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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Don't panic if you get a lot of light sleep — expert explains why it's just as important as deep sleep
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Light sleep makes up a significant portion of our rest but the term might cause alarm in some if they think they're getting too much 'light sleep' and not enough 'deep sleep.' Sleep trackers label it vaguely, but what does light sleep actually do for the body and mind? Spencer Dawson, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor and Associate Director of Clinical Training at Indiana University's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences describes the stages of 'light sleep' as well as what happens during them. Remember, if you're monitoring sleep using wearables, try not to put too much weight into their sleep tracking and scores. They aren't looking at brain activity—which is how sleep professionals know what's truly happening and when you're in specific sleep stages and those who love to know their sleep score, here's a trick that can get it to the 90s. What is light sleep? "When I see the term 'light sleep,' it's usually in association with someone using wearables,' says Dr. Dawson. This includes non-REM (rapid-eye movement) 1 and non-REM 2 sleep, he says. "Previously, these were called stages one and two, but now they're more specifically categorized as NREM1 and NREM2." NREM3 is considered deep sleep, and all three stages stand for Non-REM, with REM sleep meaning 'rapid eye movement'. NREM1 is the lightest stage of sleep. You might not even think you've dozed off. It can last only a few minutes. Dr. Dawson says he's heard it described as if someone dozing off in a recliner in front of the TV wakes up when the TV is shut off, saying, 'I was watching that.' In NREM2, the heart rate and breathing slow. The body can move a bit but the brain appears to have less activity happening. Why is light sleep important? REM sleep gets a lot of attention for its contributions to health, but you still need light sleep as part of a healthy sleep cycle. Sleep researchers find specific neural activity patterns occur during the NREM2 sleep stage. The ones referred to as 'sleep spindles' and 'K-complexes' indicate patterns involved with brain processes, including learning, memory, and stimulus processing, according to research. When does light sleep occur? The NREM1 stage of sleep is transitional from wake to sleep. 'It's fairly junky,' says Dr. Dawson. 'If you had a lot of that, you wouldn't feel good.' It usually makes up about five percent of a night's sleep. That's followed by NREM2 sleep which makes up about 50% of one's sleep. It's estimated that someone goes through four or five sleep cycles each night of about 90 minutes each. Those include REM and NREM sleep and bouts of waking up—even if you don't recall those wakeups. Sticking to a regular sleep schedule can help you get the light sleep and deep sleep you need. What happens during light sleep Light sleep or (Non-REM sleep) plays a role in the sleep cycle helping the body move into deep sleep modes. You usually spend more time in 'light sleep' in the early part of the night. 1. Heart rate slows The heart rate decreases during N1 and N2 sleep. This is likely how wearables make predictions that you're in those 'light stages' of sleep since they're usually monitoring your heart rate. Heart rate variability tends to be greater during REM sleep. 2. Brain waves slow During light sleep, your body can move but the brain looks like it's at rest, says Dr. Dawson. Sleep researchers look at brain activity in 30-second chunks of time, he says. During light sleep, we see these large, high amplitude, slow oscillations of brain activity. In REM sleep, the brain looks 'awake' and active while the body is immobile. 3. Body temperature drops The body temperature decreases as you move into 'light sleep' but recent research says the brain temperature also falls during this time. It's suspected that this temperature drop helps the body save energy where it can before the brain temperature increases during REM sleep. 4. Eye movement stops Since REM sleep involves 'rapid eye movement' — often side to side behind the eyelids — it's worth noting that during NREM2 sleep, eye movement stops. REM is the stage of sleep in which we dream, but you're unlikely to dream during light sleep. How much light sleep should we get? In general, about 50% of one's overall sleep should be 'light' sleep, which we're calling NREM1 and NREM2 sleep stages. That being said, everyone's needs differ and vary according to their ages. 'The amount of deep sleep your body goes into tends to reflect your sleep need,' says Dr. Dawson. 'It's a homeostatic process. So basically, your brain knows how much it needs, and if it needs more, it will do more [deep sleep]. And if it needs less, it'll do less.' Simply put, you can't do much to control which stages of sleep your body goes between each night. What happens if you spend too much time in light sleep? If you spend too much time in light sleep—instead of deep sleep—you're not going to feel good. You might never feel 'rested' even if you're in bed for the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night. You cycle through all of these sleep stages throughout the night, including briefly waking up between them, which is perfectly normal. 'While transitioning between REM and NonREM sleep and back, you might see some of the NREM1 sleep in there as well,' says Dr. Dawson. However, an indication that you're not cycling through the stages properly and spending too much time in light sleep is daytime irritability, fatigue, mood swings and sleep deprivation. Improving your sleep hygiene and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, as well as aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep a night, will help you experience full and healthy sleep cycles
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Kumar Rocker, Rowdy Tellez lead Rangers past slumping Tigers 4-1
ARLINGTON, Texas — Kumar Rocker took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Rowdy Tellez hit a three-run home run in his second game with the Rangers as Texas beat the slumping Detroit Tigers 4-1 on Saturday night. Rocker (4-4) pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing only Wenceel Pérez's two-out single in the sixth that was pulled down the first-base line on an 0-2 cut fastball that was low and inside.
