Sleep Disorders - Research Paper Example

With enough sleep, the body is recharge in order for it to be revitalized. Sleep is very important for human functioning. A lack of it makes the person feel irritable. It also affects concentrations which may lead to lower performance on all kinds of tasks. The sensory reaction time becomes substantially slow. Understanding sleep disorders highlights the discussion of stages of sleep, day dreaming, and forms of sleeping disturbances. Body Stages of Sleep Sleep is considered by many as the time of quit tranquility as the tensions of the day is set aside and rather the night is spent in an uneventful slumber.

However, in every stage of sleep, a great deal of activity is happening throughout the night. The occurrence of any phenomena during sleep is recorded using electroencephalogram (EEG). This machine will do the analysis of the electrical brainwaves during sleep (Pasan, 1). Likewise, the measurement of muscle and eye movement will also tell physical activities during sleep. It also reveals if the person went through the several cycles of sleep which progresses through four distinct stages. Stage one is characterized by small muscle twitching, irregular breathing, and relatively rapid, low voltage brain waves presenting a stage of transition between wakefulness and sleep.

On EEG, the pattern of the brainwaves is similar to the brainwaves of people who are awake and fully alert. Images sometimes appear in this stage as if the person is viewing a still picture although the eyes are closed. Dream does not occur during this stage. In stage two, sleep becomes deeper and a person in this stage goes to a slower, more regular wave patterns. However, momentary interruptions happen. It usually involves sharp pointed waves called sleep spindles owing to their configuration.

People who are in this stage usually show difficulty of being awaken. When the brain waves become slower, showing an appearance of higher and lower peaks in the wave pattern, the sleeper is already in stage three. Stage four is characterized with a pattern of even slower and regular brainwaves. The sleeper in this stage has difficulty responding to outside stimulus. Usually, in the beginning of the night, the individual stays in stage four for about 30 to 40 minutes. However, sleep retraces its journey back from stage four to three until it reaches stage one.

Such cycle is repeated for about four to six times a night. Sleep takes about thirty minutes to go from one stage to another. Although, this is the usual pattern of sleep during the night, there are individuals who do not follow this pattern exactly. Some sleep less and less deeply with shorter time in stage three or four. Interestingly, at the end of each sleeping cycle, events are happening. The heart rate increases and becomes irregular, and so with breathing, the blood pressure rises, and sometimes males experience erection.

Rapid eye movement (REM) which is the back and forth activity of the eye also occurs in each cycle of sleep. REM is short in duration during the first cycle in the night however longer in the morning. Their duration account for more than 20% of adult’s sleeping time. During REM sleep, the sleeper may experience dreams whether they are remembered or forgotten. REM plays a vital role in human function. People deprived of it may experience rebound effect in which the person may sleep undisturbed.

It is believed that certain amount of REM sleep is needed for the body to function properly. Sleep Disorders If sleep is