The Four Stages of the Sleep Cycle - And How to Support Them, Naturally

You’ve likely seen them on your sleep tracker: light sleep, deep sleep, REM. But what do these stages of sleep actually mean and more importantly, how can you support them to improve your sleep quality?

At BON CHARGE, we take a more intuitive, human-first approach to sleep science. We break the sleep cycle into four distinct stages each vital to your physical restoration, emotional balance, and cognitive performance.

Understanding these phases (and what disrupts them) is the first step to unlocking deeper, more restorative sleep. Here's how to support each one naturally, nightly.

REM vs NREM: The Two Major Types of Sleep

Before we dive into the stages, let’s set the foundation [1]:

• NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep makes up about 75–80% of the night. It includes the first three stages of the sleep cycle - from light drifting to deep, restorative rest. This is when the body focuses on physical repair and immune function.
• REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep makes up the final 20–25%. This is where dreaming occurs, and the brain gets its chance to file memories, process emotion, and support cognitive function.

Your body cycles between NREM and REM sleep around every 90 minutes. A good night’s sleep should include multiple complete cycles, allowing time in both types of sleep for full-body recovery.

Let’s explore each phase through our BON CHARGE lens, and how you can support each one, naturally.

Stage 1 - The Drift

The moment between wake and sleep.

This is the lightest phase of the sleep cycle, a brief but important window when the body begins to relax and the mind starts to slow. Muscles loosen, breathing deepens, and you may experience that familiar “falling” sensation as youR brain begins to shift.

The Drift is fragile - you’re still easily woken by noise, light or even temperature. But it sets the tone for the rest of the night. A calm, distraction-free transition into sleep helps signal the body that it’s safe to let go.

Support The Drift with:

• Blue Light Blocking Glasses: Exposure to blue light in the evening suppresses melatonin [3]. Wearing BON CHARGE Blue Light Glasses an hour or two before bed helps ease your body into rest.
• Blackout Sleep Masks: Even small amounts of ambient light can disrupt the onset of sleep. Total blackout sleep masks eliminate visual stimulation, helping you drift off faster and stay asleep longer [4].

Stage 2 - The Settle

You begin to let go. Your temperature drops. The brain finds its rhythm.

This is a longer stage of light sleep - but don’t be fooled by the name. Stage 2 plays a crucial role in mental and physical restoration. It’s where your heart rate slows, body temperature drops, and brainwaves stabilise. It’s restorative, rhythmic, and where most of your night is spent.

It’s also light enough that you can still be stirred, which is why the right environment matters.

Support The Settle with:

• Red Light Therapy: Unlike blue light, red light therapy encourages melatonin release and prepares the body for deeper rest [5]. Use a BON CHARGE Red Light Device during your evening wind-down routine for better sleep onset and duration.
• Magnesium Support for Deep Sleep: Deep sleep is when your body does its most important repair work - but stress, screen time and nutrient deficiencies can shorten this vital phase. Magnesium plays a key role [6] in calming the nervous system and relaxing muscles, helping you stay in deep sleep longer.

Stage 3 – Deep Sleep

Where the body switches to repair mode.

Also known as slow-wave sleep, this is the most physically restorative stage of the sleep cycle. During deep sleep, your body repairs muscle tissue, regenerates cells, balances immune function [7]. This is the phase that leaves you feeling truly rested and without it, even 8 hours can feel insufficient.

Deep sleep tends to occur more in the first half of the night, so anything that delays your sleep onset (yes, including scrolling or caffeine) can reduce how much deep sleep you get.

Support Deep Sleep with:

• PEMF Devices: BON CHARGE’s PEMF Mats use pulsed electromagnetic frequencies to help calm the nervous system and promote cellular repair, ideal for enhancing deep, restorative sleep.
• Evening Screen Habits: Exposure to artificial blue light in the evening from phones, laptops and overhead lighting can delay melatonin release and interfere with your natural sleep cycle [9]. To support deep, uninterrupted rest, switch off tech at least an hour before bed. If screen time is unavoidable, wear BON CHARGE Blue Light Blocking Glasses to filter stimulating wavelengths and protect your body’s ability to wind down naturally.

Stage 4 – The Dream State

Creativity flows. Memories file. Emotions reset.

Often correlated REM sleep, this stage is where the brain is most active [10].

REM sleep usually happens in longer bursts towards the end of the night. That means irregular bedtimes, artificial light exposure, and poor sleep structure can shorten this phase, leaving you foggy or emotionally flat the next day.

Support The Dream State with:

• Consistent Sleep Schedule: Going to bed and waking at the same time daily, even at weekends allows for full REM cycles and a more structured sleep pattern.
• Mindful Wind-Down: Dreaming is how the brain processes emotion, stores memory, and creatively resolves thoughts from the day. Journaling before bed can help organise the mind, reduce mental clutter. Pair it with breathwork or a short mindfulness practice to ease your transition

Natural Sleep Support for Every Cycle

Each stage of sleep is unique and essential. Together, they form a complete sleep cycle that restores your body, clears your mind and helps you wake up feeling like yourself again.

The key to better sleep isn’t just more hours, it’s better sleep architecture. That means supporting every phase, from your first yawn to your final dream.

At BON CHARGE, we create science-backed tools to help you optimise your sleep cycle naturally from blue light blockers and sleep masks, to PEMF therapy, red light devices.

Because sleep is more than rest. It’s repair. It’s regulation. It’s the foundation of everything.

Explore the Sleep Collection

References

1. Patel, A. K., Reddy, V., Shumway, K. R. & Araujo, J. F. Physiology, Sleep Stages. in StatPearls (StatPearls Publishing, Treasure Island (FL), 2025).
2. Sasseville, A., Paquet, N., Sévigny, J. & Hébert, M. Blue blocker glasses impede the capacity of bright light to suppress melatonin production. J. Pineal Res. 41, 73–78 (2006).
3. Gorfine, T., Assaf, Y., Goshen-Gottstein, Y., Yeshurun, Y. & Zisapel, N. Sleep-anticipating effects of melatonin in the human brain. NeuroImage 31, 410–418 (2006).
4. Greco, V. et al. Wearing an eye mask during overnight sleep improves episodic learning and alertness. Sleep 46, zsac305 (2023).
5. Zhao, J., Tian, Y., Nie, J., Xu, J. & Liu, D. Red light and the sleep quality and endurance performance of Chinese female basketball players. J. Athl. Train. 47, 673–678 (2012).
6. Durlach, J., Pagès, N., Bac, P., Bara, M. & Guiet-Bara, A. Biorhythms and possible central regulation of magnesium status, phototherapy, darkness therapy and chronopathological forms of magnesium depletion. Magnes. Res. 15, 49–66 (2002).
7. Van Cauter, E. & Copinschi, G. Interrelationships between growthhormone and sleep. Growth Horm. IGF Res. 10, S57–S62 (2000).
8. Nayak, A., Sahoo, J., Dash, P. & Rout, D. PEMF therapy: A non-pharmacological approach to insomnia: A comprehensive review. Int. J. Psychiatry Res. 7, 102–106 (2025).
9. Implementation of smartphone-based color temperature and wavelength control LED lighting system | Cluster Computing. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10586-016-0548-y.
10. Walker, M. P., Liston, C., Hobson, J. A. & Stickgold, R. Cognitive flexibility across the sleep–wake cycle: REM-sleep enhancement of anagram problem solving. Cogn. Brain Res. 14, 317–324 (2002).