Sleep
Definition
Sleep is a biological imperative critical to the maintenance of mental and physical health. It is a state of lessened consciousness and decreased physical activity during which the organism slows down and repairs itself. The sleep cycle involves two distinct phases that alternate cyclically from light sleep to deep then deeper and deepest sleep throughout the sleep period. There are two main phases of sleep.
- rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, during which dreaming occurs
- non-rapid eye movement (NREM) or slow-wave sleep (SWS)
Description
The timing and progression of the sleep cycle and the total amount of nightly sleep required for optimal
health varies from infancy to adulthood, depending on developmental stage and
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