A healthy night’s sleep should typically include about two hours of REM phase sleep. Because sleep phases occur in cycles, only about 25 percent of your time sleeping through a night is actually spent in the REM state. For this reason, eight hours of sleep is the recommended average for optimal benefits. Sleep apnea interferes with the process of sleep cycles, forcing the body to remain in a shallow state of sleep to regulate oxygen intake. Even when a person suffering from sleep apnea can get an adequate total amount of sleep, the reduced quality of their rest impedes the most important healing processes.