What Happens When We Sleep

During a healthy night of sleep, your brain goes through four to five 90 minute sleep cycles. Neurons are always firing in your brain, but they become less active during this time. The deepest part of sleep is called REM—Rapid Eye Movement. The REM period of the sleep cycle gets longer the longer you are asleep.

During REM the hippocampus shuts down. This is when you are dreaming. The dreams you remember when you wake up are only from the last, and longest period of REM.

“We think we remember all of our dreams. but there is no way we could possibly remember all of them,” said Dr. Jennifer Fayard, Professor of psychology.

During REM our body paralyzes your muscles to prevent you from acting out your dreams. A phenomenon called sleep paralysis occurs when the brain lapses and doesn’t un-paralyze your muscles when you finish dreaming.

This “Hiccup,” as Dr. Randall Wight professor of psychology and dean of the Sutton School of Social Sciences calls it, can cause people to see and hear things that might seem paranormal.

“People will report hearing eerie voices and growling sounds and stuff like that, because your brain isn’t quite in gear. What a lot of people think is paranormal type stuff actually sounds like classic sleep paralysis,” said Fayard.

Sleep Paralysis | Science Behind a Nightmare

Sleep and Health | Sleep Hygene

The Scientific Side of Sleep

During sleep our body repairs itself, and organizes memories from the day. The more science learns about sleep the more we see how much we need it to maintain a healthy lifestyle. People who are sleep deprived have a hard time remembering things, processing information, regulating emotions, and—in the long term—keeping a healthy weight.

“You wouldn’t live off of french fries and coco puffs,” said Wight. “Sleep is just part of hygiene.”

There are both common and unique disorders that can effect your sleep. A sleep disorder can wreak havoc on a persons life. Make sure to let your doctor know if you think you have one.