Ultradian Cycle (a study of sleep's stages)

by scottishnatureboy

I am always on the lookout for interesting concepts that might lead to musical creation possibilities. I was reading around the subject of sleep, something that has inspired me before (The Sleep Council; Mind: The gap) and came across the now well-agreed stages of sleep that we all follow when sleeping normally. The Sleep Cycle is also known as the Ultradian Cycle and consists of three stages of Non-REM sleep (NREM Stages 1, 2 and 3, (REM standing for Rapid Eye Movement), REM sleep (which is probably the best-known stage, not least as it had one of the world's best rock bands named after it!), and the stage of Awakening. As each stage has distinct characteristics, I was tempted, and have attempted, to produce some music influenced by each part of the Cycle.

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I am always on the lookout for interesting concepts that might lead to musical creation possibilities. I was reading around the subject of sleep, something that has inspired me before (The Sleep Council; Mind: The gap) and came across the now well-agreed stages of sleep that we all follow when sleeping normally. The Sleep Cycle is also known as the Ultradian Cycle and consists of three stages of Non-REM sleep (NREM Stages 1, 2 and 3, (REM standing for Rapid Eye Movement), REM sleep (which is probably the best-known stage, not least as it had one of the world's best rock bands named after it!), and the stage of Awakening. As each stage has distinct characteristics, I was tempted, and have attempted, to produce some music influenced by each part of the Cycle.