How to Use REM sleep in a Sentence

REM sleep

noun
Definition of REM sleepnext
  • Even across mammals, REM sleep doesn’t all look the same.
    — Carolyn Wilke, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Sep. 2023
  • Blumberg argues that the brain uses REM sleep to test-drive the body.
    — Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2022
  • Apart Everyone deserves a night of sweet, deep REM sleep.
    — Medgina Saint-Elien, House Beautiful, 3 Mar. 2023
  • One example that raises doubts is the fact that the blind mole rat does not see and still experiences REM sleep.
    — Roberta McLain, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2023
  • If spiders have REM sleep, might dreams also unfold in their poppy-seed-size brains?
    — Carolyn Wilke, Popular Science, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Scientists say humans have their most vivid dreams during REM sleep.
    — Julian Mark, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022
  • Dorff eventually spent a night at the sleep lab, where he was observed jerking and kicking his limbs during REM sleep.
    — Steve Nadis, Discover Magazine, 26 Nov. 2023
  • The latest smartwatches are equipped to accompany you everywhere from the deep sea to deep REM sleep.
    — Perri Ormont Blumberg, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2022
  • Fitbits with heart rate monitors can discern between light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep, when vivid dreams are more likely.
    — David Nield, WIRED, 4 May 2024
  • Irregular sleep may be harmful to your heart, study finds Rapid eye movement sleep, also called REM sleep, is the final stage.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Which leads to an intriguing question: If spiders have REM sleep, might dreams also unfold in their poppy-seed-size brains?
    — Carolyn Wilke, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Sep. 2023
  • Participants experienced REM sleep that was 30 minutes longer in the winter than that in the summer.
    — Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2023
  • When sleeping brain waves were compared with a dog’s cognitive testing, researchers found that dogs with greater dementia spent less time in deep and REM sleep, just as people do.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 17 May 2023
  • Research also has found that exposure to brown noise can enhance the transition into REM sleep for some people.
    — Stacey Colino, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2023
  • Research has found that depriving someone of REM sleep—the sleep stage in which most dreams occur—might account for the health problems associated with sleep loss.
    — Michael W. Clune, Harper’s Magazine , 16 Mar. 2022
  • Short-term memory areas are active during REM sleep, but those only hang on to memories for about 30 seconds.
    — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2023
  • Experts tell us that teens are missing out on both restorative sleep and REM sleep, especially the cycles that normally happen just before a person wakes up.
    — The Editors, Scientific American, 18 Jan. 2023
  • Excessive alcohol, which the body must process during the night, will actually cause fragmented sleep — which disturbs REM sleep.
    — Fox News, 27 June 2022
  • Sleep research has since proven that lucid dreaming occurs exclusively during rapid eye movement or REM sleep.
    — USA TODAY, 11 July 2023
  • The study also aims to enhance REM sleep in order to consolidate traumatic memories.
    — Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Try integrating an Oura ring, a sleek wearable that tracks resting heart rate, REM sleep, and sleep quality, as well as real-time stress levels, giving the user tangible data to work with.
    — Krista Simmons, Sunset Magazine, 22 Jan. 2024
  • Rather, people may experience a loss of the sense of smell, constipation, and sleep disturbances known as REM sleep behavior disorder.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 9 July 2024
  • Otherwise the sleeper typically lies still in bed: during REM sleep, muscles are paralyzed, which keeps people from acting out their dreams.
    — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 Oct. 2023
  • Their exact cause is not known, but the most likely reason: The sleeper actually has a fever, which disrupts normal cognitive processing and interrupts REM sleep.
    — Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Dec. 2022
  • During REM sleep, the headband replayed the piano chord every ten seconds to test the hypothesis that associating the sound with good dreams could help trigger those memories while patients slept.
    — Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Oct. 2022
  • Causes of Type 1 narcolepsy can include autoimmune disorders and brain injuries, but the underlying issue is believed to be low levels of hypocretin, a hormone that is thought to affect REM sleep — the dream state.
    — Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 15 Jan. 2024
  • Most dreams — especially vivid ones — occur during REM sleep, a phase characterized by rapid eye movement and high brain activity.
    — Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Bouts of hard exercise before bed can lead to less REM sleep, a stage that’s crucial for processing emotions, memory consolidation, brain development, and more.
    — Ashley Mateo, SELF, 11 Aug. 2023
  • Research suggests that dreaming brains still register the erratic heart rate, variable breathing, and fluctuating blood pressure that are typical during REM sleep.
    — Amanda Gefter, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Yet one emerging theory is that the fantastical dreams experienced during REM sleep tame emotions attached to memories and help people gain a broader understanding of what happens to them.
    — Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'REM sleep.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: