Restoration Theory Of Sleep Flashcards
What did Oswald (1966) believe?
Oswald (1966) believed that we need asleep to allow our body to heal and repair damage sustained during the day
What did Oswald (1966) say about non-REM sleep?
He said non-REM sleep is needed for restoring the body such as allowing for new tissue growth, repair muscle damage and removing waste chemicals
What did Oswald (1966) say about REM sleep?
REM sleep is for replenishing neurotransmitters which keep us alert
What did peter trip (1956) do?
He was a new york DJ who stayed awake for 201 hours
How does Peter Tripp provide evidence for the restoration theory?
The longer he stayed awake, the more difficult the regular tasks he was given became, this was maybe because his brain was not getting the opportunity to replenish his neurotransmitters, which would usually happen in REM sleep
How does Peter Tripp (1956) provide evidence against Oswald (1966) restoration theory?
During non-REM sleep our body is given the opportunity to restore itself from any damage sustained during the day, it can then be assumed that if we don’t sleep, our body would deteriorate, however Peter Tripps body showed no signs of deterioration
How does the rat study provide evidence for the restoration theory?
During the rat study, researchers caused rats physical harm and only allowed some of them to sleep. Results showed that the rats that did sleep healed a lot faster than those who didn’t, possibly because those who slept could repair the damage during non-REM sleep
How does Shapiro et al (1981) provide evidence for the restoration theory?
Researchers studied ultramarathon runners and found they slept longer for 2 days after the ultramarathon, spending more time in nonREM sleep than before. This could be explained by their bodies needing to repair more damage than caused by the ultramarathon
How does Lavie et al (1984) provide evidence against the restoration theory?
20 year old got hit with schrapnel which then prevented him from entering REM sleep, however this did not impact his cognition despite his neurotransmitters were not being replenished and he went on to study law with no issues
Strength of the restoration theory?
- Backed up by evidence (Shapiro, rat study, P. Tripp)
- Explains poorer performance after lack of sleep
- Backed up by real life (babies sleep more)
Weaknesses of Restoration theory?
- Too simplistic
- Resting could be enough to restore the body
- Sleep doesn’t always increase as activity level does
- Brain is very active during sleep so not deal time to repair
