risks going to deep into the sleep cycle, which can result in feeling more tired and groggy, rather than rested. During your first sleep cycle of a given night, REM sleep typically begins about 90 minutes after you nod off. “One of the most misunderstood facts about baby sleep, in my experience, is that waking is not normal. Based on EEG data, we can estimate the average duration of each stage of sleep during a sleep cycle. Polyphasic sleep is the practice of distributing multiple short sleep episodes across the 24-hour day rather than having one major and possibly a minor (“nap”) sleep episode each day. 2. Baby sleep cycles are around 50 minutes long. Everyman cycle: 3. Sleeping for an entire sleep cycle will help you feel refreshed and more alert, while also ensuring that you do not awaken in deep sleep. Adults’ sleep cycles last about 90 minutes from the beginning to the end, while babies’ sleep cycles last 45-60 minutes. 90-Minute Nap (Full Sleep Cycle Nap) Benefits: A 90-minute nap is enough time to complete a full sleep cycle, including both non-REM and REM sleep stages. One thing we really like about this formula is how reasonable/attainable it is. 11 p. The average person takes 15 minutes to fall asleep. ”. THIS PAPER is intended to draw attention to a basic biological cycle—the 90-minute "sleep-dream cycle"—to define and describe the cycle, and to present some data from studies specifically investigating this variable. 80. Napping can throw off your sleep cycle. Stage 1 typically lasts up to 10 minutes. Aim for a 10-20 minutes nap to feel refreshed. Giving yourself a full sleep cycle (90 minutes) can help you retain certain skill you’ve just learned, but for recovering from fatigue a 15-20 minute nap is ideal (and some research suggests a. Stay hydrated to get more deep sleep but push drinking a little bit earlier in the day. He once. Each additional REM stage gets longer throughout the night. The exact number of hours, or sleep cycles, you need at night will vary depending on a number of factors, including: Your age, as children and younger adults tend to need more sleep; Your gender, as women tend to need 20 more minutes on average than men;Deep sleep lasts 20 to 40 minutes 11. Earlier exercise, avoiding daytime naps, and caffeine, large meals, and alcohol before bed, having a relaxing bedtime. You either sleep for 15 to 20 minutes or a full sleep cycle of 90 minutes to make the most of your nap time. Below we’ll explain why this is the case, take a look at the benefits of napping, and help you. Power naps are unlikely to interfere with nighttime sleep if taken in the early or mid-afternoon. This is hard, but necessary. [1] Here are some basic tips for healthful napping: Sleep for no longer than 30 minutes: The ideal nap duration is around 20 minutes and should be no longer than 30 minutes. 20 minute Nap vs. Da Vinci followed an extreme form of a polyphasic sleep schedule called the Uberman sleep cycle, which consists of 20-minute naps every four hours. In general, each cycle moves sequentially through each of the 4 stages of sleep: wake, light sleep, deep sleep, REM, and repeat. Biphasic (or diphasic, bifurcated, or bimodal) sleep refers to two periods, while polyphasic usually means more than two. 11:15 p. , wake up at 7:09 a. It follows the idea that it’s appropriate to wake up at the end of phase V or REM. 3 to 5 years: 10 to 13 hours. As the sleep cycle repeats, REM sleep occurs several times while a person is resting. A brief nap can increase alertness for a couple of hours after the nap, with less grogginess. Our sleep calculator can help you determine your ideal bedtime. We return to stage 2 several times during the night. Quiet reading, low-impact stretching, listening to soothing music, and relaxation exercises are examples of ways to get into the right frame of mind for sleep. We included that time when calculating your result. According to this Harvard Med site, sleep cycles following the first are generally longer than the first one. An average person needs 5-6 cycles to feel fully regenerated in the morning. So try one of the apps or alarm clocks others have mentioned (or if you only have a crappy flippy phone like me and don't intend to get an. Babies need to keep moving and twitching for optimal brain development. If you get 7-8 hours of sleep, around 90 minutes of that should be REM. 5 to 12 years: no nap needed if they’re getting the recommended 10 or 11 hours of sleep per night. Therefore, the length of each sleep cycle is about 100 minutes, so the initial REM period is only about 10 minutes. 