Rapid Eye Movement or REM sleep is the best known and most remembered sleep cycle because it is the level of sleep when you dream. REM accounts for 20-25% of your sleep while Non-REM or NREM constitutes 75-80% of your sleep.
Theories abound about why we need REM sleep. One theory suggests that REM sleep helps people consolidate their day’s activities and sort them into their memory. It has also been theorized that sleeping helps the learning process. Some studies have indicated that REM sleep improves memory recall, although there has been no concrete evidence that can collaborate this.
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When operating properly your body’s internal clock tells you when to sleep and when to wake up. It also controls your sleep cycle stages. The scientific name for this function is known as the circadian clock. This internal mechanism controls your sleep cycle by monitoring your body temperature, hormone levels and your general level of alertness.
Behind your eyeballs are a cluster of neurons called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) that sends rhythmic signals to your pituitary gland. Your pituitary gland then sends chemicals including melatonin into your blood. Studies have found that it is the build up of melatonin that causes drowsiness.
There is another neurotransmitter, a chemical called adenosine that is produced while you are awake. Your cells produce power to get you through the tasks you need to do each day and adenosine is a bi-product of the use of that power. Adenosine builds up throughout the day to a level that tells your brain its time to sleep. The longer you resists the more adenosine and melatonin build up and you feel sleepier and sleepier until finally you have no choice but to fall asleep. While you sleep these hormones are broken down by other bodily functions and your circadian clock is reset. Then the cycle starts all over again.
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