REM Sleep
REM, or rapid eye movement, sleep is a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as the paradoxical stage of sleep, the muscles are relaxed, except for minor twitches, during this phase. Although the muscles of the body are relaxed and considered "temporarily paralyzed" other systems of the body are very active. As one begins to fall asleep, the body goes through a series of changes. Gradually breathing slows, pulse rates begin to drop, and body temperature begins to decline. Quickly moving through the different stages of sleep, REM is eventually reached. While the back and forth movement of your eyes occurs (hence rapid eye movement), one enters a "more active" type of sleep. REM sleep is produced by the excretion of the chemical acetylcholine in the pons which is part of the brainstem. Other neurotransmitters (noradrenalin and serotonin) produced by other cells in the pons switch off the REM sleep. This formula is known as the reciprocal interaction/activation-synthesis model. This "model" proposed that reciprocally interacting chemicals secreted in an elementary part of the brain that has nothing to do with complex mental functioning were responsible for the creation of dream images.
The REM stage is a phase of sleep that causes the body to become immobile, while the brain continues a normal awaken stage of processing. However, there are certain aspects of the mental process that do seem to be impaired or even blocked off during dreaming in the REM stage. Throughout following years, months, and even days new discoveries about these "uncharted waters" could be found. In this model, dreaming is simply an epiphenomenon of REM sleep. While this particular stage of consciousness allows the body's muscle system to be "frozen" and the brain to be fully functioning, the ability to remember the dreams is reliant on the dreamers memory and the time in which s/he is awaken. The REM stage is a paradoxical stage that has the mind working, while the body is "dead". Sometimes the dreams will be "normal" and the person will question whether it was an occurrence that took place while s/he was awake or asleep. This newer theory about control of dreams takes an opposite stance from Sigmund Freud's opinions that dreams were controlled by the "dreamer". The waves sent to the brain closely resemble those of an awake and active person. That judgment is cut off, allowing dreams to be formed in any way and have anything occur. Otherwise, if the dream is more scattered and unusual the person will remember the wildness of the dream while they also will remember that they were not confused about it when it was occurring. Neuroscientists have done studies which concluded that 70-95% of people woken during REM sleep, remembered their dreams, and 5-10% of people woken during NREM (non-REM) didn't remember. However the dreamer is affected by their capacity to remember.
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Acceptance Essays
