Rapid eye movement

REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is an emotionally important, dream-rich stage marked by vivid, often elaborate dreams and erratic eye movements. 1

• Brain activity and chemistry: Activity travels from the brainstem through the thalamus toward the cortex; serotonin and norepinephrine are essentially absent during REM sleep. 2
• Emotional processing: REM may help reduce the emotional charge of experiences from the day by reactivating them in a state with little or no norepinephrine, allowing the memory to be processed with less emotional reactivity. 3 4
• More REM sleep: Adding roughly 10–30 minutes to sleep, especially by extending sleep later into the morning, may increase REM sleep. 5 6
• Morning exercise or cold exposure: Exercise or deliberate cold exposure early in the day can raise adrenaline and may support more REM sleep that night. 7