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Waves during deep sleep?


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During deep sleep do the inactive parts of our brains have waves?

 

No area of a healthy brain is ever entirely inactive, even in sleep. This means that all brain areas produce some level of brainwave activity at all times. However, as we transition into sleep and then into REM, the frequency of those waves begin to change in a way that suggest diminished activity overall and relative inactivity between brain areas. By "relative inactivity", I am referring to those brain areas that register slower wave frequencies (lower activity) compared to other brain areas. During REM, for example, our prefrontal cortex is primarily and relatively inactive compared to other brain areas. Amid REM, our prefrontal experiences a state known as transient hypofrontality, which is a temporary state of diminished activity relative to all other areas of the brain. Generally, our brain produces 5 types of brainwave frequencies (Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta) and, overall, exhibits 4 distinctive brainwave patterns as it cycles through 5 distinct stages of sleep.

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