Rapid eye movement sleep
hideRapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a normal stage of sleep characterized by rapid movements of the eyes. REM sleep is classified into two categories: tonic and phasic. It was identified and defined by Kleitman and Aserinsky in the early 1950s.
Criteria for REM sleep includes not only rapid eye movements, but also low muscle tone and a rapid, low voltage EEG -- these features are easily discernible in a polysomnogram, the sleep study typically done for patients with suspected sleep disorders.
REM sleep in adult humans typically occupies 20-25% of total sleep, about 90-120 minutes of a night's sleep. During a normal night of sleep, humans usually experience about 4 or 5 periods of REM sleep; they are quite short at the beginning of the night and longer toward the end. Many animals and some people tend to wake, or experience a period of very light sleep, for a short time immediately after a bout of REM. The relative amount of REM sleep varies considerably with age. A newborn baby spends more than 80% of total sleep time in REM. During REM, the activity of the brain's neurons is quite similar to that during waking hours; for this reason, the sleep stage may be called paradoxical sleep. This means that there are no dominating brain waves during REM sleep.
REM sleep is physiologically different from the other phases of sleep, which are collectively referred to as non-REM sleep (NREM). Vividly recalled dreams mostly occur during REM sleep.
For more information about Rapid eye movement sleep, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with rem sleep
Dreams may have an important physiological function
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Dreams have long been assumed to have psychological functions such as consolidating emotional memories and processing experiences or problems, but according to a Harvard psychiatrist and sleep ...
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Baby can wait as expectant dad finishes spacewalk
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 21, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
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(AP) -- A spacewalking astronaut put aside the impending birth of his daughter and blazed through his first-ever venture outside the International Space Station on Saturday.
Don't Blame Tryptophan for Thanksgiving Snooze
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Blame it on the heavy meal, the alcohol, or simply the opportunity afforded by a free afternoon on a traditional holiday. Just don't blame it on the tryptophan, say experts at the University ...
Sleep apnea may cause heart disease in kidney transplant patients
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Sleep apnea is common in individuals who receive a kidney transplant and is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Jo ...
Scientists find new link between insulin and core body temperature
Nov 19, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a direct link between insulin—a hormone long associated with metabolism and metabolic disorders such as diabetes—and core body temperature. While ...
Waking up memories while you sleep
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 19, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (9) |
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They were in a deep sleep, yet sounds, such as a teakettle whistle and a cat's meow, somehow penetrated their slumber. The 25 sounds presented during the nap were reminders of earlier spatial learning, though the Northwestern ...
A mobile phone or an MP3 player tells if you're sleeping soundly
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Finnish researcher Väinö Virtanen has developed a method for analysing snoring sounds by using a PC with a microphone connection and a wireless microphone. The objective was to create an application that could be used ...
Research: Baby's sleep position is major factor in 'flat-headedness'
Nov 19, 2009 |
2 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A baby's sleep position is the best predictor of a misshapen skull condition known as deformational plagiocephaly ? or the development of flat spots on an infant's head -- according to findings reported by ...
Briton killed wife in sleep, court hears
Nov 17, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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British man killed his wife in his sleep, after dreaming that she was an intruder in their camper van, a court heard on Tuesday.
Night beat, overtime and a disrupted sleep pattern can harm officers' health
Nov 17, 2009 |
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A police officer who works the night shift, typically from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., already is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good "night's" sleep.
Research describes connections between Circadian and metabolic systems
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A paper by University of Notre Dame biologist Giles Duffield and a team of researchers offers new insights into a gene that plays a key role in modulating the body’s Circadian system and may ...
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