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Sleep

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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

Definition

Sleep is a complex reversible neurobiological state characterized by closed eyes, behavioral quiescence, and perceptual disengagement from one’s surroundings.

Description

Healthy adults cycle between two types of sleep during the typical nocturnal sleep period: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. When healthy adults fall asleep, they enter NREM sleep and usually move from lighter stages of sleep (e.g., Stages N1 and N2) to deeper sleep (e.g., Stage N3) before entering their first REM sleep period. The terms “light” and “deep” sleep refer to the ease with which one can be awakened from sleep and become fully oriented to one’s surroundings. The descent from light into deep NREM sleep is characterized by decreasing inputs from external stimuli, a slowing of catabolic processes, and an increase in parasympathetic nervous system activity. In contrast, REM sleep is characterized by autonomic instability and active mental activity. In healthy...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, E-1101 Thomas Detre Hall, 3811 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Prof. Martica H. Hall

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  1. Prof. Martica H. Hall
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Correspondence to Martica H. Hall .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

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Hall, M.H. (2013). Sleep. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_839

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_839

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

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