Rem sleep is characterized by rapid eye movements and closed eyelids. Today we report that the brain can be as active during sleep as it is when awake, and dreams are most vivid during sleep. This also explains why REM sleep also affects the body in terms of its effects on the heart, brain and muscles. Interestingly, some muscles in the arms and legs are temporarily paralyzed during Rem sleep. In addition to increasing alertness, Maas says, it is a way for the brain to store new information in long-term memory. REM sleep is considered part of the memory, learning and mood balancing process, but the exact process by which this happens is not entirely clear, the National Sleep Foundation website states.
The brain, achieves this through a phenomenon that researchers have only recently understood. Sleep is called spikes and images, which form what you read on an EEG, and is swung quickly and with a strong frequency. During the sleep cycle, the brain goes through five different sleep phases, one of which is REM sleep (rapid eye movement). The REM phase occurs between the sixth and eighth hour of sleep, when people are most likely to dream. In the second half of the night, people enter REM sleep, during which their eyes move in different directions. This sleep phase occurs between the second half of the night and the third hour after bedtime and is the most intense part of REM sleep.
In sleep without REM, this fourth phase is characterized by a function of the autonomic nervous system that is closer to what we see in the waking state. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is the last phase of the four-stage cycle that occurs during sleep. This stage of sleep can be controlled by the brain stem and hypothalamus, with additional brain activity in the frontal lobes and the anterior cingular cortex contributing.
REM sleep occurs after the brain has passed through stages one, two and three and typically lasts about 90 minutes. REM sleep differs from other sleep phases, during REM sleep, the voluntary muscles are inhibited and brain activity is increased. Rapid eye movements (dreams) occur during the first half of the sleep cycle, usually between 2: 00 and 3: 30 in the morning. The fourth and final stage is so called because rapid eye movement (REM) is its defining feature. Stage 1 is the first phase of the sleep cycle and the most common sleep phase in the human body.
For a full night’s sleep, you experience three or four such cycles of 60 to 90 minutes each. When you are awake, your brain becomes active for a short period of time during REM sleep, usually between 30 and 60 minutes. But other, equally important restoration works take place in the same period, usually between 30 and 90 minutes.
A highly active electroencephalography (EEG) appears as a driving mechanism in the brainstem, leading to total relaxation of the body and the atony. Dreaming occurs mainly during the REM sleep phase, but there are a number of different stages. In REM sleep disorders (REM sleep disorders), there is a short period in which the patient is able to live out his or her dreams, which can lead to a variety of symptoms, such as delusions, nightmares and hallucinations of other people.
In addition, REM sleep disorders are characterized by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia – like symptoms. Interestingly, it was also observed that the electrical brain activity during this sleep phase is very similar to that during waking. REM sleep disorders are sleep disorders that affect the body during REM sleep, sometimes referred to as “dream behavior,” such as sleep apnea.
Two names for this sleep phase have emerged: “dream” (based on eye movements) and “paradoxical,” which paradoxically means increased brain activity very similar to that of the awake brain. Research has shown that REM sleep is related to dream content, and people who wake up during this sleep phase are more likely to report dream fragments compared to those in other sleep stages. The content of dreams in sleep also tends to be more bizarre, lively, and emotionally charged.
The normal sleep phase often occurs during the night, and about 20 percent of sleep is spent in the first half of it. The usual time, which occurs mainly during the second half of the sleep cycle – the night – is shifted to the third – to the last minute of the sleep cycle or to the last minutes of waking.