1. This totals 9 h 15 min. According to WebMD, during slow-wave sleep, the body “repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle, and strengthens the immune system. Sleep episodes averaged 45 min and the mean waking episode was 38 min. Each cycle lasts 90 minutes on average, and the recommended sleep time for adults is 7-8 hours. As the night progresses, periods of REM sleep get longer and alternate with stage N2 sleep. That said, naptime (or your “second sleep”) should be timed to last either 30 minutes or 90 minutes, but nothing in between, to avoid interrupting your sleep cycles. m. Calling it the Basic Rest-Activity Cycle (or BRAC), they. Make sure. Bedtimes are based on: your wake-up time. During this stage: eye movements become. completing five or six 90-minute sleep cycles. Avoid caffeine for about 8 hours before bedtime. Stage 4 (Deep Sleep) Stage 4 is also called delta sleep because it is the time when slow brain waves called delta waves occur. These are called Appetitive. During this stage, your muscles become more relaxed and you may begin to have slow-wave (delta) brain activity. For this reason, I advise napping for 20 minutes. Each phase and. Bear types, in this case, typically get five full (90-minute) sleep cycles in one night and like to wake up around 7 a. So, for example, with 6 hours of sleep, to almost four (6 hours divided by 1. As we journey through our own cycle of life, our bodies change, and we need different amounts of slumber. The extraordinary stress health care workers experience on the job is, in many cases, causing them to lie in bed awake at night. Use the 90-Minute Sleep Cycle Rule. The optimal nap length can vary from person to person for any number of reasons--age, career, lifestyle, schedule, etc. If you try to wake up during REM sleep, you wake up groggy and unhappy. Sleep specialists argue that the best way to change your sleep cycle is. but want to start waking up at 5 A. Once you reach "second wind," which is when you feel a burst of energy around this time, you start taking 20 minute naps every 2 hours and 40 minutes. In fact, it accounts for approximately 20–25% of an adult’s sleep cycle and over 50% of an infant’s. This means when you wake up you will. At night, they sleep longer, such as for six or seven hours per night. One normal sleep cycle, including REM sleep, takes about 90 minutes. m. Peters says, which can be distressing. Alter your sleep schedule gradually. However, for most babies older than 2-4 months, normal naps fall within the ranges of normal baby sleep outlined here. Sleep is lighter at the end of a sleep cycle, which means a 90-minute nap should only cause a brief period of. Slow wave or deep sleep is a stage in the sleep cycle needed for proper brain function and memory. This process entails 20-minute power naps throughout an entire 24-hour period. There was an average of two REM sleep episodes per sleep-wake cycle. To Conclude. You go through all three phases before reaching REM sleep. 20 minute sleep cycle: My baby boy only naps for 20 minutes unless I hold him, been like this since 10 weeks old. They start out with 20 minute sleep cycles, which slowly increase to 90 minutes over the first 3 years. Help. 5 hours of sleep. This cycle consists of taking six 20-minute naps, evenly distributed, throughout your day. The sleep cycle does not proceed directly from NREM to REM sleep, it progresses through the stages of NREM sleep from light to deepDr. 7 a. Periods of REM sleep occur at roughly 90-minute intervals throughout the night and generally become longer as the night wears on, starting at 10 minutes long and lasting as long as one hour. What this entails are short, 20-minute power naps throughout the entire 24-hour cycle. Many experts advise keeping your nap around 10-20 minutes, known. Born in 1895, Kleitman immigrated from Russia to New York City,. 9:30 AM –. As a result, sleep inertia may last longer making it more difficult for you to wake up and feel alert even after a short time asleep. The REM Nap: 90 to 120-Minute Nap. If you are already well-rested and you take a 90-minute nap, where you complete an entire sleep cycle, it may make it harder to fall asleep at night time. After stage 4 you usually enter an episode of REM sleep. Your sleep cycles. "Other changes include a drop in our core temperature, eye movement stopping, our brain waves slowing, as well as our breathing and heart rate becoming more regular. 20. In the context of performance and focus, the most important ultradian rhythm is the 90-minute cycle. Some biphasic sleepers prefer to sleep for several hours during the night (usually in the neighborhood of six hours or so) and then nap for approximately 20 minutes or so in the afternoon. Narcolepsy: A sleep disorder that causes individuals to uncontrollably fall. Regular snooze. "The average sleep cycle length is approximately 90 to 120 minutes, depending on the. Polyphasic sleep is the practice of sleeping during multiple periods over the course of 24 hours, in contrast to monophasic sleep, which is one period of sleep within 24 hours. You either sleep for 15 to 20 minutes or a full sleep cycle of 90 minutes to make the most of your nap time. Don’t use electronics. Each sleep cycle typically takes lasts about 90 minutes, but it can extend to as long as 120 minutes, according to Al-Sharif. International sleep researchers have trialled a number of different sleep schedules: sleep for 20 minutes every hour; one hour sleep every. Each sleep cycle takes between 70 and 120 minutes Trusted Source Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School A production of WGBH Educational Foundation and the Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine. Since children spend 1-2 hours in deep. Relax for 30 Minutes Before Bed. But any sleep is better than not at all — even if it’s a 20. Here are polyphasic cycles: Uberman Cycle: 20 to 30 minute naps every 4 hours, resulting in 6 naps each day. During REM sleep, brain activity increases substantially. