Evaluation Of Circadian Rhythms

Question 1

Explain the evaluation point: Practical Application To Shift Work

Answer 1

-Night workers engaged in shift work experienced a period of reduced concentration around 6am (a circadian trough) meaning mistakes and accidents are more likely (studies have shown).
- Research has also shown that there is a relationship between shift work and poor health- shift workers are 3 times more likely to develop heart disease. This may be because of the stress of adjusting to different sleep/wake patterns and the lack of poor quality sleep during the day. So, research into the sleep/wake cycle may have economic implications in terms of how best to manage worker productivity.

Question 2

What is the issue of using case studies to support the role of circadian rhythms?

Answer 2

The people involved may not be representative of the wider population which limits if generalisations can be made to the wider population. Siffre was 60 and his internal body clocked much slower than when he was younger.

Question 3

How are individual differences create a problem for research into the sleep-wake cycle?

Answer 3

• In some cases sleep wake cycles vary between 13 to 65 hours.
• Duffy et all revealed that some people display a natural preference for going to bed early and rising early and others a preference for do the opposite.