Midterm 1- Lesson 1-14 Flashcards
Identify possible factors in the development of anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Anorexia Nervosa: Genetic factors are clearly implicated, especially genes involving serotonin, dopamine, and estrogen systems. Interactions between genetic factors and risks in the environment, such as early exposure to stress, may also play a role. Hypothalamic abnormalities may be involved in both anorexia and bulimia, especially a hyperactive HPA axis, and evidence is mounting that both anorexia and bulimia may be tied to autoimmunity problems. Both women who have eating disorders and those who have tendencies towards eating disorders show high blood pressure and heart rate reactivity to stress and high urinary cortisol, suggesting that they may chronically overreact to stress. Women with eating disorders or tendencies toward them are more likely to be depressed, anxious, and low in self-esteem and to have a poor sense of mastery. Anorexic girls can come from families in which psychopathalogy or alcoholism is found or from families that are extremely close but have poor skills for communicating emotion or dealing with conflict.
Bulimia: Bingeing and purging may be a reaction to issues of control. The binge phase has been interpreted as an out-of-control reaction of the body to restore weight; the purge phase, an effort to regain control over weight. Women prone to bulimia, especially binge eating, appear to have a hyperactive HPA axis. What this means is that cortisol levels especially in response to stress may be elevated, promoting eating. Food can become a constant thought. Restrained eating, then, sets the stage for a binge. The control of eating shifts from internal sensations and is replaced by decisions about when and what to eat, which is called a cognitively based regulatory system. This regulatory system is easily disrupted by stress or distraction, and when it is, the dieter is vulnerable to bingeing. Families that place a high value on thinness and appearance are more likely to have bulimic daughters. Bulimia may have a genetic basis, inasmuch as eating disorders cluster in families and twin studies show a high concordance rate for binge eating. Bulimics may suffer from low self-esteem and eat impulsively to control their negative emotions. Girls and women with binge eating disorders appear to be characterized by an excessive concern with body and weight; a preoccupation with dieting; a history of depression, psychopathology, and alcohol or drug abuse; and difficulties with managing work and social settings. Stress, especially conflict with others, appears to be implicated in the onset of binge-purge cycles, because the cues that normally are used to restrain eating are less salient in times of stress. Physiological theories of bulimia include hormonal dysfunction, a hypothalamic dysfunction, food allergies or disordered taste responsivity, a disorder of the endogenous opioid system, a neurological disorder, and a combination of these.
Discuss the course of treatment for anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Anorexia: Initially, the chief target of therapy is to bring the patient’s weight back up to a safe level, a goal that must often be undertaken in a residential treatment setting, such as a hospital. To achieve weight gain, most therapies use cognitive behavioral approaches. With anorexics, motivational issues are especially important. That is, inducing the anorexic to want to change her behavior and to adapt an active, collaborative to regaining weight and changing behavior is essential. Family therapy may be initiated to help families learn positive methods of communicating emotion and conflict. Therapeutic goals also include improving self-esteem and teaching coping skills for stress and social pressure.
Bulimia: Therapeutic approaches focus on self-monitoring of eating behavior; increasing the regularity of meals; encouraging the client to eat a greater variety of food; delaying the impulse to purge; breaking the association between eating and purging; building self-efficacy with respect to eating; identifying situations that lead to binge eating and developing other coping skills; and relaxation and stress management.
Briefly describe the stages of sleep (5)
Stage1: The lightest and earliest stage of sleep is characterized by relatively low-amplitude, fast brain waves of mixed frequencies. In this stage, we begin to tune out the sounds around us, although we are easily awakened by any loud sound.
Stage 2: Breathing and heart rates even out, body temperature drops, and brain waves alternate between short bursts of high-frequency activity, called sleep spindles, and high amplitude activity, called K-complexes.
Stage 3: The characteristic feature of this stage is the emergence of rhythmic but very slow (0.5-2 HZ), high-voltage delta waves. Blood pressure falls, breathing continues to slow, and body temperature drops even lower.
Stage 4: This stage is defined by the predominance of delta-wave activity. Stages 3 and 4 are the phases most important for restoring energy, strengthening the immune system, and prompting the body to release growth hormone.
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep: Eyes dart back and forth, breathing and heart rate flutter, and we often dream vividly. This stage of sleep is marked by high-frequency beta waves (14-30 Hz), and it is considered important for consolidating memories and for solving problems from the previous day.
List the effects of sleep deprivation on health.
Sleep deprivation affects cognitive functioning, mood, work and work performance. Chronic insomnia can affect insulin secretion and sensitivity; increases the risk of coronary heart disease, hypertension, and Type II diabetes; and impairs immune function, reducing natural killer cell activity and antibody production.
Describe the symptoms of sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is characterized by a blockage of the airways during sleep that causes the sleeper to stop breathing, sometimes for as long as 3 minutes, followed by sudden awakening as the sleeper gasps for air.
anorexia nervosa
A condition produced by excessive dieting and exercise that yields body weight grossly below optimal level, most common among adolescent girls.
bulimia
An eating syndrome characterized by alternating cycles of binge eating and purging through such techniques as vomiting or extreme dieting.
