Common Misconception Of The Brain's Five Stages Of Sleep

Then you will move into stage two which includes sleep spindles and K complexes. Sleep spindles are very short bursts of brain activity, and K complexes are single high voltage strikes of brain activity. Also, in stage two delta brain waves start to slow function of the brain preparing for stage three and four. Stage three and stage four i will talk about as one because they are very similar and do similar things. These stages are referred to slow wave sleep because your brain is in it’s slowest speed of function. In stage three you brain is between 20 and 50 percent delta waves, from 50 to 100 percent delta waves you are considered to be in stage four. While in stage four people may experience sleep walking and other muscular movement without knowing so. Noises as loud as 90 decibels may not be able to wake the person from sleep. During REM sleep which is after NREM sleep the brain is more active and alert. This is where most dreams occur because your brain is active but you are still sleeping. After the short 15 minute period of REM sleep you will start over with stage one of NREM these cycles normally take 90 minutes to complete. Activity during sleep can come at any point but is most common in REM or stage four of

Up to 90% of people dream when they fall asleep not only do they dream but also have nightmares. Not all nightmares will wake a person up or even be remembered but if they are remembered it usually strikes fear and worry in the dreamers mind. Nightmares and the level of fear that they possess all depends on the person who is having them because not everyone’s fears are the same thing or are to the same extent. Nevertheless sleep is split into four different stages, stage one being sleep onset, stage 2 light sleep, stage 3 and 4 deep sleep which can also be known as the REM (non-rapid eye movement) stage which is connected to dreaming. There are different aspects within a nightmare such as how nightmares come to be and who they effect.

This is the phase in which people dream most vividly and remember them most often. There are two theories behind dreams. The first is Freud’s theory. Freud said that dreams occur in order to fulfill our wishes. Dreams are also filled with unconscious messages that can be analyzed for deeper meaning. Oftentimes, dreams are connected to the current events that are present in somebody’s life. The other theory is the Activation Synthesis Hypothesis. This can be explained in three easy steps. When we are awake, our minds take in information and stimulus and we react a certain way. At night, when we are asleep, our minds process these stimuli and reactions, and that is why dreams

Despite the fact that you’re not conscious when asleep, your brain is active during that time. Your brain goes through four cycles of sleep which occurs for approximately 90 minutes each. The first three stages of sleep are call Non-Rapid Eye Movement (N1, N2, and N3).

These stages are characterized by bursts of electrical activity on electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. EEG readings monitor electrical activity representing neuronal activity in specific neurophysiological regions. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is characterized by desynchronized, saw-toothed theta rhythm waves and heightened cognitive activity. Comparatively, high amplitude, synchronous delta waves, and sharp hippocampal waves characterize slow wave sleep (SWS) sleep (stages 3-4 of non-REM sleep) (Tucker et al. 2006).

While awake, beta waves are active in the brain. The first stage is known as REM. This is where rapid eye movement occurs. As well, dreams typically occur here. As you begin to fall asleep these beta waves become less prevalent and theta waves start to develop. This occurs in the early stages of sleep. Furthermore, this stage is known as N1 which is a light sleep that usually occurs for about five minutes. During this time body temperature drops and shallow, irregular breathing occurs. The next stage is known as N2. An EEG would show sleep spindles at this point. As time goes on the brain will begin to produce delta waves. These waves are long and slow. They occur in the deepest stages of sleep known as N3. This stage is also responsible for growth hormones being released in the pituitary gland. After N3 the body will begin to wake up on its own. The body will return to it's REM stage where body temperature increases and eyes have movement.

