slow-wave sleep

American  

[sloh-weyv sleep] / ˈsloʊˈweɪv ˈslip /

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

---

Etymology

Origin of slow-wave sleep

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

Example Sentences

Prior to this research, scientists already understood that each night, memories transfer from short-term storage in the hippocampus to long-term storage in the neocortex during slow-wave sleep.

From Salon

Thanks to electroencephalography, researchers can even link slow-wave sleep to a process of synchronous changes in electrical voltages in thousands of neurons, known as up and down states.

From Salon

Neurons in the neocortex: Slow-wave sleep strengthens the connections between them, supporting memory formation.

From Salon

Pink noise has a frequency profile “very similar to the distribution of brain wave frequencies we see in slow-wave sleep because these are large, slow waves,” said Dr. Roneil Malkani, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

From Seattle Times

Saturated fats, such as that in burgers and fries and processed foods, could lead to less slow-wave sleep, which is considered the most restorative sleep.

From Salon