REM Sleep Stage
% of sleep time
Percentage of sleep time spent in Rapid Eye Movement sleep, associated with memory consolidation and cognitive restoration.
Typical optimal range 20% - 25%
Population median 21%
Key factors
- Alcohol consumption
- Total sleep duration
- Emotional stress and psychological load
What affects this metric
- Cannabis suppresses REM, and stopping causes a rebound.
- Sleep debt shifts the balance away from REM toward deep sleep.
- Alcohol suppresses REM early and rebounds it later.
- Some sleep aids reduce REM.
- Waking earlier than usual removes REM disproportionately.
References
Peer-reviewed sources supporting the key factors, contributing factors, and typical optimal range shown above.
- Ohayon MM, Carskadon MA, Guilleminault C, Vitiello MV. Meta-analysis of quantitative sleep parameters from childhood to old age in healthy individuals. Sleep. 2004;27(7):1255–1273. doi.org/10.1093/sleep/27.7.1255
- Ebrahim IO, Shapiro CM, Williams AJ, Fenwick PB. Alcohol and sleep I: effects on normal sleep. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2013;37(4):539–549. doi.org/10.1111/acer.12006
- Babson KA, Sottile J, Morabito D. Cannabis, cannabinoids, and sleep: a review of the literature. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2017;19(4):23. doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0775-9
- Van Dongen HPA, Maislin G, Mullington JM, Dinges DF. The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation. Sleep. 2003;26(2):117–126. doi.org/10.1093/sleep/26.2.117
This guide is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your clinician about your own results.