Sympathetic nerve activity during sleep ______ from both NREM and REM in some body areas.

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Multiple Choice

Sympathetic nerve activity during sleep ______ from both NREM and REM in some body areas.

Sympathetic outflow during sleep is not uniform across stages. Non-REM sleep generally dampens sympathetic activity, helping lower heart rate and blood pressure. In contrast, REM sleep brings autonomic instability with phasic bursts of sympathetic nerve activity, which can elevate sympathetic tone in several body regions. Because these REM-related bursts occur in some areas but not others, overall sympathetic nerve activity can increase in those regions during sleep. This pattern—lower activity in deeper, non-REM stages but intermittent, higher bursts during REM—explains why increases are the best description for sympathetic nerve activity in some body areas during sleep.

Sympathetic outflow during sleep is not uniform across stages. Non-REM sleep generally dampens sympathetic activity, helping lower heart rate and blood pressure. In contrast, REM sleep brings autonomic instability with phasic bursts of sympathetic nerve activity, which can elevate sympathetic tone in several body regions. Because these REM-related bursts occur in some areas but not others, overall sympathetic nerve activity can increase in those regions during sleep. This pattern—lower activity in deeper, non-REM stages but intermittent, higher bursts during REM—explains why increases are the best description for sympathetic nerve activity in some body areas during sleep.

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