Abstract
Sleep is scientifically studied using polysomnography. It consists of measuring a person’s brain waves, eye movements, and neck muscle tension when a person is in bed intending to sleep. Sleep can be divided into non-REM (NREM) and REM sleep. NREM sleep is further divided into N1, N2, and N3 sleep. Each of these has their own unique characteristics that differ from one another and from wake. A person migrates among these types of sleep during the night in a predictable pattern. However, there are noteworthy differences in the sleep of children, teenagers, and the elderly. Sleep is also affected by factors like cultural beliefs, what is thought to be the function of sleep, how important it is for health, and social relationships. Sleep in some animals is similar to that in human beings, but other—especially lower—animals show considerable variations.
Specific references to statements in this chapter that can be found in multiple, widely available sources are not included in the text. A selection of these sources is listed below and can also be consulted for verification or more detail.
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Our brain uses sensory and other information to put together our awareness of our external world in a process called synthesis.
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A nychthemeron (nick-them-er-on) is a full period of a night and a day or 24 h. In everyday use, “day” can mean 24 h or the portion of every 24 h that is light. In science, we need to be more precise, so we eliminate ambiguity when we use nychthemeron to refer to a 24 h cycle and reserve the term “day” to refer to the light portion of this cycle.
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Moorcroft, W.H. (2013). What is Sleep and How it is Scientifically Measured. In: Understanding Sleep and Dreaming. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6467-9_2
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