Modifications of sleep structure by brief forced awakenings at different times of the night.

Four subjects were awakened once a night for 10 min at either 01.30, 03.30 or 05.30 h. During the waking intervals, they performed a mental task while remaining in bed. The awakenings did not significantly modify the amount of different stages during subsequent sleep with no effect of time of occurrence in the night. In contrast, the timing of the awakening within the cycle had a significant influence on REM cycle structure. If awakening occurred during a REM episode or shortly thereafter, the following inter-REM interval was shortened; if it occurred late in the cycle, that is shortly before a REM episode, it increased the inter-REM interval beyond the reference length of the corresponding uninterrupted cycle. An explanation based on a model of sleep which implies the simultaneous activity of REM-on and REM-off neurones is proposed.