I never wake up / wake up someone before 100 minutes from sleeping time. Let there be at least 1 cycle completed.
People often feel amazed when some leaders work tirelessly with less sleep. The reason being is efficient management of REM sleep. Or rather sleep slots of 90 minutes.
If you sleep for 3 hrs (2 90 minutes slots) and little more. You can be better regains and fresh compare to someone sleeping 8- 9 hours without managing 90 minutes slots (Deep sleep + Rem sleep cycles)
Many of us strives to realize the state of Samadhi while in awake state but all efforts are futile without following the regime.
Only possible for all type, Kaliyugi glimpse of being connected with the source, supreme consciousness, is sleep. Specific REM sleep. If you have sound sleep, if you know art of sleeping then REM slot is the period when you may have opportunity to realize the self. Provided you have good enough clean mind. If the mind is not clean from all types of lusts (greed, arrogance, fame the 12 mental stool -shared in past), it is difficult to achieve. Eventhough, REM is critical sleep period.
Kids below 5 are God personified (until they develop Ego. Nowadays, it happens very early. Around 3) . They remain in REM state for longer during sleep. Since they have longer sleep span, they experience more REM states in one night compare to adults.
One suggestion I always give to fellow young parents of infants and toddler is: NEVER EVER COMPROMISE Child’s sleep! Sleep is their growth accelerating state. Sleep is their medicine. Since they are in rapid growth stage, maximum cellular changes happen. During sleep, this process is regularized. Sleep is when they form new memories. Sleep is when they learn new concepts. Sleep when they grow. So, zero tolerance for sleep.
Most of kid’s sleep is REM sleep. Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep, REMS) is a unique phase of mammalian sleep characterized by random movement of the eyes, low muscle tonethroughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream vividly.
A newborn baby spends more than 80% of total sleep time in REM. Infants spend more time in higher REM sleep than adults. The proportion of REM sleep then decreases significantly in childhood.
Usually, REM sleep happens 90 minutes after you fall asleep. The first period of REM typically lasts 10 minutes. Each of your later REM stages gets longer, and the final one may last up to an hour. Your heart rate and breathing quickens.
As per research [1],
“REM sleep acts like the chemical developer in old-fashioned photography to make traces of experience more permanent and focused in the brain,”
“Experience is fragile,” he said. “These traces tend to vanish without REM sleep and the brain basically forgets what it saw.”
SO REM sleep is CRITICAL.
Frank said young brains, including those of human children, go through critical periods of plasticity – or remodeling – when vision, speech, language, motor skills, social skills and other higher cognitive functions are developed.
The study suggests that during these periods, REM sleep helps growing brains adjust the strength or number of their neuronal connections to match the input they receive from their environment, he said.
My suggestions to parents (based on my parenting and sleep management experience so far)
1) SLEEP first. All your adult activities (TV, Mobile, Whatsapp, Work, Fun, Movies, Marriages) can wait, SLEEP cannot wait.
2) Avoid travelling as much as possible for first 5 years. Let kid enjoy sound sleep in his/her daily sleeping room. No frequent changes.
3) Try to reach home before Kid’s regular sleep time.
4) From age 0 to age 20 – Avoid all stimulants like antidepressant medicines, steroid, alcohol, smoking, high sugary diet (Imagine teens addicts! Critical REM compromise! )
5) Avoid brain stimulant medications for child
6) Sleep must accompanied by parent.
Research
REM sleep critical for young brains; medication interferes
https://news.wsu.edu/2015/07/03/rem-sleep-critical-for-young-brains-medication-interferes/#.VZx5zRuqpHy
