Sleep and dreaming Flashcards
Define sleep cycle.
A nightly pattern of deep sleep, like sleep and dreaming
What is REM sleep?
Rapid eye movement, caused by eyes, moving a lot behind the eyelids, often while dreaming
What is NREM sleep?
Non-rapid eye movement sleep (make up the four stages of sleep)
What are the four NREM stages of sleep?
- Sleep onset
- Late night stage
- Pre-deep sleep
- Deep sleep
Define ‘sleep onset’.
-Period between wakefulness and sleep
- Light sleep-can be woken easily
- Muscles less active
- Alpha waves (resting waves)
Define ‘late night stage’.
- Eye movement stops
- Body temp starts to drop
- Heart rate slows
- Mainly theta brain waves and spindles (helps us rest)
Define ‘pre-deep sleep’.
- Slow delta waves
- Hard to be woken up
Define ‘deep sleep’
- Slow delta waves
- Hard to be woken up (if you get woken, you feel disorientated)
- No eye movement
- Sleep walking/night terrors in this stage
What stage does sleep walking/night terrors occur?
Deep sleep
What is sensory blockade?
Sight, sound, touch, taste and smell is blocked
What is movement inhibition?
Happens in REM sleep. Movement is prevented. Also known as sleep paralysis.
What is the average amount of sleep needed for adults and children/ teenagers?
Adults - 7 hours
Children/teenagers - 9 hours
What is the main function of sleep?
Survival
What is sleep deprivation?
Not having enough sleep. This can affect physical functioning such as weight and brain functioning.
What are the effects of sleep deprivation?
- Cognition (thinking)
- Day-to-day activities like work or driving
- weak immune system
Define ‘circadian rhythm’.
Human body rhythms that have a daily (24 hour) cycle such as the sleep/wake cycle
What is a bodily rhythm?
A biological (internal) rhythm that can happen daily, monthly or annually
What is the sleep/wake cycle?
A daily cycle of biological activity based on a 24 hour period (circadian rhythms) that is influenced by day and night
De if ‘ultradian rhythm’.
A biological rhythm, which is shorter than a day - such as stages of sleep
Define ‘hormones’.
Sleep helps to reset hormones and what we do in our day affects our hormone levels
What are the internal influences on sleep?
- hormones
What are the names of the hormones which affect sleep?
- Adrenocorticotropic (ACTH) hormone
- Melatonin hormone
What is melatonin?
A hormone that signals the need for sleep
What triggers melatonin?
Darkness
What is the pineal gland?
Small gland that is located near the centre of the brain which creates melatonin so as part of the sleep/wake cycle
What is adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
-A hormone released during stress
- There is more ACTH in someone with insomnia
What is the suprachiasmatic nuclei?
Produces melatonin, which triggers the need for sleep.
Give three examples of external influences on sleep.
- Light
- Food
- Stress (environmental)
Define ‘zeitgeibers’.
External cues that regulate the body circadian rhythm
What is entrainment?
When biological rhythms are matched, environmental triggers. For example, circadian rhythms, being set by external cues like light.
Who did the cave study?
Siffre
Name two sleep disorders.
- Insomnia
- Narcolepsy
What is a primary sleep disorder?
The disorder is the problem e.g insomnia
What is a secondary sleep disorder?
The problems with the sleep are symptoms of another disorder e.g depression
How many people are affected by insomnia?
1 in 3
What is insomnia?
Problems with sleeping at night
What is acute insomnia?
Brief periods of problems with sleep
Symptoms on insomnia.
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Laying awake at night
- Waking up though out the night
- Not feeling refreshed on waking
- Unable to concentrate
What is chronic insomnia?
When difficulty with sleep, occurs three or more nights a week, lasting at least three months. This type may need treatment.
What is narcolepsy?
A disorder where person has no control over their sleep-wake cycle
How many people are affected by narcolepsy?
1 in 2000
Symptoms of narcolepsy.
- Excessive daytime sleeping
- Hallucinations and vivid dreams
- Loss of muscle power and tone (cataplexy)
- Sleep paralysis and abnormal REM
Some causes of narcolepsy.
Hypocretin, genes , stress and evolution
What is Freud’s theory of dreaming?
According to Freud, dreams involve symbols that mean something to the dream and need to be analysed by professional to uncover the meaning
What is the conscious mind?
What we are aware of
What is the pre-conscious mind?
What we make ourselves aware of with some thinking
What is the unconscious mind?
Inaccessible parts of our mind that affect our behaviour and feelings (90% of our thinking)
What is repression?
Bury our unacceptable, thoughts, wishes, and desires into unconscious mind. This supports the balance of the ego
Define ‘Id’.
The part of the personality that is demanding, thoughts such as ‘I want..’. Unconscious wishes and desires are held here
Define ‘super ego’.
The part of the personality, that is the conscience, thoughts such as ‘you can’t have that’
Define ‘ego’.
The part of the personality that is the reasoning, and makes decisions to balance the Id and superego’s demands
Define ‘manifest content’.
The part of the dream that the person tells. It is the content = the things you see in dreams
Define ‘latent content’.
The real meaning of the dream, hidden behind the manifest part. It is the latent content that uncovers unconscious thinking and this is what psychoanalysts analyse
Define ‘dreamwork’.
The way the mind keeps unconscious thoughts hidden during dreaming. This is to protect the individual
What is condensation?
Many ideas appear as one in a dream, so the idea needs unpicking
What is displacement?
In a dream, something unimportant seems to be important, shifting attention away from the important thing
What is secondary elaboration?
Using would like to use to build a whole story. The mind will add bits to the dream in order for it to make sense. Just get in the way of understanding the latent content
Who conducted the little hans theory?
Freud
Who created the activation synthesis theory of dreaming?
Hobson and McCarley
Define ‘activation’.
Random thoughts in the brain when in REM sleep
Define ‘synthesis’.
Part of the brain that puts together, the random thought of the dream
