Differentiate between non-REM and REM sleep, and discuss dreams in the context of REM and non-REM sleep.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

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The answer should contain the following information:

When people go back to a shallower state of sleep several times a night, their heart rate increases and becomes irregular, their blood pressure rises, and their breathing rate increases. Most characteristic of this period is the back-and-forth movement of their eyes, as if they were watching an action-filled movie. This period of sleep is called rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep and contrasts with stages 1 through 3, which are collectively labeled non-REM (or NREM) sleep. REM sleep occupies a little more than 20 percent of adults' total sleeping time. Paradoxically, while all this occurs, the major muscles of the body appear to be paralyzed. In addition, REM sleep is usually accompanied by dreams, which-whether or not people remember them-are experienced by everyone during some part of the night. Although some dreaming occurs in non-REM stages of sleep, dreams are most likely to occur in the REM period, where they are the most vivid and easily remembered. There is good reason to believe that REM sleep plays a critical role in everyday human functioning. People deprived of REM sleep-by being awakened every time they begin to display the physiological signs of that stage-exhibit signs of a rebound effect when allowed to rest undisturbed.