Neurophysiological Order in the REM Sleep of Participants of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program

Abstract

Previous research into the sleep patterns of new-born human beings of different gestational ages has revealed that, in the course of ontogenesis, the randomly occurring, isolated, low frequency Rapid Eye Movements (REMs) of the undifferentiated sleep of the premature are gradually ordered in groups of REMs or high frequency REMs, characteristic of mature REM sleep (Petre-Quadens, 1967; 1969; 1978; 1980; Petre-Quadens & De Lee, 1974; Petre-Quadens, De Lee & Remy, 1971). This observation has led to the hypothesis that there exist two functionally different types of REMs in REM sleep: the high frequency (HF) REMs with an interval of less than one second, reflecting the "maturity" or "order" of brain functioning; and the low frequency (LF) REMs with an interval of more than one second, reflecting "random noise" in the brain.