ultradian rhythms Flashcards
name one type of ultradian rhythm
breathing rate
heart rate
sleep cycle
how many stages of sleep are there in the sleep cycle
5 stages of sleep
how l;ong does each stage in the sleep cycle last
90 minutes and repeat throughout the night
how is each stage of the sleep cycle characterised
different levels of brain wave activity recorded by an EEG machine
describe stages 1 and 2 of the sleep cycle
light sleep, person is woken easily
brain produces alpha waves with a high frequency and short amplitude
stage 2 is the same but with random changes in pattern (sleep spindles)
give 2 characteristics of alpha waves
- high frequency
- short amplitude
define sleep spindle
random changes in patterns
describe stages 3 and 4 of the sleep cycle
delta waves present with larger amplitude and lower frequency
deep sleep and hard to wake from
give 2 characteristics of delta waves
- larger amplitude
- lower frequency
describe stage 5 of the sleep cycle
REM (Rapid Eye Movement)
body is paralysed
brain activity speeds up
brain produces theta waves
dreams are most often experienced in REM sleep but may also occur in deep sleep
what does REM stand for
Rapid Eye Movement
in adults what percentage of your sleep is deep sleep
13-23%
as you get older do you require more or less deep sleep
as you get older you require less deep sleep
during deep sleep what 6 things take place
- memories are consolidated
- learning and emotional process
- physical recovery occurs
- blood sugar levels and metabolisms balance out
- the immune system is energized
- the brain detoxifies
why does sleep deprivation occur
when there is a lack of these 6 things during deep sleep (- memories are consolidated
- learning and emotional process
- physical recovery occurs
- blood sugar levels and metabolisms balance out
- the immune system is energized
- the brain detoxifies)
what percentage of an adult’s sleep should be REM sleep
20-25 percent
how much sleep do babies need
16 (out of 24 hours)
what percentage of a babies sleep is in their REM stage
50%
how much sleep in hours do toddlers need
11-14 hours
how much sleep in hours do pre-schoolers need
10-13 hours
how much sleep in hours do school aged children need
9-12 hours
how much sleep in hours do teenagers need
8-10 hours
define validity
the extent to which a test is measuring what it claims to
define highly correlated
when 2 or more variables have a strong relationship
define replicability
a study should produce the same results if repeated exactly either by same researcher or another
define placebo effect
an improvement of symptoms observed despite receiving the non active treatment
evaluate studies conducted in a sleep laboratory
+ replication
+ quantitative data
+ high control of extraneous variables
+ removes effect of noise and temperature
- complicated machinery
(less sleep)
- artificial situation
- small sample size
- EEG doesn’t explain why electrical activity is taking place
