Sleep is the regular state of natural rest observed in all mammals, birds and fish. Sleep is not actually "unconsciousness," but rather, it is a natural state of rest characterized by a reduction in voluntary body movement and decreased awareness of the surroundings. Therefore, since consciousness is literally the awareness of the surroundings, being asleep is just an altered state of consciousness, as opposed to being unconscious. It is heavily influenced by circadian rhythms, and by hormonal and environmental factors as well. Sleep ...

Including:

• Sleep - Sleep physiology
• Sleep - Methodology
• Sleep - Sleep regulation
• Sleep - Stages of sleep
• Sleep - Theories regarding the function of sleep
• Sleep - Dreaming
• Sleep - Sleep deprivation
• Sleep - Sleep disorders
• Sleep - Animal sleep
• Sleep - Approaches to sleeping better
• Sleep - Drugs and sleep
• Sleep - Sleep aiding
• Sleep - Stimulant drugs

Read more here: » Sleep: Encyclopedia - Sleep

See also:

Sleep, Sleep - Sleep physiology, Sleep - Methodology, Sleep - Sleep regulation, Sleep - Stages of sleep, Sleep - Theories regarding the function of sleep, Sleep - Dreaming, Sleep - Sleep deprivation, Sleep - Sleep disorders, Sleep - Animal sleep, Sleep - Approaches to sleeping better, Sleep - Drugs and sleep, Sleep - Sleep aiding, Sleep - Stimulant drugs

Read more here: » Sleep: Encyclopedia II - Sleep - Sleep physiology

Disorders of sleep are broadly classified into three groups. Dyssomnias are characterized by difficulty getting to sleep, as in primary insomnia, narcolepsy, and restless legs syndrome. Obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that is being diagnosed with increased frequency, may be classified either as a dyssomnia or as an example of a parasomnia. The latter conditions involve bothersome awakenings during sleep, and also include bruxism and sleepwalking. The third group includes sleep disorders resulting from a number of psychiatric problems, such as bipola ...

See also:

Sleep, Sleep - Sleep physiology, Sleep - Methodology, Sleep - Sleep regulation, Sleep - Stages of sleep, Sleep - Theories regarding the function of sleep, Sleep - Dreaming, Sleep - Sleep deprivation, Sleep - Sleep disorders, Sleep - Animal sleep, Sleep - Approaches to sleeping better, Sleep - Drugs and sleep, Sleep - Sleep aiding, Sleep - Stimulant drugs

Read more here: » Sleep: Encyclopedia II - Sleep - Sleep disorders

Australian Model Criminal Code Committee state the law as follows (at 14-15): At the minimum there needs to be some operation of the will before a physical movement is described as an act. The physical movements of a person who is asleep, for example, probably should not be regarded as acts at all, and certainly should not be regarded as acts for the purposes of criminal responsibility. These propositions are embodied in the rule that people are not held responsible for involuntary ‘acts’, that is, physical movements which occur without there being any will to perform that act. This situation ...

See also:

Automatism case law, Automatism case law - Voluntariness, Automatism case law - Reflex movements, Automatism case law - Sleep, Automatism case law - Automatism and insanity, Automatism case law - Automatism and drunkenness, Automatism case law - Automatism and provocation

Read more here: » Automatism case law: Encyclopedia II - Automatism case law - Sleep

Sleep - Methodology. Before advances in the fields of neurology, neuroscience, electronics and genetics were made, scientists studied the behavioral characteristics of sleep, such as its pattern, depth and varying frequency. In more recent times, the electrical impulses generated by the brain are recorded using a device called an electroencephalograph (EEG), and individual genes relating to sleep-related brain function, such as the circadian rhythm, are isolated. Molecular biology, medical science and epidemiology all play an ...

See also:

Sleep, Sleep - Sleep physiology, Sleep - Methodology, Sleep - Sleep regulation, Sleep - Stages of sleep, Sleep - Theories regarding the function of sleep, Sleep - Dreaming, Sleep - Sleep deprivation, Sleep - Sleep disorders, Sleep - Animal sleep, Sleep - Approaches to sleeping better, Sleep - Drugs and sleep, Sleep - Sleep aiding, Sleep - Stimulant drugs

Read more here: » Sleep: Encyclopedia II - Sleep - Sleep physiology

Osho has used every opportunity for meditation, says Amrit Sadhana. According to him, the moments before going to sleep are crucial, as the last thoughts run through the sleeping state like an undercurrent.

This meditation is useful for those who feel a block inside.