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the brain that makes you feel tired. Research at NASA showed when pilots slept for 26 minutes, alertness improved by 54%, and job performance improved by 34% compared to pilots who didn’t nap. During the early cycles of sleep, time spent in each stage is shorter. 5 hours 6 cycles is 9 hoursOne sleep cycle lasts an average of 90 minutes: 65 minutes of normal, or non-REM (rapid eye movement), sleep; 20 minutes of REM sleep (in which we dream); and a final 5 minutes of non-REM sleep. A short sleep latency means that a person falls asleep within a few minutes of their head hitting the pillow. m. Giving yourself a full sleep cycle (90 minutes) can help you retain certain skill you’ve just learned, but for recovering from fatigue a 15-20 minute nap is ideal (and. Baby sleep cycles are usually 40-50 minutes and vary by time of day and each night. Stage two (N2) "The second stage is where our body starts to drop further into sleep and we become less aware of our surroundings," James explains. Read through this guide to sleep cycles and stages to better understand how sleep works and what you can do to make it the best rest ever. So try one of the apps or alarm clocks others have mentioned (or if you only have a crappy flippy phone like me and don't intend to get an. For most adults, seven to nine hours of sleep per night is what’s recommended, but there’s no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to napping. It lasts about 20-40 minutes. Each stage can last from 5 to 15 minutes. However, young adults might be able to tolerate longer naps. Each cycle lasts 50–60 minutes and sleep onset occurs through active (REM) sleep. A 10-20 minute nap is advisable unless you are behind on sleep. What can parents do to cope with newborn sleep cycles? There’s no doubt about it. In children and adolescents, REM sleep declines to about 20 to 25 percent of total sleep time. During your first cycle of sleep, it starts about 90 minutes after you fall asleep and last only 10 minutes. 52. Catnapping is one of the most common complaints among new parents who visit this site. ”Each cycle is around 90 minutes. [1] To get the most out of a nap, follow these tips: Keep naps short. This helps prevent the. 1 to 2 years: 11 to 14 hours. A power nap is a short sleep (only between 10-30 minutes) intended to revitalize you. It seems that if you wake up then, you’ll feel more rested. If your goal is to get a little afternoon boost, that will ensure you wake up feeling recharged rather than groggy. media stimulation and the 24/7 news cycle. 3 days each year, on average. NREM-2. In particular, napping for less than 20 minutes Trusted Source National Library of Medicine,. The sleep calculator recommends when to go to sleep in order to wake up feeling refreshed. You may wake up briefly between cycles. The cycle starts over every 80 to 100 minutes. While sleeping, our brains go through several sleep cycles. It takes approximately 90 minutes to proceed through one cycle of sleep, typically ending in REM sleep, and maybe a brief awakening, before you start the cycle again. Each additional REM. Each stage progresses sequentially through light sleep, deep s/leep, and REM cycles which repeat on 90-110 minute intervals. Chronobiology is the study of circadian rhythms. Scientists. About 20-40 minutes ; 25% of total sleep time ; Characteristics. The sleep cycle is an oscillation between the slow-wave and REM (paradoxical) phases of sleep. Stage 3 (N3) Stage 3 is also known as the deep sleep stage. After about 20 minutes of slumber while in REM sleep, dreams usually begin for the average dog. Type the number in the first field of the calculator. If you nap for more than that, you may feel more sleepy than ever. These cycles have four stages, including three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages and one rapid eye movement REM) sleep stage. – The Journal of Sleep Research & Sleep Medicine. "However, N3 can disappear from later cycles. Sleep episodes averaged 45 min and the mean waking episode was 38 min. This 24-hour sleep/wake cycle is called circadian rhythm. Each snooze duration becomes shorter, gently bringing you from asleep to completely awake at your desired alarm time. Turns out, 90 isn’t the magic number. Stage N2 lasts from about 30 to 60 minutes. Our nightly sleep is made up of several sleep cycles, and each cycle contains four sleep stages. It suggests sleeping time based on the stages of sleep, which will help to avoid waking up in the middle of a sleep cycle. During the second part of the night we spend more and more time alternating between stages 2 & REM sleep. The ideal length, according to the scientists, is 20 to 25 minutes. Stay away from electronic screens for at least half an hour before bed. adults have taken a nap in the past three months. To be energetic throughout the night, take a power nap beforehand. One of the most important and well-known circadian rhythms is the sleep-wake cycle. To gradually adopt a new sleep schedule, you can make adjustments in 15 or 30 minute increments over a series of days. Speaking from personal experience, I found that setting an alarm for 1 cycle is rarely reliable, but setting one for 3 cycles worked well for me; when I was in high school I used to randomly jerk awake somewhat regularly. You spend about 25% of your night in this stage of sleep. The best length for a nap is 10-20 minutes. If you wake up and can't fall back to sleep within 20 minutes or so, get out of bed. Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles that are part of the body’s internal clock, running in the background to carry out essential functions and processes. Here’s a sample schedule: 7:00 AM – Wake up and breakfast. If you wake up at the same time in the morning or at the same time in the middle of the night, it may be because you go to sleep at roughly the same time every night. 20 minutes. During the first sleep cycle of the night, this stage lasts for around 25 minutes, lengthening with each new sleep cycle. This duration can support memory consolidation, enhance. Use the 90-minute sleep rule. REM sleep should make up around 20% to 25% Trusted Source MSD Manuals First published in 1899 as a small reference book for physicians. Stage 2 lasts 20 to 60 minutes. 4 cycles is 6 hours 5 cycles is 7. Usually there are four to six cycles per night. 30pm. The sleep cycle calculator does not consider how long a person needs to fall asleep. According to the Polyphasic Society, you can adjust the system in a non-equidistant way to fit your needs. (Four sleep cycles would give just six hours of sleep, six sleep cycles would give 9 hours of sleep per night) If you need to wake up by 7am then count back 7. Natural light is the primary means that your body uses to assess whether or not you should be asleep. Most people need 7–9 hours of sleep per night, but working out how much deep sleep. m. The cortex detects the onset of being tired, or cognitive functioning being affected by lack of rest. On average, you may need 10-20 minutes to fall asleep, and it takes about 90 minutes to go through each sleep cycle. When a baby is born, he or she will sleep for 14 to 20 hours per day. It's also important to work with your sleep cycles – you don't want to be waking up in the deep sleep part of your cycle, as this will make you feel groggy (known as sleep inertia). The first 20 or so minutes of a nap are light sleep, or REM sleep. Americans spend an average of 7 hours and 18 minutes in bed each night. Most people’s nap routine is to sleep for 20-30 minutes in the. Stage Three: Light sleep where your baby’s sleep becomes less “active. This means we should. On average, it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep. How many 90-minute sleep cycles should I get? The number of 90-minute sleep cycles you should get depends on your individual sleep needs. That’s because sunshine calibrates the body’s internal “circadian” clock. brain waves. If you are not sleep deprived, then shorter naps of less than 30 minutes are best. Ultimately, NASA recommends a 10-20-minute nap to avoid falling into deep sleep. However, the general consensus is that either a short power nap (10-20 minutes) or a full sleep cycle (about 90 minutes) is best. Heads-up: How your sleep is structured is known as sleep architecture. Your sweet babe’s sleep cycles will gradually grow from 45 to 50 minutes to 90 minutes by the time they’re around 5 years old. If you sleep more or less, you risk interrupting these cycles and not resting well enough. , and. 6% of nappers feel groggy after waking up. m. If you are not sleep deprived, then shorter naps of less than 30 minutes are best. A polyphasic sleep schedule is one in which you sleep multiple times in a 24-hour period. During an ideal night’s sleep, your body has enough time to go through four to five 90-minute cycles that sample different phases of sleep as the night progresses. Separating the roles played by these factors requires specific protocols, including the constant routine and altered sleep-wake. ”. Sleep apps like Sleepyti. Your natural sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes. You also get two nap periods of 20 minutes each – leading to a complete sleep time of 5 hours and 10 minutes. These are called Appetitive. 