1 - Introduction to Sleep

Aug 27

sleep views

“What is sleep?”

e.g.,

• Behaviourist = inactivity

• Somnologist (sleep scientist) = classified by polysomnographic markers

• General (subjective experience) = feelings of being asleep, dreaming, parasomnias

course view of sleep

Sleep facilitates a degree of…

Homeostasis → an organism’s need/ability to maintain internal stability in the face of external disturbances

• i.e., Adaptations to maintain equilibrium in any environment

• Dynamic balance = looks can be deceiving; systems can look stable and unchanging, but it’s in fact constantly undergoing homeostasis

• Rich cognitive life = productivity never halts; sleep is not a state of “oblivion”

PSYC 444 themes: Activity, cyclicity, waking, amount, self-world

history of sleep research

Inception of somnology

• William Dement (Stanford) considered to be a founding father

  • Bro says we only sleep because we get sleepy

• Only really started in the 70s when EEGs were becoming commonplace

Who studies sleep?

• Psychologists, neurologists, neuroscientistis, clinicians, philosophers, etc.,

  • In spite of the ubiquity of sleep, it might be for that very reason, that there’s a lack of specialization in practical clinical settings…

raison d'être of sleep

Why do we sleep?

• We know that no sleep leads to death

• If sleep is useless, then we wouldn’t have evolved to have it, or it’s the worse evolutionary mistake ever

Common theories

• Homeostatic theory → life is energy demanding, thus sleep allows to conserve energy (thermoregulate)

• Cognitive theory → sleep is the price for brain plasticity, thus downscaling synaptic strength in sleep allows for enhanced cognitive function [once returning to] wake