Ever wondered why you wake up at a specific time every night?
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the body has a 24-hour body energy clock allowing each organ its own time of regeneration. In Western medicine this is referred to as the body’s circadian rhythms. For example, if you wake up between 1-3am it is usually your liver and if it is between 3-5am it is usually your lungs. This doesn’t mean you are heading for liver or lung failure; it simply means that these organs need more attention and may require more nutrition to detox, repair or nourish them.
Even though we may look like we are having a peaceful night’s sleep, our brain still remains very active. A typical night’s sleep comprises five different sleep cycles, each lasting around 80-90 minutes. The first four stages of each cycle are regarded as quiet sleep or Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM). The final stage is denoted by Rapid Eye Movement (REM). As stage two merges into stage three, the brain waves continue to deepen into large slow waves. The larger and slower the brain wave, the deeper the sleep. Stage four is reached when 50% of the waves slow down. REM sleep is thought to help consolidate memory and emotion.