(See also: Meditation Techniques, Meditation, Meditation for Beginners, Meditation Techniques)

Make it a habit to read something uplifting and inspiring every evening, even if it is for only a few minutes. Your "state of mind" determines how well you rest, and to what dimensional level you will journey during your sleep time. After you are in bed and just before falling asleep, take a few minutes to review your day. No judgements or recriminations - just be an observer!

(See also: Metaphysics, Metaphysical Principles, Definition of Metaphysics, Metaphysical Techniques, Miracles, Creating Miracles Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, Peace of Mind, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

A man lying in a swoon cannot be said to be awake because he does not perceive external objects by means of his senses. The man who returns to consciousness from a swoon says: “I was shut up in blind darkness; I was conscious of nothing.” A wakeful man keeps his body upright but the body of a swooning person falls down.

The death and dying and the life after death has always fascinated man. This is an excerpt from the book What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » What Is Death?: Swoon, Sleep, Death

Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by paralysis of the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or, less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic paralysis). Physiologically, it is closely related to the normal paralysis that occurs during REM sleep, also known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain is awakened from a REM state into essentially a normal fully awake state, but the bodily paralysis is still occurring. This causes the person to be fully aware, but unabl ...

Including:

• Sleep paralysis - Accompanying hallucinations
• Sleep paralysis - Possible causes
• Sleep paralysis - Cultural references
• Sleep paralysis - Treatment in literature

Read more here: » Sleep paralysis: Encyclopedia - Sleep paralysis

Active Sleep is a phase of sleep in neonates that appears similar to Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep in adults. While it depends on age, neonatal sleep is sometimes scored as Active Sleep, Quiet Sleep, and Wake. This is less specific than the classification of adult's sleep, and is often based on behavioral criteria due to the technical difficulties arising from recording EEG from the neonate. Scientists are divided on the precise relation between Active Sleep and REM sleep. Some suggest that they are similar, while others say i ...

Read more here: » Active sleep: Encyclopedia - Active sleep

Co-sleeping, also called the family bed, is a practice in which babies and young children sleep with one or both parents. It is standard practice in many parts of the world outside of North America and Europe and was widely practiced in all areas up until the 19th century as well, until the advent of giving the child his or her own room and the crib. More recently, it has been re-introduced into Western ...

Including:

• Co-sleeping - Effects of co-sleeping
• Co-sleeping - Sharing a bed

Read more here: » Co-sleeping: Encyclopedia - Co-sleeping

Sleep-learning (also known as hypnopædia) attempts to convey information to a sleeping person, typically by playing a sound recording to them whilst they sleep. In Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World, it is used for the conditioning of children into the novel's fictional future culture. In the novel, sleep-learning is supposed to have been discovered after a Polish-speaking boy named Reuben Rabinovitch was able to recite an entire radio broadcast in English after listening to it in his sleep. The boy was u ...

Read more here: » Sleep-learning: Encyclopedia - Sleep-learning

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was a 1939 African pop hit that, unexpectedly, also became quite popular in the US. The song was first recorded by its writer, Solomon Linda, and his group, The Evening Birds, in 1939 under the title "Mbube" (Zulu for "lion"). "Mbube" became a hit throughout South Africa and sold about one hundred thousand copies during the 1940s. In 1952, the song was covered as an instrumental by American folk group The Weavers as "Wimoweh", a mishearing of the orignal song's chorus of 'uyimbube' (meaning "you ...

Read more here: » The Lion Sleeps Tonight: Encyclopedia - The Lion Sleeps Tonight

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was a labor union in the United States organized by the predominantly African-American Pullman Porters. Organized in 1925, it struggled for twelve years before winning its first collective bargaining agreement with the Pullman Company. It was, in 1935 the first labor organization led by African-Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor. It merged in 1978 with the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks ( ...

Including:

• Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - The Pullman Company
• Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - Organizing the union
• Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - Civil rights leadership
• Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - Merger with BRAC
• Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - Notable Pullman Porters
• Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - Other materials

Read more here: » Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters: Encyclopedia - Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

William C. Dement (born 1928), is a pioneering sleep researcher, and founder of the world's first sleep laboratory at Stanford University. He is the world's leading authority on sleep, sleep deprivation, and the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. He earned both M.D., Ph.D. degrees. Each year from 1971 until 2003 he taught the popular "Sleep and Dreams" course at Stanford University. In 1975 he launched the American Sleep Disorders Associa ...

