• Question: Can you move during REM sleep?

    Asked by anon-189191 to Yousef, Rachel, Petrina, Michael, Jason, Emma on 5 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Mike Ambler

      Mike Ambler answered on 5 Nov 2018:

      Good question!

      Usually we don’t move during REM sleep, and this is probably because we dream during this period of sleep. If we could move then we might act out our dreams – which could be embarrassing or dangerous!

      The reason we don’t usually move during REM sleep is because a circuit in our brain switches off the connection between our brain and our muscles. This makes us go floppy when we are in REM sleep.

      However, sometimes that system doesn’t work properly and we can act out our dreams. This can be either because we are dreaming in another phase of sleep (Non-REM) or else it is because there is a problem with the circuit responsible for switching off the connection between our brain and our muscles.

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