Non-rapid eye movement sleep activation occurs during NREM that is comparable to the type that occurs during REM. It is this sub-cortical activation that results in dreaming during the NREM stage during the morning hours. During non-REM sleep, the tonic drive to most respiratory muscles of the upper airway is inhibited. This has two consequences: However, because the diaphragm is largely driven by the autonomous system, it is relatively spared of non-REM inhibition. As such, the suction pressures it generates stay the same. This narrows the upper airway during sleep, increasing resistance and making airflow through the upper airway turbulent and noisy. For example,
Rapid eye movement sleep tomography, and reports of dreamers upon waking, have all been used to study this phase of sleep. REM sleep is "paradoxical" because of its similarities to wakefulness. Although the body is paralyzed, the brain acts somewhat awake, with cerebral neurons firing with the same overall intensity as in wakefulness. Electroencephalography during REM deep sleep reveal fast, low amplitude, desynchronized neural oscillation (brainwaves) that resemble the pattern seen during wakefulness which differ from the slow δ (delta) waves pattern of NREM deep sleep. An important element of this contrast is the θ (theta) rhythm in the hippocampus that show 40–60 Hz