While they’re all important, REM sleep is one sleep stage with benefits you really don’t want to miss out on—but very well might be. We dug into this sleep cycle to find out what it is, why it’s so important, and how to spend more time in it every night. Here are some of the most notable things that can happen to your body during REM sleep: That number will of course vary depending on how much time you spend sleeping, with Jean-Louis noting that seven to eight hours of nighttime sleep is optimal. “Healthy sleepers might spend approximately 20% of their sleep time in the REM sleep stage,” he says. Generally, if one gets about 90 minutes of REM sleep total on a nightly basis, they’re in good shape. Some research suggests insufficient REM sleep can cause migraines and decreased mental sharpness3, along with the aforementioned issues surrounding memory and learning. mindbodygreen’s sleep support+ supplement combines magnesium with PharmaGABA, a neurotransmitter shown in clinical trials to enhance natural sleep quality, and jujube, a fruit used in traditional Chinese medicine for calming and sedation for a nightly supplement that promotes an all-around better sleep.*
