Final answer:
While REM sleep and awake states show similar EEG patterns, during REM sleep, the body experiences muscle paralysis except for muscles essential for life support, and there are rapid eye movements, contrasting with the voluntary muscle control and full sensory awareness when awake.
Step-by-step explanation:
An EEG during REM sleep displays brain waves that are very similar to those observed when a person is awake. However, during REM sleep, despite the active brain patterns, the body is in a state of muscle paralysis with the exception of muscles involved in breathing and circulation. This phenomenon allows for dreaming without physical response to the dreams. Another key difference is the rapid movements of the eyes under closed eyelids, which is where the name Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep comes from. Unlike while awake, where one can move voluntarily, the body during REM sleep is essentially immobilized to prevent acting out dreams.
On the contrary, while awake, our muscle systems are fully functional, and we maintain control over our voluntary muscles allowing for a wide range of physical activities. This state of muscle readiness is accompanied by beta wave brain activity, which has a higher frequency and lower amplitude compared to the brain waves of sleep stages, and these beta waves tend to have more variability. The awake state is also one of full sensory awareness, which differs from the reduced sensory input during REM sleep.