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REM sleep is often associated
with dreaming, although it may also occur during the
first four stages of sleep, or what is sometimes called
N-REM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. What is not generally
known, however, is that muscular paralysis and genital
activity during REM sleep is also a common phenomenon,
although the latter is unlikely to be the effects of
dreams of a sexual nature. When the subject is experiencing
REM sleep, his EEG readings will be similar to that
of an active brain but it will be almost impossible
to wake him as this is the deepest stage of sleep, hence
the term "paradoxical sleep". The stages of
N-REM sleep and REM sleep alternate throughout one's
sleep, in roughly 90-minute cycles. As the night progresses,
the duration and sequences of the sleep stages may vary.
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Foreword
