Knowra Sleep architecture Sleep architecture Sleep architecture is the composition and sequence of sleep stages across a sleep episode. It describes how non-rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement sleep are organized and vary over time.
NREM sleep : Non-rapid eye movement sleep comprises stages N1, N2, and N3, distinguished by characteristic brain activity and arousal thresholds. Its changing proportions across the night form one half of sleep architecture.
Electroencephalography : A method that records electrical activity from the brain using electrodes placed on the scalp. Its signals help distinguish sleep stages by their characteristic patterns.
Obstructive sleep apnea : A disorder in which repeated upper-airway obstruction disrupts breathing during sleep. Respiratory events can fragment sleep and alter the observed stage distribution.
Sleep homeostasis : The regulation that increases sleep pressure with time awake and reduces it during sleep. Its drive for recovery helps explain changes in stage proportions after lost sleep.
REM sleep : A sleep state marked by rapid eye movements, vivid dreaming, and near-paralysis of most skeletal muscles. Its episodes recur between NREM periods and generally lengthen toward morning.
Polysomnography : A sleep study that records brain activity, eye movements, muscle activity, breathing, and other physiological signals. It combines the measurements used to score a night’s stage sequence.
Narcolepsy : A chronic neurological disorder that destabilizes wakefulness and REM-sleep regulation. Its REM-related abnormalities can produce distinctive timing in sleep recordings.
Circadian rhythm : An internal biological cycle lasting approximately 24 hours and coordinated with environmental time cues. Circadian timing influences when sleep occurs, while architecture describes its internal stage sequence.
Sleep cycle : A recurring progression through NREM and REM sleep, typically lasting about 90 minutes in adults. Repeated cycles are the basic temporal units that organize a sleep episode.
Sleep staging : The classification of recorded sleep into standardized stages using physiological criteria. Stage-by-stage scoring turns a sleep recording into an architecture profile.
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