Rapid eye movement

: This is about the sleep stage. For other meanings, see the disambiguation page REM.

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Rapid eye movement (REM) is the stage of sleep characterized by rapid saccadic movements of the eyes. During this stage, the activity of the brain's neurons is quite similar to that during waking hours. The most vividly recalled dreams occur during REM sleep (whether dreams occur more often during this phase is not known).

Related Topics:
Sleep - Saccadic - Movements of the eyes - Brain - Neuron - Dream

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It is the lightest form of sleep, and people awakened during REM usually feel alert and refreshed.

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REM sleep is so physiologically different from the other phases of sleep that the others are collectively referred to as non-REM sleep.

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During a night of sleep, a person usually has about four or five periods of REM sleep, which are quite short at the beginning of the night and longer at the end. It is common to wake for a short time at the end of a REM phase. The total time of REM sleep per night is about 90-120 minutes.

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