We all know that the human body have a variety of bio-electrical activity, such as the electrocardiogram can record the heart’s electrical activity, EMG can reflect the electrical activity of muscles, EEG can be abnormal discharge by recording the brain to diagnose epilepsy, human In-depth understanding of sleep recording technology has also benefited from the development of the brain recording.
EEG recording is often through the conductive properties of the scalp a good flake paste electrodes to a comprehensive reflection of brain electrical activity in nerve cells. As the EEG is very weak, the collected signal has been amplified thus enlarged by the EEG machine amplification system before entered into the computer or recorded on paper for analysis. The study also found that people are merely making a record of EEG sleep also can not fully reflect the situation must be by means of EMG and EOG help, in order to accurately understand the structure of people’s sleep. EMG during sleep may reflect the electrical activity of muscle, mainly reflecting the EOG eye movement sleep, changes in the process.
In the eyes open state, describe the brain waves recorded out of a low-amplitude fast wave, frequency, said 13 or more times each, also known as β-wave. When awake with eyes closed, does not think anything, the brain waves with slightly higher amplitude compared with sober eyes open, frequency, 8 to 12 times per second, known as the α wave; awake can still see the eye movement or blink of an eye movement, EMG showed a more intense electrical activity of muscles.
Sleep is divided into two kinds:
1. A non-rapid eye movement period of sleep is characterized by brain waves showed the performance of muscle activity decreased compared with awake, not accompanied by intense eye movement. Can be divided into four phases:
- Just go to sleep, the brain waves in the α wave fade away, some irregular waveforms appears, and mixed with a small amplitude waves, this time sleep entered the first phase of sleep, equivalent to the usual sleepy period or hazy period, vary the duration of this period, said stage Ⅰ non-rapid eye movement sleep.
- The second phase of sleep, namely stage Ⅱ non-rapid eye movement sleep, EEG is characterized by the greatest moment in the emergence of a special spindle wave amplitude from small to big first, then descending, the shape of spindle, the frequency of each 12 ~ 14 seconds. The longest period of sleep about 50% of the total sleep time.
- the third stage Ⅲ non-rapid eye movement sleep, the brain fluctuation frequency was significantly slower, 4 to 7 times per second, amplitude increased, was 0.5 to 3 times per second, very slow waves that δ wave, this period about 10% ~ 8% of total sleep.
Section Ⅲ, Ⅳ stage known as slow-wave sleep together again, because a deep level of sleep, so called deep sleep which s is very meaningful sleep stage.
2. The more specific rapid eye movement sleep or REM sleep, although it is still a sleep stage, but with non-rapid eye movement sleep in no less than the difference between sleep and wake up.
Normal people usually fall asleep after 90 minutes into the rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring 4 ~ 5 times a half hour or so. Entering REM sleep rapid eye movement, muscle tension is extremely reduced, EMG activity significantly decreased, from time to time associated with a limb or other body parts of the local movement, EEG showed the characteristics of the first phase of sleep, if the patient wake up at this time the vast majority of patients say that they are dreaming, dreams mostly occurs in the sleep period.
Be noted that the sleep process of development is a gradual process, but also a change with age, sleep structure and EEG waveforms will change. Not only have a long enough sleep time, and the proportion of each phase of sleep we should also appropriately, that is, the structure of sleep to be reasonable, otherwise, there will be sleep disorders, causing a variety of diseases and health hazards.
To sum up, sleep including non-rapid eye movement sleep and rapid eye movement sleep, non-rapid eye movement sleep is divided into Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ period of sleep.
Normal people usually fall asleep after 90 minutes into the rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring 4 ~ 5 times a half hour or so. Entering REM sleep rapid eye movement, muscle tension is extremely reduced, EMG activity significantly decreased, from time to time associated with a limb or other body parts of the local movement, EEG showed the characteristics of the first phase of sleep, if the patient wake up at this time the vast majority of patients say that they are dreaming, dreams mostly occurs in the sleep period.
Be noted that the sleep process of development is a gradual process, but also a change with age, sleep structure and EEG waveforms will change. Not only have a long enough sleep time, and the proportion of each phase of sleep we should also appropriately, that is, the structure of sleep to be reasonable, otherwise, there will be sleep disorders, causing a variety of diseases and health hazards.
To sum up, sleep including non-rapid eye movement sleep and rapid eye movement sleep, non-rapid eye movement sleep is divided into Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ period of sleep.