Research Paper on:
Overview of Sleep Hygiene

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
term physicians apply to the collection of physiological, sociologic, and behavioral factors which control the quality of sleep that an individual either suffers from or enjoys. Sleep hygiene is  critical given that the physiological process we label sleep consumes an approximated one third of our lives (Appling, 1997). Sleep is really a collective term for a series of  physiological cycles in which our body is at one state or another of rest. A number of factors, however, can affect this cycle. These factors are grouped under  the concept of sleep hygiene. Appling (1997) identifies four stages of sleep which occur in a specific relationship to one another. Stage  1 is a stage of light sleep. It is characterized by the eyes rolling slowly and the arms, legs and even the face slightly twitching. Stage 2 is  a deeper level of sleep but still just a light stage in comparison to the latter stages 3 and 4 which Appling (1997) classifies as deep sleep. He writes  that in these latter stages of sleep the individual experiences a decrease in temperature, pulse, and blood pressure. Muscles relax and:  "The sleeper then progresses backward from stage 4 through stage 2, entering REM (rapid eye movement) sleep characterized by dreaming, a profound decrease  in muscle tone, and potential cardiac and respiratory instability". Each cycle of the sleep process  is estimated to last approximately ninety minutes (Appling, 1997). In the first of these cycles the individual spends only about eighteen minutes of the total in REM sleep and