Module 8: Sleep and Dreams Flashcards
What is sleep?
Periodic, natural loss of consciousness—as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation
How do our biological clock work?
- 24 hour biological clock
- 90- minute sleep cycle for younger adults
What is our ciradian rhythm?
- Internal biological clock of 24-hour cycle of day and night
- related to day and nights
what is alpha waves ?
relatively slow brains waves of a relaxed, awake state
what are hallucinations?
false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
What are delta waves?
large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep
What is REM (Rapid eye movement)?
Sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur
What is REM rebound?
Tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation
What affects our sleep patterns?
- are affected by genetically and culturally influenced
What is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)?
cause decreased production of melatonin in the morning and increased production in the evening
Why Do We Sleep?
- Sleep may have played a protective role in human evolution by keeping people safe during potentially dangerous periods
- Sleep helps restore and repair damaged neurons
- Sleep helps strengthen neural connections that build enduring memories
- Sleep promotes creative problem solving the next day
- During deep sleep, the pituitary gland secretes a growth hormone necessary for muscle development
What is Sleep deprivation?
- Causes fatigue and irritability
- Impairs concentration, productivity, and memory consolidation
- Can lead to depression, obesity, joint pain, a suppressed immune system, and slowed performance with a greater vulnerability to accidents
What is sleep debt?
- where sleep cannot be satisfied by one long sleep
What is insomnia?
- recurring problems in falling or staying asleep
What is narcolepsy?
- sudden uncontrollable sleep attacks, sometimes lapsing directly into REM sleep
What is sleep apnea?
- a stoppage of breathing while asleep; associated with obesity, especially in men
- snoring is an example of this disorder
What is night terrors?
- high arousal and appearance of being terrified
- tends to be in childhood and adolescence
What is sleepwalking and sleeptalking?
- they are NOT in REM sleep
- in deep sleep typically
What are dreams?
- a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind
- happen during REM
What is manifest content?
- the remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from its latent, or hidden, content)
- freud said its the royal road to our subconscious
what is latent content?
- the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content
What do we dream?
- We usually dream of ordinary events and everyday experiences, most involving some anxiety or misfortune
