REM sleep
noun
: a state of sleep that recurs cyclically with non-REM sleep several times during a normal period of sleep, is characterized especially by greatly depressed muscle tone, dreaming with vivid imagery, rapid eye movements, and increased neuronal activity in certain brain regions (such as the pons), and typically comprises up to 25% of time spent in sleep
REM sleep, it soon became apparent, occurs in intervals throughout the night, usually four to six times, each lasting from ten minutes to an hour.—
Martin Gardner
Martin GardnerPeople awakened during REM sleep usually report dreams with visual images and storylike narratives.—Lis Harris
Lis Harriscalled also paradoxical sleep, rapid eye movement sleep
compare slow-wave sleep, non-REM sleepExamples of REM sleep in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nightmares, on the other hand, are concentrated in the second half of the night during REM sleep.
—Lori Miller Kase, Parents, 30 Oct. 2024
Regularly occurring bouts of retinal movements suggest an REM sleep–like state in jumping spiders
Washington State University.
—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 14 Oct. 2024
Fish, however, do not have a neocortex in their brains so the propagating wave sleep is not the same as REM sleep.
—Discover Magazine, 1 Oct. 2024
Follows newlyweds Hyun-su (the late Parasite start Lee Sun-kyun) and Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi), whose domestic bliss is disrupted when Hyun-su develops a dangerous REM sleep disorder.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 27 Sep. 2024
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Lori Miller Kase, Parents, 30 Oct. 2024
Regularly occurring bouts of retinal movements suggest an REM sleep–like state in jumping spiders
Washington State University.
—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 14 Oct. 2024
Fish, however, do not have a neocortex in their brains so the propagating wave sleep is not the same as REM sleep.
—Discover Magazine, 1 Oct. 2024
Follows newlyweds Hyun-su (the late Parasite start Lee Sun-kyun) and Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi), whose domestic bliss is disrupted when Hyun-su develops a dangerous REM sleep disorder.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for REM sleep
Dictionary Entries Near REM sleep
Cite this Entry
“REM sleep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/REM%20sleep. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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REM sleep
noun
: a state of sleep that recurs cyclically with non-REM sleep several times during a normal period of sleep, is characterized especially by greatly depressed muscle tone, dreaming with vivid imagery, rapid eye movements, and increased neuronal activity in certain brain regions (as the pons), and typically comprises up to 25% of time spent in sleep
REM sleep, it soon became apparent, occurs in intervals throughout the night, usually four to six times, each lasting from ten minutes to an hour.—Martin Gardner
Martin GardnerPeople awakened during REM sleep usually report dreams with visual images and storylike narratives.—Lis Harris
Lis Harriscalled also desynchronized sleep, paradoxical sleep, rapid eye movement sleep
compare non-rem sleepLove words? Need even more definitions?
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