Assuming the stages of sleep are:
Stage 1- light sleep
Stage 2- no eye movement, bursts of brain activity
Stage 3- The first phase of deep sleep
Stage 4- The second phase of deep sleep
Stage 5- REM Sleep

I know what REM sleep does, but what chemicals or hormones are released to cause these effects in each phase?
What does each stage do, and what reactions take place to cause any changes whilst in these sleep phases?

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For my GCSE english presentation, i’ve decided to talk about dreams.

My research has led me into finding out about the 5 stages of sleep and, of course, REM- where most dreams occur.

I’ve tried to go into more detail about exatly what it is, but all i can find are legnthy jargony essays that MUST have been written by oxbridge professors. Being a 15 year old with a relatively short attention span, i just cant be bothered trying to pick apart exactly what it is they’re saying and sifting through all the confusing junk i don’t actually need to know…

Can any of you guys help me? Here is what i have so far in my initial notes:

Most dreaming occurs during this final stage of sleep known as rapid eye movement ‘REM’. REM sleep is characterized by eye movement, increased respiration rate, increased brain activity. The brain and other body systems become more active whilst muscles become more relaxed. Dreaming occurs because of increased brain activity, but voluntary muscles become paralyzed.

Anything else i should know? Can you point me inthe direction of anything else that might be relevant to my presentation?

Thankyou!
To A A:
Who the hell is Michael Stipe?
And, funny as it was, what the hell does that have to do with my question??
XD
To JanStolz:
Yep, thanks. ^_^

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1.Hypnosis is especially helpful for recovery of traumatic memories or forgotten material.
True
False

2.As your sleep continues through the night, the _________ sleep stages disappear and you get progressively more _____ sleep.

A.slow wave; REM

B.alpha wave; beta wave

C.REM; NREM

D.good; bad

3.Hallucinations are experienced by all people.
True
False

4.Infants get the biggest proportion of REM sleep out of total sleep time compared to humans in other stages of life.
True
False

5.Most people who are deprived of all environmental time cues tend to naturally follow a 25-hour sleep/wake cycle.
True
False

6.Sleepwalking and night terrors are most common during _____ and tend to occur in _______.

A.childhood; stage 3 & 4 NREM sleep

B.childhood; REM sleep

C.adolescence; REM sleep

D.adulthood; stage 1 NREM sleep

7.Substance dependence is distinguised from substance abuse by the occurance of tolerance and withdrawal.
True
False

8.The "deepest" stages of sleep are

A.REM and Stage 1 NREM

B.Stage 2 and REM

C.Stages 3 and 4 NREM

D.Stages 1 and 2 NREM

9.Which of the following is a dangerous, addictive, psychoactive drug?

A.Cocaine

B.Beer

C.Marlboro Lights

D.These are all dangerous, addictive, psychoactive drugs!

10.Your immediate awareness of internal and external stimuli is also called your

A.circadian rhythm

B.Consciousness

C.frame of mind

D.brain waves

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is there 4, 5, or 6 stages of sleep?

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Does an EEG recording show REM and NREM stages of sleep?

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If i fall asleep at 11 or 12, when do i enter the deepest stages of sleep (3rd and 4th)?

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There are several documents listing the stages of sleep and what the body does PHYSICALLY (jerking, eye movement…) while one is sleeping but I could not find anything related to the BIOLOGICAL processes themselves that occur during sleep. How does the body recharge during sleep? How does it enhance our immune system? Obviously something has to happen because you feel weak and are more likely to get sick if you don’t get enough sleep. Any info on these mechanisms is greatly appreciated.

Technorati Tags: biological processes, eye movement, google, immune system, mechanisms, sleep, stages of sleep

I had learned in psychology that REM sleep is the fourth stage (or a later stage, i forget, its been awhile) of sleep– the stage in which you dream– and during that time your body is on total lockdown. This is to prevent you from taking courses of action such as jumping out windows or running around or other actions that enact your dream– this makes sense.

I also learned that things like sleep talking and sleep walking happen in the prior stages of sleep, such as the third stage– which is fine and makes sense.

What i dont get is that in popular media whenever someone is caught sleep talking or sleep walking, their speech or action is later related to their dream. for example if someone is caught muttering about a girl they like, they will later recall that they had dreamed about this girl and during the dream they had said the lines they had said when they were sleep talking. it is implying that they were sleeptalking during the dream and letting out bits of what they were dreaming.

personally, when im heard sleep talking, the things im said to have said do not relate to the dreams that i remeber having, but my sleepwalks refer to my dreams (i used to sleepwalk as a kid) and my friends usually say that their sleeptalks and walks relate to their dreams.

so can someone explain this? why is it said that these are two differnt times of sleep but people say they happen simultaneously. how is that your body is on full lockdown in REM sleep when you dream, but people still mutter and sleepwalk according to their dream?

thankss in advance

Technorati Tags: dreams, google, psychology, sleep, stages of sleep, third stage, walks

Do you think it would one day be possible? For example a drug which can put you into a Light comatose state so you can experience dreams for hours! In a comatose state your in way too deep to have meaningful dreams and be able to lucid dream. Lets just say a drug which could put you into a permanent stage 1 and 2 sleep cycle which means you would be in constant rem sleep. Was just imagining the possibilities if you had a dream like drug which would put you under for a few hours. In the dream world it would be much longer. Also if you knew how to lucid dream prior to taking the drug. You could construct your own worlds, cities and creatures. I wonder if you could even make intelligent beings with different personalities.
After more thinking I don’t think a drug could completely block out the the deeper stages of sleep. Would it be possible to surgically remove these from your brain? If you could and were put it a comatose state would you be in a constant stage one and two sleep stage? Would human beings be able to survive without stage 3 and 4 sleep cycles? Also sorry to add another question but is it possible to do this?

