Because during a REM stage your brain produces waves with a frequency and amplitude similar to beta waves. Beta waves have short frequencies and low amplitudes. These are the waves that are most common when you are most awake. Basically: you look asleep, but your brain is wide awake. REM sleep is when we remember our dreams, so it makes sense that our brains are most active when we are dreaming, seeing as that dreams require a lot of mental activity.
3/13/2012 jhh: REM sleep is NOT deep sleep. In fact, it is the lightest stage of sleep. In order from awake to deep sleep: AWAKE, REM, LIGHT, DEEP. Deep sleep and REM sleep are the most important stages though. Light sleep doesn't do much for you. Deep replenishes your body, while REM replenishes your mind. Older answer (not accurate): Yes. It is the deeper form of sleep that we experience during our sleep cycle, rem sleep is where dreaming occurs But not the deepest sleep, which would be delta. That's where, unless your a mother and hear your baby cry, you are oblivious to your environment.
rem sleep or paradoxical sleep
our nervous system is highly active, while our voluntary muscles hardly move.
Paradoxical
In reality, REM sleep involves a mix of activity (bursts of eye movement and brain activity similar to alpha waves) and inactivity (body paralysis as the brain stem prevents cortex activity from reaching the rest of the body). This activity-paralysis mix gives REM sleep its other name: paradoxical sleep. Adults tend to spend about 20 to 25 percent of an average night in REM sleep. A person would be more likely to be exhausted by too little REM sleep than by too much.
Yes, several times each sleeping period. the movement of the eyes during sleep is called REM [Rapid Eye Movement) The periods of sleep during which REM occurs is called REM sleep.
REM
When a person has been deprived of REM sleep for long enough they will not cycle through sleep patterns as a well rested person would. These REM deprived patients will enter REM sleep much more rapidly and will spend more time in REM sleep over the course of the night as their body attempts to "catch up" for the lost REM. This expedited process of entering REM is called REM rebound.
Paradoxical excitement or paradoxical sleep is a stage of sleep (during REM) in which the brain and body systems are active while the body is physically at rest. This excited stage while at rest is why it's a "paradox."
REM sleep is amazing sleep!
REM rebound involves the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation.
Yes, it is possible to move during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. While most muscles are generally paralyzed during REM sleep to prevent acting out dreams, some people may experience a condition called REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) where this paralysis is incomplete, leading to movements or even violent behaviors during REM sleep.