The measure of how consistently and correctly the brain cycles through the required stages of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep throughout the night, reflecting deep physiological restoration. Integrity ensures sufficient time is spent in slow-wave sleep for growth hormone release and in REM for neural plasticity. Compromised integrity leads to impaired endocrine signaling the following day.
Origin
This term is derived from clinical sleep medicine, where the structural quality of sleep is assessed via electroencephalography. In hormonal wellness, integrity is paramount because nocturnal hormone pulses, especially those related to growth and repair, are tightly coupled to specific sleep stages. Integrity implies wholeness and soundness of the structure.
Mechanism
Maintaining integrity relies heavily on proper regulation of the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the timing of the core body temperature minimum, which governs sleep onset and stage progression. Furthermore, reducing sleep fragmentation caused by sleep apnea or nocturnal awakenings is critical for allowing sustained periods of deep, restorative delta wave activity. Adequate substrate availability supports the metabolic demands of deep sleep stages.
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