Sleep and Dreaming

Flashcards covering key concepts and vocabulary from sleep and dreaming.

REM sleep

Part of the sleep cycle with rapid eye movements caused by eyes moving a lot behind the eyelids when dreaming occurs.

NREM sleep

Non-rapid eye movement sleep, during stages 1 to 4 of the sleep cycle.

Sleep cycle

A nightly pattern of deep sleep, light sleep, and dreaming that includes about five cycles lasting approximately 90 minutes each.

Sensory blockade

In REM sleep, all incoming sensory information is stopped.

Movement inhibition

In REM sleep, movement is prevented due to signals in the pons that shut off neurons in the spinal cord.

Deep sleep

Stage 3 and Stage 4 of sleep characterized by slow delta brain waves where it is very hard to wake someone.

Circadian rhythms

Human body rhythms that have a daily (24-hour) cycle, such as the sleep-wake cycle.

Ultradian rhythms

Rhythms that occur in a period of less than 24 hours, such as the sleep cycle.

Sleep deprivation

Not having enough sleep, which can affect physical functioning such as weight and brain functioning.

Entrainment

When biological rhythms are matched to their environmental triggers, such as circadian rhythms being set in response to external (light) cues.

Pineal gland

A small endocrine gland that produces melatonin, a hormone involved in regulating sleep-wake patterns.

Narcolepsy

A disorder where a person cannot control their sleep-wake cycle and may fall asleep suddenly.

Insomnia

Problems with sleeping characterized by difficulty falling asleep, waking during the night, or not feeling refreshed upon waking.

Dreamwork

The transformation of unconscious thoughts into dream content as theorized by Freud.

Manifest content

The story the dreamer tells of what happens in a dream.

Latent content

The deeper meaning behind what it is said the dream is about.

Hallucinations

Visual or sensory experiences that appear real but are created by the mind.

Cataplexy

A sudden loss of muscle power or tone due to strong emotions, often occurring with narcolepsy.

Circadian Rhythms-include

body temp, sleep-wake cycle, some hormonal changes

SCN

Found in the middle of the brain- controls the rhythms and is influenced by ext and internal influences