non-REM sleep
Americannoun
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A period of sleep characterized by decreased metabolic activity, slowed breathing and heart rate, and the absence of dreaming. In humans and certain other animals, the sleep cycle occurs in five stages, the first four consisting of non-REM sleep and the last stage consisting of REM sleep. This cycle repeats itself about five times during a normal episode of sleep. In non-REM sleep, Stage I is characterized by drowsiness, Stage II by light sleep, and Stages III and IV by deep sleep. In adult humans, non-REM sleep accounts for about 75–80 percent of total sleep.
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Also called NREM sleep
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On average, the reindeer spent 5.4 hours in non-REM sleep, 0.9 hours in REM sleep, and 2.9 hours ruminating during a given 24-hour period, regardless of season.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 22, 2023
They found that subjects awakened from REM sleep solved 32% more anagrams than subjects who were interrupted during non-REM sleep.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
Sleepwalking and sleep talking, which occur more often during childhood and adolescence, take place during non-REM sleep.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 24, 2023
They also spent 23 percent of their time in slow-wave sleep, which is the deepest kind of non-REM sleep.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2021
This cycle appears analogous, the researchers said, to the alternating rapid eye movement, or REM, and non-rapid eye movement, or non-REM, sleep states experienced by people, as well as other mammals, birds and reptiles.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 2, 2021
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
