Understanding Respiratory Rate and How It Changes While You Sleep

When we talk about sleep quality, we usually think of how long we slept, how rested we feel, or how many times we woke up. But there is another powerful indicator that reveals what is happening inside the body: respiratory rate.

What Is Respiratory Rate?

Respiratory rate (RR) is the number of breaths you take per minute.
For adults, the typical resting range is around 12 to 20 breaths per minute. Your RR naturally shifts throughout the day depending on activity level, stress, temperature and overall health.

During sleep, these fluctuations become even more meaningful. As the brain moves through the stages of sleep, it alters how the body breathes by slowing it, stabilising it or making it irregular. These patterns tell us a lot about recovery, stress and physiological balance.

How Respiratory Rate Changes Across Sleep Stages

Sleep is not one continuous state. It cycles through several stages, each influencing breathing rhythm, depth and stability.

1. Stage N1 (Light Sleep)

What happens:

Breathing begins to slow compared to wakefulness.

Respiratory rate becomes more regular but remains sensitive to external triggers such as noise or small movements.

2. Stage N2 (Deeper Light Sleep)

What happens:

RR becomes more stable and slightly slower.

Breathing becomes less responsive to the environment.

Muscle tone decreases, including in the chest wall.

3. Stage N3 (Deep Sleep / Slow-Wave Sleep)

What happens:

Respiratory rate reaches its lowest and most stable point.

Breathing becomes deep and rhythmic.

Oxygen consumption drops as the body prioritises repair.

4. REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement)

What happens:

RR becomes more irregular and can increase sharply.

Breathing may resemble wakefulness in tempo but with less voluntary control.

Dream activity influences autonomic breathing patterns.

A Helpful Insight About Breathing Comfort and Sinus Health

Breathing ease has a direct influence on respiratory rate during sleep. When the airways are clear and breathing feels effortless, the body naturally settles into a calmer and more consistent rhythm. This supports deeper sleep, steadier oxygen flow and more efficient recovery.

On the other hand, when sinus congestion or nasal obstruction is present, the body often compensates with slightly faster or more erratic breathing. This can make sleep feel lighter, increase micro-awakenings and sometimes disrupt progression into deeper sleep stages. While these changes are usually subtle, they can affect how restorative sleep feels overall.

Why Monitoring Respiratory Rate Matters

A nighttime respiratory rate that is unusually elevated or unstable, compared to your personal baseline, can reflect:

Increased stress load

Overtraining

Illness or infection

Poor sleep quality

Alcohol or late heavy meals

Temperature or allergen-related disruptions

Tracking RR over time helps reveal shifts in your physiological state before they become noticeable in daily performance.

References

1. Berry, R.B., et al. AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events. American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2017.

2. Trinder, J., et al. Respiratory Stability During Sleep. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2005.

3. Douglas, N.J. Respiration During Sleep. Medicine, 2013.

4. Dempsey, J.A., et al. Sleep Induced Breathing Instability. Comprehensive Physiology, 2010.

5. Rechtschaffen, A. and Kales, A. Manual of Standardised Terminology, Techniques and Scoring System for Sleep Stages of Human Subjects. US National Institutes of Health, 1968.

6. Carskadon, M.A. and Dement, W.C. Normal Human Sleep. Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine, Elsevier, 2017.