Including:

• William C. Dement - Quotations

Read more here: » William C. Dement: Encyclopedia - William C. Dement

Rapid eye movement (REM) is the stage of sleep characterized by rapid saccadic movements of the eyes. During this stage, the activity of the brain's neurons is quite similar to that during waking hours. Most of the vividly recalled dreams occur during REM sleep. It is the lightest form of sleep, and people awakened during REM usually feel alert and refreshed. REM sleep is so physiologically different from the other phases of sleep that ...

Including:

• Rapid eye movement - Physiology of REM sleep
• Rapid eye movement - Theories about the functions of REM sleep
• Rapid eye movement - REM sleep in other animals
• Rapid eye movement - History
• Rapid eye movement - Sources

Read more here: » Rapid eye movement: Encyclopedia - Rapid eye movement

Sleep

A state of physical inertia with mental relaxation, sleep promotes proper growth of the self. Night is the natural time to sleep and mid-day catnaps should not be more than 15 minutes long except for the very young, very old, very weak and those intoxicated, diseased, exhausted or traumatised. Avoid having a full meal just before retiring to bed. Sleeping on the right side is the most relaxing and good for yoga. On the left, it is most digestive and increases interest in food, sleep and sex. Sleeping on the back indirectly and on the stomach directly encourages disease. Sleeping with crown of the head facing east and feet into the west promotes the best meditative sleep. Washing the hands, feet & face just before improves sleep. Never sleep in the kitchen and go to bed only to sleep. 6 to 8 hours of daily sleep is essential. The ideal form of sleep is yoga – a state of complete physical inertness with retention of mental alertness & awareness.

(See also: Sleep, Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Sleep In sleep the ego becomes unconscious on the physical plane in its brain -- except in the cases of dreaming; the connection between the mind and the bodily senses is quiescent and there is no direct self-conscious cognition of physical objects and events.

In short, the ego is functioning on a different plane of consciousness. On awaking, we have confused recollections of experiences of the state of imperfect sleep which fringes the waking and sleeping states, but the sleeping state is not a single state. Many planes of consciousness are enumerated, of which what we call the waking state is one.

One Hindu system has a fourfold division of consciousness into

1)    jagrat, the waking state;

2)    svapna, the dream state;

3)    sushupti, the state of dreamless sleep; and, highest,

4)    the turiya, which is relatively complete egoic or spiritual consciousness on interior planes.

From this last state of perfect awakenment, the jagrat or physical waking state is the farthest removed; what is to us the dream state (svapna) is a closer approach; and sushupti, which to us is complete loss of physical brain-mind consciousness, is actually the closest approach to the complete consciousness experienced by the ego in turiya. Turiya is the complete oblivion to the outside world, for the ego is functioning in its spiritual vehicle of consciousness.

These four distinct states of consciousness into which the human egoic self can enter, are the manifestations during imbodiment of what takes place on a more profound and radical scale at death. Sleep is a small death, and death may be called a larger sleep: in both, the ego, liberated successively form various bonds, travels inwards and upwards through different grades of consciousness and reaches the experiences proper to those planes.

Sleep is also used figuratively, in contrast with waking, to denote a state of nonmanifestation, when there is no contrast between subject and object; the term so used is relative, and sleeping on one plane may coincide with waking on another.

(See also: Sleep, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

In India, there are two thoughts. One of the signs of approaching enlightenment is "witnessing sleep," that is to say, being seemingly lucid in sleep — such as with sleep paralysis. It was also believed within the movement that rakshasas (Hindu demons) may assail those making strides towards their own enlightenment and the good of all mankind. The other thought is a female entity, called Mohini (a demoness from the underworld), comes into the night-time world by means of ascending through a deep well. She is enchantingly beautiful, yet sim ...

See also:

Sleep paralysis, Sleep paralysis - Accompanying hallucinations, Sleep paralysis - Possible causes, Sleep paralysis - Cultural references, Sleep paralysis - Treatment in literature

Read more here: » Sleep paralysis: Encyclopedia II - Sleep paralysis - Cultural references

There are two basic types of co-sleeping. Co-sleeping can be started within a few months of the child's birth, or at birth, and continue into toddlerhood. In this case, children who began co-sleeping as infants exhibited more self-reliance and social independence than children in the second case or children who slept alone. This showed itself in areas such as settling disputes with playmates on their own rather than involving adults. Co-sleeping can begin later, in response to the child's sleeping difficulties. In the this case, the sleep of everyone in the bed (i.e. parents and child) is oft ...

See also:

Co-sleeping, Co-sleeping - Safety, Co-sleeping - Products, Co-sleeping - Effects of co-sleeping, Co-sleeping - Sharing a bed

Read more here: » Co-sleeping: Encyclopedia II - Co-sleeping - Effects of co-sleeping