Sleep Stages As Described By A Psychologist

By Kari Ratliff


The advances in technology has helped a psychologist Springfield MO to study and analyze the stage of sleep. Little is still known about the events that lead and are happening while humans sleep. It is a branch of psychology which is still in its infancy stage. The invention of the electroencephalograph allows researchers to study the brain waves of the individual while they are asleep providing a better understanding with how the human mind works.

When humans sleep, there are a number of chemical and physical reactions that takes place inside the body which readies the body for the resting phase. It is an important bodily activity which restores the mind and repairs the body from the stresses that the body has experienced during the day.

Many people mistake the process of sleeping as the body turning off and turning on when the person awakes. However, time and again, numerous studies have proven the whole notion false as they have observed that sleep happens in cycles and is one of the most complex process that the person will enter during their day.

Phase one of the whole activity will result in the person slowly change between wakefulness and sleep. However, if the person is aroused from such pattern, the person may feel as if she had not slept at all. This may last for five minutes. There has been something that the person should say in return. Sudden jerking motions may happen in this period which is a sign of some problem in the nervous system.

The second phase characterizes the loss of feeling and control in the muscle as the precaution of the body to not act upon the dreams of the person. The brainwave activity has decreased with occasional outbursts from time to time. Dreams do not occur until the second half of the stage. It has made people do their own things.

The third stage is the part where the brain begins to produce the delta waves which can only happen when the brain is going to a transitional phase between the light and the deep sleep. Delta waves are the type of waves which are of high amplitude that humans emit while asleep. This is said to be produced by the Thalamus area.

The fourth stage is the theta phase in the sleep cycle. This is the stage of the brain where is produces the delta waves in the sleep cycle. This stage is said to last for at least thirty minutes. It is also the stage that people experience sleepwalking and other problems that occur during sleep. Normally, when this happens experts prescribe the best medicine.

The brain undergoes these cycles by emitting waves called the alpha, beta, delta and theta waves which is the waves which represents the state of the person. Delta is said to be the slowest among the four waves being released. Theta is only present during the period that people are sleeping lightly. Alpha and the beta waves, are among the fastest waves.

A psychologist Springfield MO may use any of the stages of the sleep to treat patients of minor psychological problems. An average adult would need at least seven to eight hours of sleep while children between three to five years old will need eleven to thirteen hours of sleep. Most dreams are said to last for forty five to sixty minutes.




About the Author: