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Re: Why do we need REM?

Posted by Captin Cannuck on September 28, 2007 at 11:27:21:

In Reply to: Re: Why do we need REM? posted by SleepyTimeGal on September 12, 2007 at 22:37:23:


- REM sleep is where dreaming takes place.

- Newborns spend about 50 percent of their time in REM sleep. Adults spend about 25% or two hours per night. This percentage drops with age, so that by old age we enjoy relatively little REM sleep - only 15 to 20 percent.

- Dement, author of The Promise of Sleep, says "whatever its purpose, the intense activity of the dreaming brain is so important to us that the brain actively paralyzes the body's muscles to accommodate it...during REM sleep an area at the base of the brain sends out pulses of nerve activity that filter up through the rest of the brain's thin outer layer where most cognition takes place. It may be that REM sleep provides the developing brain with a regular workout and produces much more nerve stimulation than the fetus or infant would get simply from sensory stimulation.

Roffwarg-Dement Theory:
"According to the Roffwarg-Dement Theory, the primary purpose of REM sleep is to help the brain develop...a holdover of the brain development stage.

Another possibility is that REM sleep still continues to help our brains develop. Studies in animals and humans suggest that sleep deprivation may impair the formation of some long-term memories. As new memories form, the related brain cells change the way that the interconnect...Perhaps during REM sleep as our brans sort through the experiences of the day, the showers of nerve activity help nerve connections change and create the new memories.

Dement goes on to say "I also wonder if the function of REM sleep isn't confirmed by the recent discovery that the adult brain is able to grow new brain cells - a finding that is in direct opposition to the long standing dogma that, after infancy, the brain does not develop new brain cells. Perhaps the brain never truly stops developing, and we need REM sleep to integrate new brain cells and shape the connections made by existing ones. I would guess that futher research will give us the answers.(p.254)

Excerpts of Dr. William C. Dement, The Promise of Sleep, p.252 to 254


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  • Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.


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