NREM And Non-Rapid Eye Movement: The Four Stages Of Sleep

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Sleeping is an act that every single person in the world partakes in every night. Getting into bed and then waiting for sleep to overcome the mind is a natural thing to do but not everyone understand the reasons behind why sleeping is a part of everyday life. What happens during sleep is more complicated than simply just falling asleep. The topic of sleep was not well researched until the 20th century when it was discovered that the brain is very active during sleep. When one begins the journey to unconsciousness, two phases are of sleep are entered: Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM). Within each of these phases are separate stages that form a complete sleep cycle which is around 90 minutes and each night, depending on how much sleep is obtained, one generally goes through 4-6 cycles (Turner, “Why Do We Sleep? Modern Theories of Sleep”). …show more content…

In stage 1 NREM sleep, a person starts to lose muscle tone and this is the reason for the sudden twitching and jerking of the body. A person also begins to lose self-awareness and will have hypnagogic hallucinations. Stage 2 NREM sleep is when a person’s muscle tone is almost all lost and sleep paralysis begins to take over the body. With Stage 3 NREM sleep, a person enters a stage where no dreaming occurs but where sleepwalking is possible. Stage 4 NREM sleep is the deepest form of sleep out of all of the four stages. REM sleep is the very last stage where your muscles begin to twitch and most of your dreams take place. (Turner, “Why Do We Sleep? Modern Theories of

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