More sleep! Better sleep! Deeper sleep! It’s what we all want, right? If your New Year’s resolution is to get better at—well—sleeping, your problem might be core sleep.
While some people may find it easy to clock in eight hours of uninterrupted rest each night, others find themselves staring at the ceiling late into the night, waking up throughout the night, or waking up still feeling exhausted even after a long sleep.
If you still haven’t hacked the whole sleeping thing, it might be worth looking at the individual stages of the sleep cycle to find out where you’re going wrong. Arguably, the most important phase to look at is core sleep, which covers the first three stages of the cycle — without core sleep, you won’t get the benefits of sleeping at all. So, what is it, why is it so important, and, most importantly, how do we get more of it?
We spoke to GP Dr Anatalia Moore to find out more.
What is core sleep?
Core sleep refers to the first three phases of the sleep cycle:
- Stage one: The phase where we drift off into dreamland. The in-between phase.
- Stage two: The phase where we disconnect more from the real world and prepare for deep sleep.
- Stage three: Deep sleep. This is where the good stuff starts happening like muscle repair and immune strengthening.
- Stage four: REM sleep. The phase when we dream — and not considered part of “core sleep”.
This cycle repeats several times —ideally four to six times — over the course of one night’s sleep.
In other words, core sleep refers to every stage of sleep before we start dreaming. Although sleep experts recommend getting a full night’s sleep that cycles through all four stages, the first three stages are thought to be essential for normal functioning throughout the day.
Why is core sleep important?
Deep sleep is an essential part of the sleep cycle — it’s when our bodies being to repair from the day. It’s the phase that helps you wake up feeling physically rejuvenated as it contributes to alertness, mood, hormone regulation, and healthy immune function. Without core sleep, it can be almost impossible to function as normal the following day.
“As the term core sleep refers to a combination of phases of sleep that happen at the middle and end of sleep cycles, people who find their sleep very interrupted will not be getting the opportunity to reap its healing benefits,” warns Moore.
This can mean your body doesn’t heal itself. “Denying your body and mind the opportunity to heal can lead to a massive range of physical and mental health issues,” she says. “Initially you may notice you look less refreshed, with dark circles, sallow tones and more inflammatory skin conditions being a visible indicator of the lack of time your body has to repair.”
