Factors affecting sleep

Question 1

Alcohol

Answer 1

Alcohol initially acts as a depressant which can help fall asleep more quickly, then it becomes a stimulant which reduces the quality of sleep

Question 2

Drugs - caffeine

Answer 2

Consuming caffeine increases adrenaline production so consuming caffeinated drinks in the afternoon will inhibit sleep.

studies have found that caffeine can delay the timing of the body clock, which in turn will reduce the total sleep time and its quality.

One application of these findings has been to ban energy drinks that are high in concentration of caffeine to under-16s in Scotland.

Stimulant, blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, takes a long time to leave your system.

Question 3

Drugs - anti-histamine

Answer 3

Drowsiness is a major side effect of some anti-histamine medication. This is because histamine is a wakefulness neurotransmitter

Question 4

light

Answer 4

Light causes your brain to think its time to wake up, reducing the levels of melatonin.

when light is not being transmitted into the retinas the signals go through the retinohypothalimic tract to the SCN in the hypthalmus which tells the pineal gland to produce melatonin.

scheduled bright light exposure can treat the negative effects of shift work (1)