REVIEW – August 2019

Physiology of sleep. A narrative review

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Abstract

Sleep is the rhythmic alternate state of the human organism to ensure the homeostasis of vital processes. Sleep serves as one of the mechanisms of adaption to the environment and its effects are evident in the whole body. In the present narrative review the basic principles of  regulation of sleep­wakefulness, characteristics of the sleep cycles and principal changes in vital functions occurring during sleep are overviewed.