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PHYSIOLOGY OF SLEEP

Before we can run, we must learn how to walk. So naturally we need to learn about sleep, the platform for dreams. Sleep is defined as "a naturally recurring state of relatively suspended sensory and motor activity, characterized by total or partial unconsciousness and the inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. ..."(Wikipedia.com). The average person will spend about 1/3 of their life sleeping. This is a huge amount of time in our lives to be unconscious and unaware of our surroundings. It is recommended that an adult gets 8 hours of sleep a night. Sleep is divided into two stages, NREM (Non Rapid Eye Movement) and REM (Rapid Eye Movement). NREM sleep is divided into more subcategories, stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, and stage 4 (also known as deep or delta wave) sleep. Each stage is a progressively deeper state of sleep, that requires more stimulation to awaken the sleeping individual. The cycle of these stages go: stage 1->stage 2->stage 3->stage 4->REM. REM is the deepest stage of sleep, when it is hardest to awaken a person. This is also the point in sleep when dreams occur. This video will provide insight on the stages of sleep and how they progress. media type="youtube" key="2M6GhNDeHiI?fs=1" height="385" width="480" Our bodies have an internal "clock" that tells us when it is time to go to sleep. The clock is roughly a 24.2 hour day. This video will hopefully help you to understand the internal clock. .media type="youtube" key="fhozvOpPUeU?fs=1" height="385" width="480"