the sleep process. As someone falls asleep they pass from waking consciousness into a semi wakeful state , into four states of progressively deeper sleep (all of which contain little or no conscious awareness). Then after the four stages of sleep an individual shifts into dream sleep.
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Hypnagogic State: A relaxed state of dreamlike
awareness between wakefulness and sleep. In this state a person begins to loose voluntary control over the body movements; our sensitivity to outside stimuli diminishes; and the thoughts become more fanciful, less bound by reality. For most people it is a highly enjoyable state. Myoclonia: An abrupt movement that sometimes occurs during the hypnagogic state in which the sleeper often experiences an sense of falling.
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Stages of Light and Deep Sleep: After a person
makes transition from the hypnagogic state to sleep, then he passes through four stages of progressively deeper sleep. Researchers distinguish among these stages of sleep through an electroencephalogram (EEG). EEG is a measure of brain activity. The depth of sleep alternates upward and downward many times during the night. Young adults show an average of 34 shifts in the depth of sleep during the first 6 hours.
DREAMS
REM sleep: Rapid-eye-movement sleep, characterized by movement of the eye
under the lids often accompanies dreams. Dreaming: Conscious awareness during sleep that primarily occurs during rapideye-movement (REM) sleep Autonomic storms: 5 decades of study have revealed the eye balls are not the only parts of the body that are busy during REM dreams. The Autonomic nervous system and other parts of the peripheral nervous system are very active during dreams, causing noticeable changes in many parts of the body For instance blood flow to the brain increases, the heart beat becomes irregular, the muscles of the face and fingers twitch, and breathing becomes irregular. Interestingly voluntary control of the large body muscles is largely lost during REM sleep, perhaps to keep the individual from acting out the dreams REM sleep is not limited to humans only but this fact has been confirmed in many laboratory studies of sleeping mammals
HOW OFTEN DO WE DREAM
In a survey of college aged adults, about 15 percent said
that they dream every night, and about 25 percent said that they dream on most nights. On the other hand almost a third of young adults said that they rarely or never dream. Studies of dreaming conducted during the past 30 years show that the average college student spends about two hours a night in REM sleep, divided into about 4 to 6 separate episodes. Based on the facts of the reports of sleepers who were awakened during REM sleep it is clear that people dream during at least 80 percent of these episodes of REM sleep.
NON-REM SLEEP
Many studies have consistently shown that when
participants are awakened during non-REM phases of sleep, they report dreaming about half of the time On average non-REM dreams are less bizarre and with less negative emotion than REM dreams In addition to the 2 hours of REM dreaming per night, non-REM dream activity is occurring during half of the 4-6 hours that we sleep each night Unlike waking consciousness, most of the hours that a person is conscious during sleep does not become part of the permanent record of the life by being stored in memory
CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS
Internally generated cycles lasting about 24
hours a day that regulates sleepiness and wakefulness, Body temperature and secretion of hormones.
SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND THE
NEED TO SLEEP
Students at the University of Florida participated in a sleep
experiment limiting their sleep to 2 hours for one night. The next day they were irritable, fatigued, inattentive, and inefficient: the next night they fell asleep more quickly and slept longer than usual. Sufficient sleep is essential to maintaining good health. For example, when male college students were limited to 4 hours of sleep per night for a week, important changes in bodily functions were found that had not been detected in early sleep studies. The sleep deprived students had increased activity of their sympathetic nervous systems and their normal patterns of hormone secretion by the adrenal glands and thyroid were altered. Perhaps, most importantly, their metabolism of sugar was less efficient after sleep deprivation. In addition short-term sleep deprivation slows down the bodys immune system.
Sleeping less than 4.5 hours per night for men
and less than 3.5 hours per night for women is associated with a 15 percent higher death rate. One possible cause death related to sleep deprivation is accidental death rate. Even small amounts of sleep deprivation can decrease alertness and increase the risk of accidents.
SLEEP DISORDERS
Disturbances in sleep or sleep disorders are highly treatable disorders.
Insomnia: Refers to a variety of difficulties in which individuals report that they sleep less than they wish. There are two major varieties of insomnia.
i.
Sleep-onset insomnia: Individuals have difficulty falling asleep at
the hour at which they would like but sleep is normal after it begins.
ii.
Early awakening Insomnia: Is characterized by waking up earlier
than desired, either several times in the middle of the night or early in the morning.
.Both
are found in individuals experiencing no other psychological
problems but are more common in individuals undergoing periods of stress, anxiety and depression.
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Narcolepsy: Is a rare sleep disorder, occurring in less than
one half of one percent of the general population , but its impact can be quite serious. The narcoleptic often unexpectedly falls into a deep slumber in the middle of work or even during conversations with others, especially when upset or stressed. Often the individual experiences loss of muscle tone and shows lack of body movement, as if suddenly into dream sleep. Narcolepsy often causes serious difficulties with the use of dangerous machines and other job related activities. It also occurs in people who get adequate sleep
SLEEP APNEA
Is the sudden, temporary interruption of breathing during
sleep. To qualify as sleep Apnea, these interruptions of breathing must be longer than 20 seconds, because brief interruptions are normal. Sleep Apnea is common, particularly in older adults who snore. It is caused either by too much relaxation of the muscles of the throat or by a temporary cessation of brain signals for breathing. It is more common in persons who are over weight. Serious sleep Apnea can lead to serious medical problems