Module 8: Sleep and Dreams

Question 1

What is sleep?

Answer 1

Periodic, natural loss of consciousness—as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation

Question 2

How do our biological clock work?

Answer 2

• 24 hour biological clock
• 90- minute sleep cycle for younger adults

Question 3

What is our ciradian rhythm?

Answer 3

• Internal biological clock of 24-hour cycle of day and night
  
  • related to day and nights

Question 4

what is alpha waves ?

Answer 4

relatively slow brains waves of a relaxed, awake state

Question 5

what are hallucinations?

Answer 5

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

Question 6

What are delta waves?

Answer 6

large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

Question 7

What is REM (Rapid eye movement)?

Answer 7

Sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur

Question 8

What is REM rebound?

Answer 8

Tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

Question 9

What affects our sleep patterns?

Answer 9

• are affected by genetically and culturally influenced

Question 10

What is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)?

Answer 10

cause decreased production of melatonin in the morning and increased production in the evening

Question 11

Why Do We Sleep?

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

What is Sleep deprivation?

Answer 12

• 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

Question 13

What is sleep debt?

Answer 13

• where sleep cannot be satisfied by one long sleep

Question 14

What is insomnia?

Answer 14

• recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

Question 15

What is narcolepsy?

Answer 15

• sudden uncontrollable sleep attacks, sometimes lapsing directly into REM sleep

Question 16

What is sleep apnea?

Answer 16

• a stoppage of breathing while asleep; associated with obesity, especially in men
• snoring is an example of this disorder

Question 17

What is night terrors?

Answer 17

• high arousal and appearance of being terrified
• tends to be in childhood and adolescence

Question 18

What is sleepwalking and sleeptalking?

Answer 18

• they are NOT in REM sleep
• in deep sleep typically

Question 19

What are dreams?

Answer 19

• a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind
• happen during REM

Question 20

What is manifest content?

Answer 20

• the remembered story line of a dream (as distinct from its latent, or hidden, content)
• freud said its the royal road to our subconscious

Question 21

what is latent content?

Answer 21

• the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content

Question 22

What do we dream?

Answer 22

• We usually dream of ordinary events and everyday experiences, most involving some anxiety or misfortune