According to studies, the brain goes through cycles with five distinctive phases: phase 1, 2, 3, 4 and rapid eye movement sleep. He REM sleep, Rapid Eye Movement, it represents 25% of the sleep cycle and occurs for the first time between 70 and 90 minutes after falling asleep. Since sleep cycles repeat themselves, REM sleep is entered several times during the night.
During REM sleep, the brain and the organism are energized and it is when you dream. It is considered that at that moment it participates in the process of storing memories and learning, balancing the state of mind. Although various investigations still seek to discover the exact mechanisms.
REM sleep is initiated in response to signals sent to and from different regions of the brain. The signals are sent to the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for learning, thinking, and organizing information. Signals are also sent to the spinal cord to stop movement, creating a temporary inability to move certain muscles, such as those in the arms and legs.
An abnormal disturbance of this temporary paralysis can cause people to move while dreaming. This type of movement when sleeping can cause injuries, for example when a person kicks dreaming that he is kicking a ball or has a drowning sensation while dreaming that he is floating in water. A particularity that inspired the American alternative rock band REM, responsible for iconic records such as “Out of Time” and “Automatic for the People”in choosing that name.
This particular moment stimulates different regions of the brain that are used for learning. Studies have shown that when people are deprived of REM sleep, they fail to remember what they were taught before going to sleep. Some specialists describe that the lack of REM sleep has also been linked to diseases such as migraines.
It is not yet known what is the reason for dreaming during REM sleep. Meanwhile, some of the signals sent to the cerebral cortex during sleep are important for learning and memory, but other signals appear to be sent randomly. The cerebral cortex might try to interpret or make sense of these random signals and create a story, resulting in so-called “dreams.”
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