Physiology of Sleep and Clinical Characteristics

Abstract

Sleep is defined as a natural decrease in the perception of the external environment that occurs periodically and reversibly, but retaining a certain degree of reactivity towards the environment and autonomous functions. The dream is considered an active process of biological, cyclical and, is essential for survival. Most adults require an amount of sleep between 7-8 hours per day; however, there are individual variations regarding the schedule, duration, and internal structure of the dream. In this regard, recent research has identified a possible genetic basis to explain these differences. Sleep is associated with the state of physical and mental health. It is documented that during this process of neurobiological nature , functions inherent to the organism are verified. Through sleep, the organism recovers from everyday fatigue. Likewise, sleep plays a relevant role in the consolidation of learning and memory. On the contrary, sleep deprivation impairs psychomotor and cogni-tive functions including the time of reaction to a stimulus, surveillance capacity, judgment, attention and, information processing. In addition, sleep deprivation is associated with decreased concentration and high frequency of affective disorders.