Sleep Stage Continuity and a Derived Sleep Wake Transition Model

During normal sleep different sleep stages follow a well described sequence from wakefulness, light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep. And the sequence is repeated several times per night. In patients with sleep disorders the percentages of time spent in sleep stages is disturbed and more often the sequence of sleep stages is disturbed. The disturbance, experiences as awakenings from sleep, or fragmented sleep, can be described by an analysis of sleep continuity. Based on normal sleep continuity a sleep wake transition model had been derived and described. The parameters of the model may serve to characterize normal and disturbed sleep as well. The usefulness of these parameters needs to be proven in subsequent clinical studies.