Describe each of the five unique stages of the sleep cycle.

There are five phases of the sleep cycle: stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and REM

Explanation:

Stage 1: It is light sleep, where you experience the in and out of sleep, being easily awakened. Eye movement and body movement slow down. You may experience slow movement of legs or other muscles. These initial sleep and spasms are those that cause the sudden falling sensations that awaken an individual in fright.Stage 2: About 50 percent of your sleeping time is spent at this stage of sleep. During this stage, eye movement stops and your brain waves (a measure of brain activity level) become slower, the body cools, and the muscles begin to relax. There will also be brief bursts of brain activity called sleep spindles, usually associated with muscle spasms. Stage 3: It is the first phase of deep sleep. Brain waves are a combination of slow waves, known as delta waves, combined with faster waves. During this stage it can be very difficult to wake someone up. When awake during this stage, you may feel weak and disoriented for several minutes before regaining full awareness of your surroundings and actions. Stage 4: Second phase of deep sleep. Here the brain works almost exclusively with slow delta waves. It is also very difficult to wake someone up. Both stages of deep sleep are important for feeling refreshed in the morning. If these steps are too short, sleep will not be satisfactory. Delta waves are measurements of brain activity and are usually associated with the onset of dreams, that is, the rest of the brain from day to day activities.REM - Rapid Eye Movement: When you go into REM sleep, your breathing becomes rapid, irregular and shallow. Your eyes move quickly and your muscles become immobile. Heart rate and blood pressure increase. About 20 percent of sleep is REM. It starts about 70 to 90 minutes after falling asleep.

The first sleep cycle has a short REM sleep period. As cycles pass and waking time arrives, time spent on REM sleep increases and deep sleep stages decrease.

The sleep cycle is divided into five stages:

•Stage 1 and 2 of the non-random eye movement has the following characteristics:

Conscious sleep. The movement of the eye is slowly stopped. Heart rate decreases.

•Stage 2 and 3 of the non-random eye movement is the deepest stage of sleep. In this, the delta wave is produced.

•REM or stage 5 is the only stage of random eye movement. In this, the movement of the eye occurs; slowly increase in blood pressure and irregular heart rate.

Further Explanation:

Sleep is a state of relaxation that is characterized by an inhibited sensory activity and state of consciousness. While sleeping, an individual goes through different stages of sleep. Sleep is divided into two stages, which are further divided into sub-stages. The two stages are:

REM (Random eye movement) NREM (Non-random eye movement)

An individual moves through the sleep cycle at night four to five times. Each cycle takes around ninety minutes. Every stage of sleep provides a unique function, such as hormone regulation and muscle recovery. Without having a sleep of seven-eight hours, an individual is deprived of crucial elements that are required by the body to conquer the day.

NREM stage 1: This stage is also referred to as the transitional phase. In this stage, an individual is partially awakened and feeling drowsiness. In this stage, muscle and eye movement are slow down and the sensation of falling occurs. NREM stage 2: This stage is the lightest stage of sleep. In this stage, the temperature of the body decrease and the heart rate is slow down. Also, the movement of the eye is stopped.NREM stage 3 and 4: In both the stage three and four deeper sleep has occurred because slow brain waves are named as delta waves. In this stage, an individual may experience night terrors and sleepwalk. As an individual goes through from three to four stages, the delta wave increases, and faster wave decreases. This stage is extremely rejuvenating and produces a hormone that helps in the growth of an individual.  REM stage 5: It is referred to as random eye movement sleep. In this stage, eye dart in a different direction, but the muscle and limbs are temporarily paralyzed. This stage account twenty percent of sleep in adult and fifty percent of sleep in infants.

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Answer Details:

Grade: High School

Subject: Health

Topic: sleep cycle

Keywords:

NREM, REM, stage, sleep, deeper, delta waves, infants, falling, percent, sleepwalk, rejuvenating, paralyzed, muscle, eye.

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