REM cycle
man, haven't remembered any dreams lately. sleep has suddenly become a blur and somewhat difficult and tiresome. anyways, after mentioning the REM cycle to kathee i thought i'd explain what it actully was. so technically, this blog has nothing to do with my dreams, i just made it for my super cool roommate kathee!
Since the early 20th century, human sleep has been described as a succession of five recurring stages: four non-REM stages and the REM stage. A sixth stage, waking, is often included. Waking, in this context, is actually the phase during which a person falls asleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is marked by extensive physiological changes, such as accelerated respiration, increased brain activity, eye movement, and muscle relaxation. People dream during REM sleep, perhaps as a result of excited brain activity and the paralysis of major voluntary muscles.
Stage 5, REM
REM sleep is distinguishable from NREM sleep by changes in physiological states, including its characteristic rapid eye movements. However, polysomnograms show wave patterns in REM to be similar to Stage 1 sleep. In normal sleep (in people without disorders of sleep-wake patterns or REM behavior disorder), heart rate and respiration speed up and become erratic, while the face, fingers, and legs may twitch. Intense dreaming occurs during REM sleep as a result of heightened cerebral activity, but paralysis occurs simultaneously in the major voluntary muscle groups, including the submental muscles (muscles of the chin and neck). Because REM is a mixture of encephalic (brain) states of excitement and muscular immobility, it is sometimes called paradoxical sleep. It is generally thought that REM-associated muscle paralysis is meant to keep the body from acting out the dreams that occur during this intensely cerebral stage. The first period of REM typically lasts 10 minutes, with each recurring REM stage lengthening, and the final one lasting an hour.
ok, well that's just some website's simple explanation. for more info on the other stages and dreaming/brain stuff check out the site, http://www.sleepdisorderchannel.net/. it seems to be a fairly informative site. hope you enjoyed reading this kathee! :)
ps. sorry kathee no dreams with you yet :(
Since the early 20th century, human sleep has been described as a succession of five recurring stages: four non-REM stages and the REM stage. A sixth stage, waking, is often included. Waking, in this context, is actually the phase during which a person falls asleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is marked by extensive physiological changes, such as accelerated respiration, increased brain activity, eye movement, and muscle relaxation. People dream during REM sleep, perhaps as a result of excited brain activity and the paralysis of major voluntary muscles.
Stage 5, REM
REM sleep is distinguishable from NREM sleep by changes in physiological states, including its characteristic rapid eye movements. However, polysomnograms show wave patterns in REM to be similar to Stage 1 sleep. In normal sleep (in people without disorders of sleep-wake patterns or REM behavior disorder), heart rate and respiration speed up and become erratic, while the face, fingers, and legs may twitch. Intense dreaming occurs during REM sleep as a result of heightened cerebral activity, but paralysis occurs simultaneously in the major voluntary muscle groups, including the submental muscles (muscles of the chin and neck). Because REM is a mixture of encephalic (brain) states of excitement and muscular immobility, it is sometimes called paradoxical sleep. It is generally thought that REM-associated muscle paralysis is meant to keep the body from acting out the dreams that occur during this intensely cerebral stage. The first period of REM typically lasts 10 minutes, with each recurring REM stage lengthening, and the final one lasting an hour.
ok, well that's just some website's simple explanation. for more info on the other stages and dreaming/brain stuff check out the site, http://www.sleepdisorderchannel.net/. it seems to be a fairly informative site. hope you enjoyed reading this kathee! :)
ps. sorry kathee no dreams with you yet :(
posted by bellamay at 7:50 PM
1 Comments:
thanks b-may.
man.. i was trying to retell that moment in the car to your sister frances and i kept calling it the krebs cycle.
oops.
i am officially a bio ditz.
Post a Comment
<< Home