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I have severe insomnia, I have difficulty falling asleep, and difficulty staying asleep. I had a sleep study done once, and I was informed that when I enter into the deeper stages of sleep (Rem and such) that for some reason I came right back out of them, sometimes coming fully awake. This seems to be part of the reason why I wake up, as I usually awake during dreams.

My question is, is there ANY possible way to keep my brain in the deeper stages of sleep? I have seen a sleep specialist, he basically just said " sucks to be you" and then added that I was too young to be prescribed sleep aids.

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I’ve heard that digital alarm clocks affect your stages of sleep so you are more frequently in the earlier stages than the later stages and rem which is better for you. Can someone please tell me why?

Technorati Tags: alarm clocks, digital alarm, google, rem, sleep, stages of sleep

I have just been diagnosed by my sleep specialist after doing an overnight sleep study that I have Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. He says that my daytime fatigue and sleepiness is due to the fact that I wake up multiple times a night because of my difficulty breathing (consciously and unconsciously). However, he told me that I did reach deep REM sleep and did dream. So I’m not entirely sure I understand why this makes me tired throughout the day. I understand there are five stages of sleep, so if I wake up during any of these stages, mainly the deep sleep stage, does that mean my sleep cycle starts over? Am I tired because I don’t spend an adequate (and constant) amount of time in deep sleep (restorative sleep)?

And what exactly is the difference between REM and NREM and which one gives restorative sleep?

Thanks in advance! Sorry for all the questions.
Oh and one more thing…

What exactly causes the memory/cognitive impairment and difficulty in concentration?

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I had it happen once and it happened to a mate of mine also.

I only saw one other atheist on youtube and he said he was sick of the religious explanations and wanted to know more about it from a medical and scientific point of view but had difficulty finding answers.

I only know it’s common and happens in rem sleep. I know there are 5 stages of sleep that go in cycles throughout the time your asleep. The whole cycle lasts from 90-100mins and rem is stage 5. That’s the one you dream in and lasts for about 10mins.

Like the other atheist on youtube said though "It’s difficult to find answers from a scientific point of view and it is terrifying when it happens.

I do know it’s common for people who are dying to hallucinate and it’s the brain shutting down. Why not many studies into sleep paralysis though?
I don’t want to hear from religious. I want to hear if any other atheists had it happen and scientific explanations. I asked before but I just got the religious with their demons and stuff.
Yeah I know we all go through stage 5 (rem) every night, well several times infact but most pass by it as just a dream and no sp. Others get sp, even if now and again and even if atheist.

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It has to be in this week. plz plz. thnx !!!homework!!!

Good morning, friends! Did you have a good dream last night? Yeah, go ahead, you, don’t be afraid, share your dream with us. We all experience dreams each and every night. This speech will discuss the meanings of dreams, some important and weird facts about dreaming, some notable dreams, and finally some more scientific theories about dreams.

So what exactly is a dream? Well, even today, no one knows what a dream actually is. However, there have been many explanations over the years. Both the ancient Egyptians and Greeks believed that dreams were messages from the Gods, people who were dead, or were predictions of the future. More modern explanations are that dreams are merely reflections of your subconscious, or that dreams are made up of things that happen in the real world during your sleep. For instance, if you happened to hit your head on the wall in your sleep, that could result in your head being chopped by a guillotine in your dream.

Sleep is made up of 5 stages. In the 1st stage, your body makes the transition from being awake to being asleep. In the 2nd stage you enter a very light sleep and can be easily woken. In the 3rd stage, your body temperature drops and your muscles relax. In the 4th stage, your body significantly slows down, and it becomes much harder for you to be woken. All of the first four stages of sleep are characterised by NREM, non rapid eye movement. In the 5th stage, something called REM, or Rapid Eye Movement, occurs. This stage usually occurs after 90 to 100 minutes after falling asleep. It is in this part of sleep in which dreams usually take place. This cycle repeats 4 -7 times throughout the night, with the first 4 stages becoming considerably shorter, and the 5th stage lengthening through the night. This means that we have 4 – 7 dreams a night, taking up around 2 hours of our sleep each night! WOW, that means that I’ve spent nearly 10,000 hours of my life dreaming, and I can’t even remember the slightest bit about them!
Did you know that dreams happen at the same speed as in real life? So if I walked from here… to here, it would take exactly the same amount of time in my dream as it just did. All humans have a ‘need to dream’. A lack of dreams can result in protein deficiency or personality disorder.

