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Sleep Cycle
The sleep cycle: A sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes and during that time we move through five stages of sleep. The first four stages make up our non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and the fifth stage is when rapid eye movement (REM) sleep occurs. NREM sleep: Across these four stages we move from very light sleep during Stage 1 down to very deep sleep in Stage 4. It is very difficult to wake someone who is in Stage 4 sleep. Across NREM sleep, we have little muscle activity and our eyes do not typically move, but all of our muscles retain their ability to function. REM sleep: As the name would imply – during this final stage of sleep, we have bursts of rapid eye movements. This is the stage of sleep in which most dreaming occurs. Our eyes are not constantly moving, but they do dart back and forth, up and down. These eye movements may be related to visual images of dreams, but that is not confirmed, and in general, the reason for these eye movements is still a mystery. Although our eyes are moving rapidly, the muscles that move our bodies are paralyzed (other important muscles, such as our heart and diaphragm continue to function normally).
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Videos
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...
Written By:
Anthony Bouchard
APR 26, 2017
Plants & Animals
Premature births are somewhat of a problem, not just for humans, but also for animals. The main issue with premature bir
...
Written By:
Anthony Bouchard
APR 24, 2017
Videos
It's estimated that by 2025, around 1.1 billion of the women in the world will be diagnosed with menopause - a natural,
...
APR 23, 2017
Videos
More than likely, you've experienced the problem where you're always tired. Even when you get that full 8-10 hours of sl
...
Written By:
Anthony Bouchard
FEB 08, 2017
Earth & The Environment
A study from researchers from the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at the University of Colorado, Boulder shows that g
...
Written By:
Kathryn DeMuth Sullivan
DEC 25, 2016
Cell & Molecular Biology
Exercise is generally seen as good for the body, but new work from researchers at Baylor College of Medicine demonstrate
...
Written By:
Carmen Leitch
DEC 01, 2016
Microbiology
All animals host a community of microorganisms in their gastrointestinal tracts, and there has been a lot of research in
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Written By:
Carmen Leitch
NOV 23, 2016
Cancer
To study the effect of constant, chronic jet lag on health risks, scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas
...
NOV 10, 2016
Cell & Molecular Biology
Living organisms, from plants to fungi to animals, have a circadian rhythm – a 24 hour cycle of physiological even
...
Written By:
Carmen Leitch
NOV 02, 2016
Immunology
When humans go to sleep, their immune cells come out to play. A new study from the WPI Immunology Frontier Research Cent
...
Written By:
Kara Marker
OCT 19, 2016
Clinical & Molecular DX
In Brazil, it’s known as “Pisadeira,” a creature that lurks on rooftops at night, and then bears down
...
SEP 26, 2016
Cancer
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...
Written By:
Jennifer Ellis
SEP 16, 2016
Cell & Molecular Biology
New work performed at Stanford University has revealed a neuronal circuit in the brain that is critical to the cycle of
...
Written By:
Carmen Leitch
SEP 02, 2016
Videos
When you just can't fall asleep at night, many health professionals advise trying melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone prod
...
Written By:
Brenda Kelley Kim
AUG 22, 2016
Plants & Animals
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...
Written By:
Anthony Bouchard
AUG 20, 2016
Plants & Animals
A lot of birds spend a lot of time in the skies, and yet they still need to sleep. As a result, there has long been the
...
Written By:
Anthony Bouchard
AUG 03, 2016
Cancer
Some people who work the graveyard shift may be compensated more in pay, but scientific evidence suggest passing up on t
...
JUL 07, 2016
Videos
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...
JUL 03, 2016
Plants & Animals
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...
Written By:
Anthony Bouchard
JUN 24, 2016
Clinical & Molecular DX
How many of us go to bed with our smartphone in our hands? “Just five more minutes before I fall asleep,” we
...
JUN 10, 2016
Videos
Sleepwalkers have been depicted as zombie-like beings who stumble through night, eyes glazed over and arms outstretched.
...
Written By:
Kathryn DeMuth Sullivan
MAY 17, 2016
Technology
Sleep is one of the critical needs of the human body. It has been studied extensively in the laboratory, and the relianc
...
Written By:
Carmen Leitch
MAY 12, 2016
Neuroscience
Traumatic brain injuries, or TBI, are known to cause a variety of problems. TBI has been indicated in Chronic Traumatic
...
Written By:
Brenda Kelley Kim
MAY 05, 2016
Videos
So many people use coffee as a method to wake up in the morning. People swear by it and call it a magical cup of magic,
...
Written By:
Anthony Bouchard