Sleep and its Effects on the Brain
INTRO: Sleep is looked at by a lot of people as something the occurs because our bodies get tired however saying that we only sleep because we are tired is like saying we only eat because we are hungry. “We tend to think of sleep as a time when the mind and body shut down. But this is not the case; sleep is an active period in which a lot of important processing, restoration, and strengthening occurs” (sleepfoundation.org). Scientists to this day as still trying to uncover the mysteries sleep and its ever changing effects on the brain bring to the table. While trying to unfold these mysteries, scientists have discovered there are different kinds of sleep such as REM and NREM, there are “movies” or “shows” …show more content…
NREM sleep is how adults sleep about 80% of the time (about 50% of the time for children under 10). It is also known as slow wave sleep because of the reduction of body movements, vascular tone, respiratory rate, metabolic rate, blood pressure and decreased brain activity. It is unlikely for one to dream during NREM sleep however, if dreams do occur, one won't be able to remember them in the morning. Nightmares on the other hand are rather common during this stage of sleep. REM sleep occurs 4-5 times during your normal sleep-wake pattern. The length of the session varies and usually the last one can last up to an hour. During these REM sleep episodes your body becomes “restless” due to heightened brain activity because your brain enters into an “alert” sate. This is why during this time you will usually experience intense dreams. Increased body movements, such as rapid eye movements, along with irregular breathing and heart rate are also common factors that occur during REM sleep …show more content…
Have you ever woken up in the morning and remember watching a movie in your mind as you slept? Or acted out a variation of a scenario that happened to you a week before? You are experiencing what is called a dream. A hypothesis started by Plato and Aristotle and later expanded by European psychoanalysts of the 19th and 20th centuries “defines dreaming as a way to act out unconscious desires in a safe or “unreal” setting, presumably because to do so in reality would be unacceptable or even detrimental” (Sleepfoundation.org/dreams). However, to this day scientists have yet to come up with an explanation for dreaming. Dreams are also characterized by their content. Usually when the images seen while you sleep are pleasant and cause happy thoughts or restful sleep then they will be characterized as a dream. If this is not the case these images fall into the category of nightmares or even night
INTRO: Sleep is looked at by a lot of people as something the occurs because our bodies get tired however saying that we only sleep because we are tired is like saying we only eat because we are hungry. “We tend to think of sleep as a time when the mind and body shut down. But this is not the case; sleep is an active period in which a lot of important processing, restoration, and strengthening occurs” (sleepfoundation.org). Scientists to this day as still trying to uncover the mysteries sleep and its ever changing effects on the brain bring to the table. While trying to unfold these mysteries, scientists have discovered there are different kinds of sleep such as REM and NREM, there are “movies” or “shows” …show more content…
NREM sleep is how adults sleep about 80% of the time (about 50% of the time for children under 10). It is also known as slow wave sleep because of the reduction of body movements, vascular tone, respiratory rate, metabolic rate, blood pressure and decreased brain activity. It is unlikely for one to dream during NREM sleep however, if dreams do occur, one won't be able to remember them in the morning. Nightmares on the other hand are rather common during this stage of sleep. REM sleep occurs 4-5 times during your normal sleep-wake pattern. The length of the session varies and usually the last one can last up to an hour. During these REM sleep episodes your body becomes “restless” due to heightened brain activity because your brain enters into an “alert” sate. This is why during this time you will usually experience intense dreams. Increased body movements, such as rapid eye movements, along with irregular breathing and heart rate are also common factors that occur during REM sleep …show more content…
Have you ever woken up in the morning and remember watching a movie in your mind as you slept? Or acted out a variation of a scenario that happened to you a week before? You are experiencing what is called a dream. A hypothesis started by Plato and Aristotle and later expanded by European psychoanalysts of the 19th and 20th centuries “defines dreaming as a way to act out unconscious desires in a safe or “unreal” setting, presumably because to do so in reality would be unacceptable or even detrimental” (Sleepfoundation.org/dreams). However, to this day scientists have yet to come up with an explanation for dreaming. Dreams are also characterized by their content. Usually when the images seen while you sleep are pleasant and cause happy thoughts or restful sleep then they will be characterized as a dream. If this is not the case these images fall into the category of nightmares or even night