SLEEP AND BIOLOGICAL CLOCKS

Non-rapid Eye Movement

provide opportunities to rest and repair the body

Rapid Eye Movement

promotes brain development

Stage 1: NREM

lightest sleep after you drift off (1-7 minutes)

Stage 2: NREM

light sleep, your body relaxes and it’s best to wake up during this stage. (10-25mins)

Stage 3: NREM

deep sleep; brain and body recover, you’ll wake up groggy

Stage 4: REM

sleep is populated by vivid dreams and feeling of unrest upon awakening

Repair and Restoration Theory of Sleep

it states that sleep “restore” something that is spent in our bodies while awake. Sleep affords the body the much-needed opportunity it requires to repair and rejuvenate itslef.

Adenosine

a product of regular cellular activity when awake. It contributes to feeling tired and promotes drive to sleep.

Evolutionary Theory of Sleep

also referred to adaptive theory or inactivity theory, it states that inactivity is an adaptation which served a survival function by ensuring that animals remained out of danger during times of vulnerability

Brain Plasticity Theory

it states that sleep is correlated to changes in the organization and structure of the brain. People sleep to process the information acquired during the day and consolidate new memories

Energy Conservation Theory

it states that sleep has something to do with saving an individual’s energy. Sleep lower one’s demand for energy and reducing the amount expended during part of the night or day.

Activation-synthesis Theory

it states that dreams are considered meaningless, they are random images if past experience and expectation stored in temporal lobe

Biological Rhythms

the natural cycle of change in our body’s chemicals or functions. It’s like an internal master “clock” that coordinates the other clocks in your body.

Circadian Rhythm

the 24-hour cycle that includes sleeping

Diurnal Rhythm

when the rhythm is synchronized with day/night cycle. Active during the day and then sleep at night.

Ultradian Rhythm

has shorter period and higher frequency than circadian rhythms. It includes blood circulation, appetite, and arousal.

Infradian Rhythm

last more than 24hrs or beyond but less than a year.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

sends daily impulses to pineal gland to provide melatonin.

Parasomnia

sleep disorders cause abnormal activities during sleep, involves unusual and undesirable physical events.

Dyssomnia

sleep disorder that cause trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

Sleep Apnea

a person stops breathing for a short period of time during sleep, results to reduced oxygen level in the blood.

Narcolepsy

consist of sleep attacks, aspect of REM sleep intrude into wakefulness

Cataplexy

the muscle paralysis that is normally associated with REM sleep occurs when person is completely awake

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

healthy baby between two and four months of age, dies while sleeping