General Facts about Sleep and Dreams

General Facts about 1/3 of our life is spent sleeping (approx. 25 years) sleep is necessary to normal functioning typically, 2 days w/o sleep is threshold after 2days: increased irritability & difficulty doing routine tasks inattention, staring, trembling hands increased sensitivity to pain

General Facts Circadian rhythms body goes through cycles of different body functions (body is on a schedule) ex. – digestion, breathing, consciousness, menstruation sleep – 24 hour cycle sleep patterns – vary from individual to individual infants sleep more than adults men sleep less than women on avg. avg. length of sleep 7-8 hrs. (range 5 – 11)

Sleep Stages – based on levels of brain activity Stage 1 – decreased awareness, light sleep heart rate slows, muscles relax, and breathing evens first 5-10 minutes person may be unaware they were sleeping Stage 2 – deepening sleep continue loss of awareness Heart rate, blood pressure, and body temp. continue to lower

Sleep Stages – based on levels of brain activity Stage 3 – further deepening and loss of awareness Stage 4 – deepest sleep h.r., breathing, b.p., and body temp. @ lowest point reached after about an hour if awakened, confused and unaware Non – REM stages 2, 3, &4 less vivid experiences (daydreaming) helps body recover from fatigue increases with physical activity

REM Sleep REM – Rapid Eye Movement about 25% of sleep REM periods get longer with ea. cycle Vivid dreams occur during this period Brain activity, h.r., b.p., etc. increase Mostly incapable of moving REM increases with stress

Cycles of Sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes 1-2-3-4-3-2-REM-2-3-4-3-2-REM-2-etc cycle lasts about 90 minutes about 4-5 cycles a night with avg. sleep