Now for some notable dreams. Many famous songs, TV characters, books and even machines have been ideas that people have had in dreams. Frankenstein was inspired by a dream. And we all know Twilight right? Well Stephenie Meyer dreamed up the book. She claims that, in a dream she saw the characters of the book in a meadow in the woods having a conversation. The inventor of the sewing machine, Elias Howe dreamed that cannibals were preparing to cook him and were dancing around the fire waving their spears. He noticed that at the head of each spear there was a small hole through the shaft. When he woke he made the first ever sewing needle with the hole at the ‘wrong end’. This was a major breakthrough for the invention of the sewing machine.

Lastly I am going to discuss some scientific theories behind dreams. In recent times, there were 2 main ‘dream experts’, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.
Sigmund Freud believed that nothing you do occurs by chance; every action and thought is motivated by your unconscious at some level. In order to live in a civilized society, he believed you have a tendency to hold back urges and impulses. However, these urges and impulses have to be released in some way. They have a way of coming to the surface in disguised forms. He believed that one way these urges and impulses are released is through your dreams. Because the content of the unconscious may be extremely disturbing or harmful, Freud believes that the unconscious expresses itself in a symbolic language, Dreams.
However a man by the name of Carl Jung, who was once Sigmund Freud’s student, believed that dreams were a way of communicating and acquainting yourself with the unconscious. He believed dreams were not attempts to conceal your true feelings from real life, but were rather a window to your unconscious and guided the person in real life to help understand and offer a solution to a problem being faced in real life.

So next time you have a weird or wacky dream, about cannibals cooking you, or monsters like Frankenstein, write it down, invent something for the world to use, and become famous. Thanks for listening. Sweet Dreams.

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30. Signals from the spinal cord to nerve endings in the muscles, skin, and other parts of the body are transmitted by (Points :4)
afferent peripheral neurons
efferent peripheral neurons
both of these
neither of these

31. Which is NOT a true statement about sleep? (Points :4)
Sleep is a necessity for humans and other mammals.
The function of sleep is the consolidation of memory.
Infants and adults need the same amount of sleep.
Sleep is absolutely necessary for us to learn new things.

32. The organ which shows the clearest changes during sleep compared to
wakefulness is (Points :4)
the heart
the kidneys
the skin
the brain

33. The purpose of REM sleep can best be described as (Points :4)
to encourage growth in infants
important for consolidating memory
allowing sleepers to dream
healing the body

34. Scientists have described _______ stages of sleep in the sleep cycle (Points :4)
5
4
2
these is no set number of stages

35. Which of the following statements about caffeine is now disproved? (Points :4)
3-5 cups of coffee per day may maximize your lifespan
Caffeine may improve performance on task and help you stay alert.
Caffeine is definitely a factor in heart disorders.
Caffeine should be consumed at the right times of day to be helpful

36. Which of these issues may impact the validity of dream research? (Points :4)
people like to embellish their dreams
people may not remember what they have dreamed once they are awake
subjects can only report on their dreams after they awake, not while they occur
all of the above

37. According to Freud, to understand dreams you must examine (Points :4)
latent content
manifest content
the role of displacement and symbolization
all of the above

38. The initial step in the vision process takes place in (Points :4)
the retina.
the lens of the eye.
the occipital lobe of the brain
the visual cortex.

39. Light is collected by (Points :4)
the lens
the cones
the iris
photoreceptor neurons

40. Once light is detected (Points :4)
It is decoded in the eye.
It is sent to the brain along the optic nerve.
It is automatically sensed by the visual cortex
It is retained in the retina to be decoded.

41. Which of these is an example of the brain’s capacity for parallel processing? (Points :4)
We see and hear at the same time.
We can recognize lines in relation to one another.
Color, movement, depth, and form are processed separately and simultaneously in various parts of the brain.
Hue and brightness in light is immediately detected.

42. Which of these is NOT involved in the auditory process? (Points :4)
photoreceptors
the cochlea
the auditory canal
the eardrum

43. Which of these is true of taste? (Points :4)
Taste is a chemical sense.
Taste is a composite of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.
The influence of smell on our sense of taste is an example of sensory interaction.
all of the above

44. Perfume engages our (Points :4)
olfactory receptor cells
photoreceptor neurons
visual cortex
kinesthetic sense

45. Our kinesthetic sense, or awareness of position and movement of body parts and our whole body, is the responsibility of (Points :4)
the visual cortex
the brain
the eyes
the inner ear

46. Pain is said to be a protective function because (Points :4)
it warns us of potential bodily harm
it stops us from doing dangerous things
it reminds us to stay healthy
all of the above

47. The three main domains of child development are physical, ________ and psychosocial. (Points :4)
psychoanalytic
linguistic
cognitive
motor

48. _______ believed that children are born with everything they need to know and learning is simply the act of remembering these in-born thoughts and ideas.
(Points :4)
Plato
Aristotle
John Locke
Sigmund Freud

49. _______ thought that children were basically unformed adults. (Points :4)
Plato
Aristotle
John Locke
Sigmund Freud

50. The important point in Aristotle s theory is that he believed development took place in a series of ______. (Points :4)
trials
mistakes
experiences
steps

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