Researchers have classified two definitive types of sleep, REM, otherwise known as rapid eye movement, and non REM and have divided the sleep cycle into four distinct stages. REM sleep is associated with dreaming as most of our dreams occur during this stage. REM waves are very fast and resemble beta waves which indicate that you are awake. REM sleep is usually

The average human spends about 25 years of their life sleeping. That is equal to one-third of a person’s life. So if sleep is vital and common among every single human, what do you know about it? What happens when we sleep (Attention Grabber)? Before the 1950s, scientists believed that the brain would just “shut off” when we would go to sleep. It wasn’t until the discovery of the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) state that scientists really looked into what happens in the brain while we are asleep. Studies have found that we go through a cycle of stages during sleep, and it is important for our health (Orientation to Topic). Today, I am going to inform you about what really happens when we sleep, and some issues that are found among it (Specific Purpose). In order to really understand this worldwide commonality, you need to know some background on sleep, the stages in the cycle, and some common disorders (Central Idea). I have taken a year long psychology course that went into depth on sleep psychology, and I have done extensive research on the topic to better grasp it (Statement of Credibility). I want to inform you on sleep so you can understand what happens when you close your eyes every night, and so you can detect any irregularities in your sleep pattern (Statement of Goodwill). First, I will give a background of why and how we know to sleep, then I will explain the stages in the sleep cycle, and finally I will tell you about some common disorders (Preview).

There are five phases of sleep in a sleep cycle; phase 1 – light sleep with slow movement of eye which forms 4-5% of total sleep, phase 2 – eye movement stops and brain waves becomes slower which forms 45-55%of total sleep, phase 3 – extremely slow brain waves which comprises 4-6% of total sleep, phase 4 -deep sleep phase with no eye movement or muscle activity which forms 12-15% of total sleep, and phase 5- it is also called REM sleep where breathing becomes more rapid, irregular and shallow, and it forms 20-25% of total sleep time (Nichols, 2017).

Dreams can occur in other stages of sleep other than REM, but are usually vaguer. We are able to incorporate external sounds into our dreams such as a telephone ringing of thunderstorm. Instead, most active dreaming occurs during REM sleep, when the brain is most active. During REM sleep, signals from the pons travel to the thalamus, which relays them to the cerebral cortex, which is the part of the brain that interprets and organizes information from the environment during consciousness and stimulate its regions that are responsible for learning, thinking, and organizing information the pons also sends signals that shut off neurons in the spinal cord, causing

The stages of non-REM sleep, stages 1–3, are defined by EEG activity. Slow-wave sleep in stage 3 is the deepest stage of sleep. Alertness consists of desynchronized beta activity (13–30 Hz); relaxation and drowsiness consist of alpha activity (8–12 Hz); stage 1 sleep consists of alternating periods of alpha activity, irregular fast activity, and theta activity (3.5–7.5 Hz); the EEG of stage 2 sleep lacks alpha activity but contains sleep spindles (short periods of 12–14 Hz activity) and occasional K complexes; stage 3 sleep primarily consists of delta activity. About 90 minutes after the beginning of sleep, people enter REM sleep. Thereafter, cycles of REM and non-REM sleep occur in periods of approximately 90 minutes. Muscle tone decreases throughout the stages, resulting in deepest relaxation and paralysis in REM sleep (Carlson & Birkett, p. 268).

When people sleep their brain’s activity changes in characteristic ways over the course of one night. These sleep patterns are classified into two main kinds of sleep – rapid-eye movement or REM and non-rapid eye movement or NREM sleep. REM sleep is most often associated with dreaming and it is thought that it assists in brain development especially in the early stages

Each night without fail our eyes grow heavy and our minds tired, and dreaming we drag ourselves to bed and normally fall asleep quickly and peacefully off to dream land we go.

 Sleep is not uniform activity, but one produced of different brain waves throughout the night.

A typical night’s sleep is much more complicated than just closing your eyes and waking in the morning. As humans, we live our life on a circadian rhythm. This means that changes occur roughly based upon a 24-hour basis. This circadian rhythm plays a major role in when we get tired and decide it’s time to sleep. This rhythm is theorized to have helped us stay safe thousands of years ago. We would fall asleep during the time that their seemed to be threats roaming around in the dark. to Once we finally get to sleep, our brains and bodies are doing much more than laying in complete stillness. There are five distinct stages of sleep that we experience as we sleep. Each is uniquely different and serves a purpose throughout the night. The first stage of sleep is a very light sleep that lasts for 5 to 10 minutes. During this stage of sleep, you may not even realize that you’re sleeping. While in this stage of sleep our brains power down by 50 percent and produce theta waves four to seven times per second. We proceed to stage two after this. During stage two, our brains power down