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Another 2-1 loss, this one at Columbus, keeps D.C. United sputtering
D.C. United has become more competitive under interim coach Kevin Flanagan, but mistakes and a glaring absence of attacking threats continue to mar close matches. Saturday night's 2-1 away loss to the Columbus Crew was the same margin as the previous two setbacks, extending United's winless streak to seven in MLS and eight in all competitions. Christian Benteke, United's top threat, scored his first goal since returning from a series of injuries, tying the score early in the second half. But moments after entering, Lassi Lappalainen scored in the 78th minute for the Crew (12-4-8) as United fell to 0-6-1 in its past seven league games and 4-13-7 overall. In a match that started 35 minutes late because of inclement weather, Columbus was by far the better team. Nonetheless, United stayed in the match through defensive persistence and organization. Benteke's goal offered hope of gaining a point, if not three, against an MLS Cup contender. United played its fourth away match in 11 days, including a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal in Nashville, Troy Lesesne's last game before being fired. Flanagan, who will run the team until Switzerland native René Weiler receives his work visa, said the busy schedule has helped the team keep its chin up during off-field changes and on-field doldrums. 'With the amount of games we've been playing and the travel, there hasn't been that much time to allow the stress off the pitch to really negatively affect the group,' he said Friday. 'There's no doubt about it: The guys are feeling that fatigue ... but the way they're going about the work has been excellent.' United will return to Audi Field next Saturday to face Austin FC, then hit the road again for visits to New England and Montreal. Even under the best circumstances, playing in Columbus is not easy. This year, though, the Crew has lost just once in 13 league matches at Field; Lionel Messi's Inter Miami did the honors in April. Flanagan reincorporated four starters who sat out the 2-1 loss in Charlotte on Wednesday: Benteke (muscle tightness), center back Lucas Bartlett (ankle ailment) and fullbacks David Schnegg and Aaron Herrera (yellow-card suspensions). Amid the winless streak, goalkeeper Luis Barraza and midfielder Gabriel Pirani have stood out — Barraza with a number of brilliant saves and Pirani with five goals in the previous nine matches. As expected against the superior Crew, Barraza and the D.C. defense were under pressure from the start. Flanagan's four-man back line — a switch from Lesesne's five-man formation — shielded the keeper by keeping its shape and composure. United's resistance, though, cracked when Bartlett took down designated player Daniel Gazdag in the box. With a clinical penalty kick, Gazdag posted his first goal for the Crew in 16 appearances since being acquired from Philadelphia in the spring. United continued sitting back and waiting for counterattack opportunities; there were few. In possession, D.C. was dull and predictable. Columbus prevented Pirani from finding space to shoot outside the box, and Benteke, who is harmless without service, received almost none. Max Arfsten almost doubled the lead on the last touch of the half, but after pouncing on Herrera's poorly headed back pass, his bid was fractionally off-target. Although United remained within a goal at halftime, Columbus was comfortable in possession and unfazed in those rare moments when it needed to defend. United, however, drew even three minutes into the second half on Benteke's first goal since May 3 and his seventh of the season. Derek Dodson crossed into the box to the unmarked Benteke for an eight-yard header past Columbus keeper Patrick Schulte. It was United's first shot on target. Two minutes later, Barraza prevented disaster. Bartlett played the ball out of the box to Boris Enow, but Enow wasn't paying attention. Dylan Chambost intercepted the pass and drove a low shot that Barraza deflected. Bartlett shouted and gestured at Enow. Still not at top fitness, Benteke was replaced in the 62nd minute by Dominique Badji (one goal in 18 matches). United continued to absorb pressure, but in the 78th minute it conceded the tiebreaking goal. D.C. was unable to clear the ball from danger. Enow poked the ball toward the top of the box. Lappalainen smashed a 16-yard one-timer past Barraza for his first goal. Herrera was red-carded in the 89th minute after receiving his second yellow. He will miss the Austin match.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WNBA commissioner optimistic about getting new CBA deal done
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert feels optimistic that the league and the players' union will be able to come to a new collective bargaining agreement at some point, even if it's after the end of October deadline. While the two sides are far apart right now after meeting for the first time in person on Thursday since December with more than 40 players in attendance, Engelbert has faith that a deal will get finished. 'I'm still really optimistic that we'll get something done that would be transformational,' she said before the All-Star Game on Saturday night. 'And that, next year at All-Star, we'll be talking about how great everything is. Obviously there's a lot of hard work to be done on both sides to get there.' Engelbert said that more meetings are planned in the future. The current CBA will expire on Oct. 31 after the season is over. 'I have confidence we can get something done by October, but I'm not going to put an exact date on it,' she said. 'We've got some room to continue negotiations if we're close at that point.' There's a lot of money coming into the league over the next few years with a new 11-year media rights deal worth over $2.2 billion, three new expansion teams that each paid $250 million in fees and many new sponsors. The players top priorities are greatly increased salaries and a revenue sharing plan which Engelbert understands. 'We're going to do something transformational here because we we want the same things as the players, but we want to significantly increase their salary and benefits while balancing with our owners, their ability to have a path to profitability, as well as in to continued investment,' she said. Other areas that Engelbert discussed included: Globalization Engelbert talked about trying to expand the footprint of the league around the world more. The league will welcome its first team outside the U.S. next year with the addition of the Toronto Tempo. Engelbert mentioned Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa as places that could have huge interest in the WNBA. 'I think we're really strong domestically now ... There's a huge amount of possibilities, to turn these players into a global household being stars that they've now become here in the United States domestically,' she said. Officiating The consistency of officiating has been a topic that players and coaches have been discussing a lot this season and Engelbert said that the league is aware and will evaluate it. 'I realize consistency is the name of the game and I think it's something we definitely need to look at and evaluate. There's an independent evaluation of our officials and there are ramifications. It's something we need to continue to work on. As our game evolves so does our officiating, so we're on it." Scheduling Engelbert said that the league would look at possibly expanding the length of the season in the future on the backend of the season. The WNBA can't really start any earlier because of the NCAA Tournament, but could go into early November. There's a good shot that will happen next year with the FIBA World Cup taking place in early September. 'We're looking about what's the best footprint, what's the best number of games?" she said. ___ AP WNBA:
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alec Burleson's solo home run (12)
Alec Burleson crushes a solo home run to right field for his 12th home run and makes it a 9-1 game in the 6th inning
