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Non-rapid eye movement sleep is known for its beneficial effect on memory consolidation, especially for declarative memory (while procedural memory improvement is more associated with REM-sleep), [26] even if establishing a clear-cut distinction between stages' influence on type of learning may not be possible.
Thus, during REM sleep, body temperature tends to drift away from its mean level, and during non-REM sleep, to return to normal. Alternation between the stages therefore maintains body temperature within an acceptable range. [10] In humans, the transition between non-REM and REM is abrupt; in other animals, it is less so. [11]
Sleep is divided into two broad types: non-rapid eye movement (non-REM or NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Non-REM and REM sleep are so different that physiologists identify them as distinct behavioral states. Non-REM sleep occurs first and after a transitional period is called slow-wave sleep or deep sleep.
[1] [2] Unlike before, where wakefulness, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep were considered exclusive states, research has shown that combinations of these states are possible and thus, may result in unusual unstable states that could eventually manifest as parasomnias or as altered levels of awareness.
Ostriches sleeping, with REM and slow-wave sleep phases [1]. Slow-wave sleep (SWS), often referred to as deep sleep, is the third stage of non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM), where electroencephalography activity is characterised by slow delta waves.
McCarley and Hobson suggested that the REM-on neurons actually stimulate REM-off neurons, thereby serving as the mechanism for the cycling between REM and non-REM sleep. [ 3 ] [ 22 ] [ 24 ] [ 28 ] They used Lotka–Volterra equations to describe this cyclical inverse relationship.
Sleep is important in regulating metabolism.Mammalian sleep can be sub-divided into two distinct phases - REM (rapid eye movement) and non-REM (NREM) sleep. In humans and cats, NREM sleep has four stages, where the third and fourth stages are considered slow-wave sleep (SWS).
According to the Hobson & McCarley activation-synthesis hypothesis, proposed in 1975–1977, the alternation between REM and non-REM can be explained in terms of cycling, reciprocally influential neurotransmitter systems. [13] Sleep timing is controlled by the circadian clock, and in humans, to some extent by willed behavior.