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Chapter Six - Theories of REM and NREM Sleep

from Part I - Sleep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2023

Patrick McNamara
Patrick McNamara
Affiliation:
Boston University School of Medicine
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Summary

Although we know a lot about sleep, there is no scientific consensus on its function or functions. Its functions, however, must be extraordinarily significant, given that it renders us vulnerable to predators each time it overcomes us. It is involuntary. Everyone must eventually succumb to sleep or die. We must have it as surely as we must have oxygen, food, and water. But we do not know why.

Type
Chapter
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The Neuroscience of Sleep and Dreams , pp. 103 - 126
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

Further Reading

Benington, J. H., & Heller, H. C. (1994). Does the function of REM sleep concern non-REM sleep or waking? Progress in Neurobiology, 44, 433–449.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haig, D. (2014). Troubled Sleep: Night waking, breastfeeding and parent-offspring conflict. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, (1), 32–39. doi: 10.1093/emph/eou005.Google Scholar
Halász, P., Bódizs, R., Parrino, L., & Terzano, M. (2014). Two features of sleep slow waves: Homeostatic and reactive aspects – from long term to instant sleep homeostasis. Sleep Medicine, (10), 1184–1195. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2014.06.006.Google Scholar
McNamara, P. (2004). An Evolutionary Psychology of Sleep and Dreams. Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood Press.Google Scholar

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