Erika
Erika has been having trouble with sleep lately. In particular, she finds that her mind races with minor worries when she tries to go to sleep. When she does fall asleep, she doesn't tend to stay asleep for very long. One night, Erika has three glasses of wine before bed. She falls asleep easily that night, but even after eight hours of sleep, she wakes up feeling unrested. Erika talked to her friend Betsy about her sleep problems, and Besty invited Erika to join her for her weekly yoga class. Betsy claimed that yoga really helped her to sleep well. In the class, Erika learned how to do some basic meditation. That night, Erika tried some of the meditation techniques just before going to bed. She had a great sleep and woke up feeling much more refreshed than she had in weeks.
What would you expect to see if you were to observe Erika's brain wave patterns for a night or two after she started sleeping better?
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REM rebound◦
absence of sleep spindles◦
90 percent of sleep time spent in alpha waves◦
no evidence of dreaming
Endocrine system mind map
Slow-Wave Sleep and Learning
Orexin and the Sleep–Waking Cycle
Why your body loves sleep
Characteristics of NREM and REM sleep
Sleep and Consolidation in Memory