AP Psychology Unit 1.5-Sleep and Sleep Disorders

Conciousness

Our subjective state of awareness of ourselves and our environment

Sleep, wakefulness

Circadian Rhythm

24-hour sleep-wake cycle

Internal drives influenced by environmental cues like light and darkness due to melatonin, body temperature fluctuation, and more.

Usually unaware until we alter/disrupt them

JetLag

A temporary sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s internal body clock is out of sync with a timezone travelled to.

Occurs because the body’s internal clock is aligned to the original timezone

Alpha waves

Brain waves when alert, awake, and relaxed, and during stage 1 sleep.

Short, rapid waves.

Theta waves

Brain waves during stage 2 sleep.

Longer with quick spikes called sleep spindles and K complexes

Delta waves

Brain waves during stage 3 sleep, indicating deep sleep

Tall, slow waves.

REM waves

Brain waves that indicate ___ sleep. About an hour into falling asleep.

Short and rapid waves.

NREM Stage 1

When you’re starting to fall asleep. Drowsiness and very light sleep.

Hypnagogic sensations

Very easily awoken

Alpha Waves

Hypnagogic sensations

Brief sensory experiences that can be visual, physical or auditory during NREM stage 1.

NREM Stage 2

Relatively light sleep

Delta waves

NREM Stage 3

Very deep sleep

Low muscle activity and extreme relaxation

Difficult to wake up and people will feel sleep inertia when woken up

Crucial for healing, recovery, memory consolidation, and immune system building

Theta waves

Sleep Inertia

Grogginess and disorientation when woken up from deep sleep

REM sleep

Rapid eye movement

Paradoxical stage because brain activity is similar to an awake state of consciousness.

Irregular breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Very relaxed body and muscle atonia

Vivid dreams and consolidating memories

Muscle atonia

Prevents muscle movement and acting out our active brain state

Dream theories

Activation Synthesis

Memory Consolidation

Activation Synthesis Theory

Dreams are the brain’s way of making sense of random electrical activity and signals during REM sleep.

Memory consolidation theory

REM sleep helps us process and store memories. Dreams happen as a side effect of when your brain is organizing experiences and information you’ve gathered during the day and moving it to long term memory.

Consequences of sleep deprivation

Reduced attention and memory, emotional instability, anxiety and depression, immune system weakness, and chronic illnesses. Impairs motor skills, coordination, and hormonal balance.

Prolonged sleep deprivation can cause delusions, hallucinations, heart murmurs.

REM rebound

REM rebound

When a person has been deprived of REM they experience a longer and more intense period of REM sleep when they do sleep.

Sleep disorders

Insomnia, sleep apnea, somnambulism, narcolepsy, and REM sleep behavior disorder

Insomnia

A sleep disorder that causes a difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep.

Leads to fatigue, irritability, poor sleep quality, and poor concentration

Caused by stress, anxiety, depression, and poor sleep habits.

Acute or chronic

Sleep apnea

A disorder that is characterized by a repeated interruption of breathing during sleep. usually caused by a collapse of the upper airway or a failure of the brain to signal brain to sleep.

Can leave to fragmented sleep, drowsiness, and cardiovascular problems.

Loud snoring, choking/gasping during sleep, and difficult time staying asleep

CPAP therapy

Somnambulism

Sleepwalking

Performing complex behaviors while sleeping

Narcolepsy

a common sleep disorder that is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness followed by a sudden, uncontrollable sleep attack.

REM sleep behavior disorder

Individuals acting out their dreams during REM sleep due to a lack of muscle paralysis that normally occurs.

Kicking, punching, and other physical movements.