5 hours to find that bedtime is around 11. Most adults spend up to 20% of their night in deep sleep. For example, N1, N2, N3, and REM, multiplied by four or five," she says. These 90-minute sleep cycles result in more or fewer sleep cycles per night, depending on how long you sleep. Completing a sleep cycle takes 90 minutes [1], which is when sleepers should find their most beneficial rest. Dr Raj went on to explain that if you wake. The bear: Breus tells mbg there's a simple formula you can use to figure out the best bedtime for you. me are based on the 90-minute sleep cycle and are designed to help you wake up naturally and energized. It’s excellent as you will get all the benefits of all the sleep stages without feeling groggy. Professional Yacht Racers (particularly Single Handed racers) are an example of micro-sleep users. “What’s interesting is that some signatures of. The science behind the 30-90 rule. 7-12 weeks: 14-17 hours: 3-6 months: 14-15 hours: 4-5 hours during the day across 3 naps, 10-11 hours overnight waking 2-3 times per night to feed. Devise a schedule that incorporates the 90 minute cycles,. A newborn’s sleep cycle is unique. Sleep studies use sensors to record eye movements and brain activity, which are used to. Stage N3 is deep sleep and lasts about 20 to 40 minutes. If getting that extra 30 minutes is not in the cards, then taking a 15 to 20-minute nap may. “It takes 20 minutes after your eyes shut to get into restful, restorative sleep. A sleep cycle is the process that our body goes through as we sleep. Set an alarm. Babies that catnap may nap more frequently, or. NREM-1. This could look like five hours of sleep and a one hour nap or six hours of sleep and a 20-minute nap. The average nap is about one hour, or 60. The National Sleep Foundation recommend taking a 20-minute nap to wake up feeling refreshed. Stage 2 sleep occupies approximately 50-65% of our sleep time, lasting 15-30 minutes in each cycle. Top 20 Proven Sleep Tips Sleep Hygiene SLEEP AIDS Melatonin Magnesium TOOLS & PRODUCTS. Stage 1: Your eyes are closed, but it's easy to wake. And sleep architecture is not the same for everyone and it can even change from night to night. Over a 24-hour period, this could result in more than six 20-minute naps, resulting in just 2 or 2 hours of sleep in total – far fewer than the recommended amount of healthy adults. Toddlers: 11-14 hours. FAQs. So instead, the typical 50-55 minute newborn sleep cycle includes only about 20 minutes of quiet sleep. By approximately 4-5 months babies have a somewhat mature sleep cycle of about 50 minutes (this gradually lengthens to adult levels of 90-110 minutes by school age). A healthy adult doesn’t need to nap, but can benefit from a nap of 10 to 20 minutes, or 90 to. Researchers say a 20 minute nap is the best length. Most adults aim for 5-6 complete sleep cycles (7. Some people completely or partially wake up after the sleep cycle ends, while others stay asleep until morning. You spend about 25% of your night in this stage of sleep. Older women are also more likely to report higher levels of sleepiness, and to sleep 20 minutes less per night. Short naps of less than 90. m. 30-90 minute naps may be beneficial for athletes who are sleep deprived and who need optimal muscle growth and repair. A sleep cycle is 90 minutes, so 2 hours out, you can sleep again for 90 minutes, get up 30 minutes early This is also why the old advice of 8 hours of sleep a night is flat wrong. N3 sleep cycle length is around 20-40 minutes during early sleep stages, but as the night progresses, stage 3 sleep becomes shorter, and we spend maximum time in REM sleep. 1. A short nap like this allows your mind and body to rest without entering the deeper stages of sleep. If 15 to 20 minutes isn’t enough, aim for. By the time you wake up the caffeine will have. During stage 2 sleep, the muscles relax, and body functions slow. Uberman : Only 3 hours of sleep per day in the form of six 30 minute naps throughout the day. The Sleep Cycle app has more than three million active monthly users, and this report looked at three years’ worth of data, for a total of 148,116,221 nights of sleep. It is sometimes called the ultradian sleep cycle, sleep–dream cycle, or REM-NREM cycle, to distinguish it from the circadian alternation between sleep and wakefulness. 7% of surveyed U. Sleep stage 3, also known as stage 3 of non-REM sleep, N3, or slow-wave sleep, lasts about 20-40 minutes per cycle. Midday Nap Sleep Schedule: With this biphasic sleep schedule, people swap the long siesta for a short, 20- or 30-minute nap during the day. The idea being that once you're asleep, the new images will overwrite the frightening ones. How to Use the Calculator. One normal sleep cycle, including REM sleep, takes about 90 minutes. She is rustling, she is stirring, maybe. Uberman Sleep Schedule: Six 20-minute naps are spaced evenly throughout the day, totaling two hours of sleep per day. migration, hibernation and Seasonal Affective Disorder (S. REM. 9:30 p. Mednick, who explains how during this “power nap,” you get enough stage two sleep to switch your body and mind into full relaxation mode. One sleep cycle lasts around 90 minutes and consists of 4 (sometimes 5) stages: the first three stages are non-REM stages, where stage 1 and 2 are known as light sleep stages, stage 3 (or 3 and 4) is the deep sleep stage, and the last one is REM (rapid eye. Avoid nicotine and alcohol in the. As you continue sleeping, these stages get shorter, and. As the night progresses, sleep cycles grow longer and can last around 90 to 120 minutes. Typically, a person goes through 4-6 sleep cycles per night, which last approximately 90 minutes per cycle, but can range from 70-110 minutes long.