Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep or REMS) is a unique phase of sleep in mammals (including humans) and birds, characterized by random rapid movement of the eyes, accompanied by low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream vividly. The core body and brain temperatures increase during REM sleep and skin ...
This includes the activation synthesis theory—the theory that dreams result from brain stem activation during REM sleep; the continual activation theory—the theory that dreaming is a result of activation and synthesis but dreams and REM sleep are controlled by different structures in the brain; and dreams as excitations of long-term memory ...
REM sleep may be a more evolutionarily recent sleep state, and is prominent in most birds and mammals, although may exist in reptiles and other vertebrates to varying degrees. [3] REM stands for rapid eye movement. It is generally a later sleep state following non-REM (NREM) sleep. [3] It is regulated in part by the pontine brainstem.
During a normal night of sleep, a person will alternate between periods of NREM and REM sleep. Each cycle is approximately 90 minutes long, containing a 20-30 minute bout of REM sleep. [7] NREM sleep consists of sleep stages 1–4, and is where movement can be observed. A person can still move their body when they are in NREM sleep.
Young woman asleep over study materials. The relationship between sleep and memory has been studied since at least the early 19th century.Memory, the cognitive process of storing and retrieving past experiences, learning and recognition, [1] is a product of brain plasticity, the structural changes within synapses that create associations between stimuli.
RBD is a sleep disorder characterized by the loss of normal skeletal muscle atonia during REM sleep and is associated with prominent motor activity and vivid dreaming. [6] [2] These dreams often involve screaming, shouting, laughing, crying, arm flailing, kicking, punching, choking, and jumping out of bed.
Sample hypnogram showing one sleep cycle (the first of the night) from NREM through REM. The sleep cycle is an oscillation between the slow-wave and REM (paradoxical) phases of sleep. It is sometimes called the ultradian sleep cycle, sleep–dream cycle, or REM-NREM cycle, to distinguish it from the circadian alternation between sleep and ...
Empirically, it is an ultradian rhythm of approximately 90 minutes (80–120 minutes [2]) characterized by different levels of excitement and rest. The cycle is mediated by the human biological clock. It is most readily observed in stages of sleep, for example, rapid eye movement sleep (REM) and the delta activity cycle.