Whether you are a still and silent sleeper or a wrigging sleeper everyone has a sleeping pattern which can reveal information about our wellness.
Company, Simba, have analysed data from over 3400 sleepers and their sleep experts have developed eight sleeping styles: Catcher Upper, Thinker, Early Bird, Wriggler, Heavy Sleeper, Light Sleeper, Night Owl and Sleep Master.
Key things to know before reading the rest of this page:
- REM(S) – this is the period of sleep that is very deep. This is where your eyes and muscles make small movements – this is where your dreams will happen.
- 5 sleep cycle stages:
- stage 1 – this is the lightest sleep stage. You will be drowsy and can be easily woken by disruption. Muscles will start to relax and brain wave activity will slow down.
- stage 2 – this is the first stage of defined sleep. It is unlikely that you will be woken in this stage. Your body temperature will decrease and heart rate will slow down so your body can relax.
- stage 3&4 – this stage is known for deep sleep. It is the most restorative stage of sleep and consists of delta wave (a high amplitude brain wave) or slow waves. Sleepwalking, sleep talking or night terrors will occur in this stage of sleep.
- stage 4 – this is where REM occurs.
Here is what they mean and what it means about your wellness…
Catcher Upper
The catcher upper is the people who catch up on their sleep on days off and weekends. They are the Saturday and Sunday lie ins. This confuses the person’s body clock and makes them more dazed.
Catcher uppers are not allowing themselves enough times to complete the 5 cycles of normal sleep meaning they are missing out on deep sleep, restoring factors and mind/mood boosting REMS.
If you nap keep it before 2pm so you can sleep better at night. It is better to have a nap less than 30 minutes.
Thinker
The thinker normally cannot sleep or when they do sleep they are awake again in the early hours. this will confuse the body clock and can lead to having a bad sleep cycle. This means they will also not be completing the 5 stage sleep cycle.
Early Bird
This is the person who wakes up early and does not get the full 8 hours of sleep. This means the person’s natural 24hr body clock is an earlier time zone than everyone else’s.
Wriggler
The wriggler is someone who tosses and turns all night and it is like they are never comfortable. These people will not be able to stay still long enough to relax and stay asleep. They will not be completing their 5 cycles of sleep and they will be more tired when they awake in the morning.
Heavy Sleeper
The heavy sleeper can sleep through anything. However they will not be sleeping in deep sleep until later in their sleep, this means they sleep longer to get the restorative sleep they need.
A tip for heavy sleepers is to do a gentle stretch before bed. This can help improve circulation, encourage better spinal alignment. It will also combine with controlled breathing, calm the body and mind for a better quality sleep.
Light Sleeper
The light sleeper will wake up even at the smallest of noises. They can quickly drift off then wake back up again.
Being a light sleeper means you will not be reaching the full cycle and miss out on the mind/mood boosting REMs sleep. This means you are not getting the rest your body needs no matter how long you sleep for.
Night Owl
The night owl is the person who does to bed later than most and they will wake up after having a full cycle of sleep. Their natural 24hr body clock will be later than everyone else’s which results in them not feeling sleepy until late at night.
They miss out on the some restorative deep sleep and mind and mood-boosting. This means they may wake up drowsy and still tired.
Sleep Master
This is the person who sleeping pattern is just about perfect. They will get their full cycle of sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and well rested. Their wellness will be near perfect.
