The physiological effects of sleep deprivation on the brain varies between various cognitive processes and behaviours. For instance, if we examine the consequence of impaired memory it is suggested that the amount of sleep one gets mostly affects the consolidation stage of storing a memory. Memory consolidation allows the memory to be stabilized following the acquisition and has been linked to the REM and NREM stage of the sleep cycle depending whether the memory is declarative (conscious recollection) or non-declarative (unconscious recollection). Researchers believe that during the REM sleep, the hippocampal neuron firing which is associated to memory, is identical to the neuron activity while learning, suggesting that REM sleep enhances
