SLEEP CYCLES

Kalina Pięciorak and Emilka Więcek

What are dreams?
◦ Dreams are mental experiences, in the form of images and
sensations which come about instinctively in the mind while
REM sleep. They can be vivid, vague or absurd. It is possible
for them to be joyful but also the opposite- disturbing. Most
people at least once in their life have situation when they
wake up in the middle of the night all drenched in sweat.
◦ Why do we actually dream? That is one of the science's
greatest unanswered questions...
◦ Early civilisations considered dreams as connection with
the spiritual world. Till this day many cultures think that is
true. Althought some scientists argue with that theory and
they are sure that dreams are meaningless and random.
Psychologists
◦ Psychologist Steven Pinker wrote 'dreaming might be a kind of screen
saver in which it doesn't really matter what the content is as long as certain
parts of the brain are active'.
◦ However Sigmund Freud thought about dreams as 'royal road to the
unconscious' and they are usually relating to our repressed emotions. Freud
believed that to be mentally stable people should address these emotions.
To help people understand the meaning of their dreams Freud came
out with the concept of manifest and latent dream content. The manifest
content is the plot of the dream and the latent dream content is what hides
behind the dreams.
◦ Freud's theories were extremely disproved but they still provoke
scientists into heated debates and some people constantly believe
that dreams are messages from the subconscious mind and look into them
to gai insight into their lives.
What is sleep?
◦ Sleep is temporary state of
mind characterised by reduced
motor activity and
suspended consciousness, in
which is a person in largely
unresponsive to external
stimuli until awaken. When you
sleep, you cycle through four
stages of sleep:
◦ Three stages of non-REM
sleep(N1, N2 and N3) and one
stage of REM sleep.
Each stage of non-REM sleep
can last anywhere from 5 to 15
minutes.
Non- REM stages of sleep
◦ Sleep without rapid eye movements is called non-rapid eye movement (NREM) or slow-wave sleep. This is
called deep sleep. During it, theta and delta waves appear in the brain. During this phase of sleep, deep rest
occurs. Breathing shallows, calms down, the heart rate slows down and blood pressure drops, the kidneys
produce less urine and the stomach digests more slowly. Body temperature also drops by about 0.5°C.
However, some processes happen faster. Among other things, the level of certain hormones increases,
wounds heal faster. Body temperature decreases by about 0.5°C. It has recently been discovered that dreams
may also occur in this phase, but not in the form of specific images, but rather sensations, such as the feeling
of falling.
REM phase of sleep
◦ REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is a sleep phase with rapid eye movements. This is where we experience
dreams. The body relaxes completely, the muscles lose their tone and go limp, so that the dreamer does not
move (this would be troublesome in dreams where we run, swim, dance or move in any other way). This
condition is called sleep paralysis. The REM phase lasts a short time, from 5 to 30 minutes, it is a stage of
sleep in which the mind is directed to the reception of internal stimuli. Although external stimuli reach us,
they are mostly ignored. During this phase, the intense work of the brain allows it to regenerate. It is also
then that we recreate and consolidate the information we have come across during the day. At this stage of
sleep, the heart rate increases, breathing is rapid and irregular. It always occurs after the nREM phase and
repeats in a normal, undisturbed cycle every 90 minutes.
◦ Sleep begins in this phase. In this stage you sleep lightly, so it's
easy to wake you up. If you wake up you may feel that you
haven't been asleep at all. It is common to experience hypnic
jerks, involuntary muscle ticks, during this time. Stage 1 of sleep
N1 - occurs at the beginning of
sleep. At this stage, we have the
impression that we are not yet
asleep, and the eyeballs are
slowly moving. Consciousness
gradually narrows.
◦ In this phase the body prepares for deep sleep. Breathing and
hard rate slow down and body temperature begins to decrease.
A person in this stage needs more intense stimuli than in stage
1 to awaken. Stage 2 of sleep
N2 - there is no awareness, but
the person is easily awakened.
Dreams rarely occur, but we
often experience involuntary
body twitches and shudders,
associated with falling,
sometimes resulting in
temporary awakening.
◦ Stage 3 (previously divided into stages 3 and 4) is where deep sleep, often
referred to as slow- wave sleep, begins. The brain produces slow brain
waves known as delta waves. You are less responsive to external stimuli and it
is harder to rouse you during this stage of sleep. During the stages of non-
REMS sleep the body repairs itself and the immune system is boosted. Stage 3 of sleep
N3 - this is the transition
between the second and fourth
phase of non-REM sleep. Delta
waves appear, but they are still
dominated by theta waves. Sleep
takes a deep form, blood
pressure drops, the heart beats
slower and the body
temperature drops.
REM sleep
◦ Sleep does not progress to REM sleep now. After stage 3, stage 2 is repeated before reaching REM sleep.
Usually, this transition is smooth, however very few children and even fewer adults experience night terrors.
Technically, these are not dreams, but rather episodes of extreme fear, screaming and flailing. However
frightening to witness, they aren't a reason for concern, and the next morning the child or an adult wakes up,
not remembering anything of the incident. This is also the stage during which sleepwalking and bedwetting
(nocturnal enuresis) may take place. Typically, REM sleep occurs after 90 minutes of falling asleep and it
accounts for about 20-25% of total sleep time. This stage gets its name from rapid movement of the eyes
that accompanies it. It is also characterised by increased brain activity and heart rate. REM sleep is also
referred to as paradoxical sleep because while brain activity is similar to that during waking hours, the body
hardly moves as most of the muscles are nearly paralysed. This is the time when most dreams occur and if
you are awoken during this stage, your dreams tend to be vivid. The first REM stage lasts for about 10
minutes with each recurring stage expanding. Once REM sleep is over, the cycle begins again in stage 2.
Throughout the night, it is repeated approximately 4 to 5 times until you finally wake up in the morning.
 Important vocabulary
◦ Involuntarily- bezwarunkowo Manifest- jawny, oczywisty
◦ Vague- jasne, przejrzyste Spasms- skurcze
Bizzare- dziwaczny
◦ Vogue- modne Gently- delikatnie
Somnabulism-
◦ Distorting- zniekształcające Mildly- łagodnie
lunatykowanie
◦ Threat- zagrożenie Flailing- wymachiwać
Rouse- budzić
◦ Repressed- stlumiony Recurring- powtarzający się
Arouse- wzbudzać
◦ Regressed- regresywny Lucid- przejrzysty
Lunatics- szaleńcy
◦ Vivid- żywe, jasne Suspended consciousness- zawieszona
External stimuli- bodźce
◦ Unconscious- nieświadomy świadomość
zewnętrzne
◦ Subconscious- podświadomy Unresponsive- niereaktywny, obojętny
Reaching- osiągać
◦ Latent- ukryty Hypnic jerks- nagły skurcz mięśni
Entering- wchodzić
◦ Imagery- wizualizowany Respiration- oddychanie
Approaching- zbliżać się
◦ Twitches- drgania Nocturnal enuresis- moczenie nocne
 THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION :)
The end