slow-wave sleep

[ sloh-weyv sleep ]

noun

, Physiology.

1. a recurrent period of deep sleep, typically totaling five or six hours a night, distinguished by the presence of slow brain waves and by very little dreaming. : SWS Compare REM sleep ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of slow-wave sleep¹

First recorded in 1965–70; slow ( def ) + wave ( def )

Example Sentences

The neural replay happened only during slow-wave sleep, when dreams tend to be infrequent, dull, and go unremembered.

From Nautilus

This may be because they go into heavy, slow-wave sleep, which is the deepest stage of sleep, making it difficult to return to the waking world.

From Washington Post