All About Sleep

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All About Sleep

Have you ever wondered what goes on in your brain while you're dreaming? When you sleep your body goes through 5 stages that vary in different brain waves and phases. This process is referred to as the sleep cycle. According to the article Stages of Sleep: REM and Non-REM sleep in WebMD.com, most peoples’, dreams are purely a "mental" activity: they occur in the mind while the body is at rest”. For that to happen we must fully go through REM or rapid eye movement. Throughout the sleep cycle NREM or non-rapid eye movement sleep help the body get to REM and really get to deep sleep.

During REM sleep you experience high brain activity which cause you to have vivid dreams and lots of movement while your in the deepest stage of sleep. In NREM sleep you experience a lighter stage of sleep, there is a lot less brain activity and the dreams are not very vivid as in REM which can cause you to be more easily awakened 75- 80 percent of a daily sleep is during the NREM stage.

During the first stage of NREM, you are still awake and very alert. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, “Your brain produces beta waves which are relatively small and fast. You may experience sensations such as hallucinations, a "falling" feeling, or hearing someone call your name.” Its still a very light sleep, the person can be woken up with little effort. This stage is referred to as another part of the NREM stage. If awakened from this stage of sleep, a person may feel as if he or she has not slept at all. It may feel as if you just closed your eyes for a second even though a few minutes have passed by. Stage 1 may last for five to ten minutes.

The second stage begins around 20 minutes after the ...

... middle of paper ...

... important because of the deep relaxation that our brain and body truly need is only in that stage. There is a certain amount of time we must give ourselves to get there. Infants require 16-18 a day while adults only need 7-9 a day. Even though REM sleep is a much deeper sleep it is not shown to be any better than Non-REM sleep. The reason for this is our body needs both kinds of sleep to be fully rested. Without one the other would never be as effective.

Work Cited

"Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep." : National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). N.p., n.d. Tues. 2 April. 2014.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm

“Stages of Sleep: REM and Non-REM sleep Cycles.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Wed. 2 Apr. 2014

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