Biological Rhytms and Sleep - Psychology4A.com.
Ultradian rhythms are repeated biological patterns that have a cycle of less than 24 hours. They are body rhythms that last less than one day. They are body rhythms that last less than one day. Examples of ultradian rhythms include eye blinking, heartbeats, sleep patterns, breathing, pulse, appetite, digestion, temperature regulation, and some hormonal cycles.Nevertheless, the recent finding that the period of the ultradian rhythm of pituitary LH release is lengthened by about 20% in the homozygous tau mutant hamster (i.e., about the same amount as the period of the circadian activity rhythm is shortened) indicates that common gene products may regulate both circadian and ultradian rhythmical processes in mammals (Wayne et al., 1992).Moreover, the amplitude of the ultradian rhythm shows profound changes during the day and during a variety of (patho)physiological states (Windle et al., 2001). The nature of the HPA pulse generator is unknown, in particular how the alternating phases of excitation and inhibition are regulated. Unresolved is also if disruption of the ultradian rhythm results in abnormal tissue and cell responses.
An ultradian rhythm is a biological rhythm that occurs with a frequency of less than 24 hours. Sleep is composed of several repetitive cycles of about 90 minutes in length. The sleep cycle is composed on two types of sleep: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM sleep. In REM sleep the individual undergoes a relatively brief period of vivid, erratic dreams. When the brain is monitored by EEG.Many drugs, prescription and recreational can interfere with the ultradian rhythm. Caffeine and nicotine are both stimulants so create increased activity in the nervous system. We often take caffeine to keep ourselves awake or to help wake us up in a morning. Alcohol seems to help us nod off but it disrupts the pattern of sleep, reducing stages three and four and suppressing REM. As already.
These instruments indicate that during a single night’s sleep we experience a cyclical ultradian rhythm of different stages and types of sleep which can be roughly divided into REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement). REM is strongly associated with dreaming: for example, 80% of sleepers awoken from REM will report that they have been dreaming, whilst the NREM rate is only.
