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REM and NREM Sleep Cycle

Narayani Karthik
REM sleep cycle is an ongoing study in the field of medical science and human psychology. This story offers an insight into the cycle of this sleep pattern.
REM sleep means Rapid Eye Movement sleep. When a person sleeps, he closes his eyes and falls into a trance of a heightened anabolic state. The sleep he enjoys, may or may not contain dreams.
However, if this sleeping person encounters elaborate dreams with frequent twitching of hands and feet, and persistent movement of the eyes with a decreased ability to react to a stimulus, the term coined for such a sleep is REM sleep.
A normal sleep is divided into two stages of sleep:
  • NREM Sleep (Non rapid eye movement sleep)
  • REM Sleep (Rapid eye movement sleep)
Usually, an REM cycle exhibits symptoms of irregular breathing, twitching eye movements, high blood pressure, and a sudden loss of muscle tone. The timing of the sleep cycle is associated with dreams, that take over the sleeping person for that particular duration of time.
Sleep is the most wonderful experience cum routine for a person. It is a natural form of meditation with absolute concentration. Deprivation of a regular sleep routine can lead to impaired thought processes, weakened immune system, chronic depression, and sleep disorders like insomnia. The significance of REM sleep cycle is that, it keeps the brain active and enhances the cognitive thought processes of the person by choosing to remember what is required and discard what is not required.