Biological - NIH Office of Science Education - National Institutes of ...

10. Explain to the class that during a normal night’s sleep, we cycle
through NREM and REM sleep several times. This cycling is called
an ultradian rhythm because the cycle time is less than 24 hours.
Conclude the lesson by asking, What can you conclude about sleep
from this investigation?
Student comments should reflect that sleep is a dynamic process.
This means that the body remains physiologically active with characteristic
changes in brain and muscle activity, as well as changes in
other physiological parameters. Sleep is not uniform, but rather consists
of discrete stages that cycle throughout the night.
Assessment:
Instruct students to
answer questions
about animal sleep
such as a) Do other
animals sleep? b) How
is their sleep similar to
human sleep? and
c) How is their sleep
different from human
sleep? Make available
to students relevant
information from the
Information about
Sleep section and
from Web sites listed
in the Additional Web
Resources for Teachers
section.
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Student Lesson 2