Unit 3/Part 4: Sleep Deprivation

Question 1

What factors influence the amount of sleep we need?

Answer 1

Age, gender, lifestyle, occupation

Question 2

Define sleep deprivation.

Answer 2

Sleep deprivation is not getting the amount of sleep needed, which can involve partial or total loss of sleep.

Question 3

What is sleep an example of and determined by?

Answer 3

Sleep is a circadian rhythm that’s determined by an internal body clock (the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain).

Question 4

What other factors are influenced by this internal body clock?

Answer 4

Levels of arousal, hormone secretions, metabolism, heart rate and body temperature.

Question 5

Wha is the difference between partial sleep deprivation and total sleep deprivation.

Answer 5

Partial sleep deprivation is having some sleep in a 24-hour period but not getting enough to meet your needs. Total sleep deprivation without sleep for an entire 24-hour period, for one night or several.

Question 6

What was the effect of 11 days sleep deprivation on Randy Gardner in terms of physical changes? And psychological?

Answer 6

Randy underwent significant and uncharacteristic mood changes (grumpiness and short-temper), difficulty concentrating and short-term memory problems and delusions. He also experienced hallucinations, disorientation, finger tremors and slurred speech.

Question 7

Why is it difficult to carry out sleep deprivation studies with humans?

Answer 7

Because we can’t link it with possible death because it’s considered inhumane and also illegal to deprive someone of sleep to the point of death.

Question 8

What do sleep deprivation studies with rats reveal?

Answer 8

Showed that those who weren’t allowed to sleep died within 33 days while those who did remained in good health.

Question 9

Name 2 effects of going without sleep for a night.

Answer 9

• cognitive difficulties e.g. Difficulty processing information
• lack of motivation
• clumsiness

Question 10

What is sleep deprivation psychosis? When is it likely to occur?

Answer 10

Depersonalisation, with a loss of sense of identity and increased difficulty with coping with other people and the environment. Most likely to occur after 6 days (nights) of being sleep deprived.

Question 11

Name 3 factors that may contribute to partial sleep deprivation.

Answer 11

• working night shifts
• waking in the night to check emails and text messages
• insomnia

Question 12

Why has partial sleep deprivation been associated with accidents?

Answer 12

Because we’re better at controlled processes than automatic processes while sleep deprived. You perform better on controlled processes when sleep deprived due to it requiring more attention and focus, compared to automatic processes which don’t require a lot of attention or focus. This means less stimulation in the brain and you’re more likely to fall asleep because it’s considered boring.

Question 13

What are some of the effects of sleep deprivation?

Answer 13

Psychological effects:
Cognitive:
- difficulties paying attention and concentrating 
- difficulty processing information 
- difficulty thinking and reasoning; poor decision making
- memory problems 
Affective (feelings):
- mood disturbances
- lack of motivation
- feelings of fatigue
Behavioural:
- slowed performance
- clumsiness
- risk taking behaviour
Note: performance on short, complex, difficult tasks aren't usually affected by sleep deprivation.
Physiological effects:
- slower physical reflexes
- hand tremors
- droopy eyelids
- headaches
Note: there is little change, if any, in heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and body temperature.

Question 14

What are some of the effects of partial sleep deprivation?

Answer 14

• interferes with enjoyment of activities
• poor motor coordination
• emotional issues
• loss of motivation

Question 15

Which physiological effects can you observe in someone that is sleep deprived?

Answer 15

Droopy eyelids, hand tremors and slower physical reflexes.

Question 16

List 3 diseases/conditions that chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to.

Answer 16

• depression
• anxiety disorders
• diabetes
• heartburn
• some forms of cancer

Question 17

Lack of REM sleep may lead to what consequences? List at least 3

Answer 17

Memory problems, mood disturbances and prevention of protein synthesis.

Question 18

Lack of NREM sleep may lead to what consequences? List at least 2.

Answer 18

Growth hormone isn’t released and interference of body replenishment. Keep in mind physiological and psychological processes interact and overlap and the reasons for REM and NREM sleep are still debated. Both stages of sleep are important for psychological and physiological wellbeing.

Question 19

What is sleep debt?

Answer 19

The accumulated amount of sleep loss from insufficient sleep.

Question 20

If you have a sleep debt is it necessary to make up for all the sleep missed?

Answer 20

You don’t need to make up for all the sleep missed, depending on the amount of sleep deprivation, a few more nights of slightly longer sleep than usual may be required.

Question 21

What is REM rebound?

Answer 21

An effect that follows a loss of REM sleep, it entails experiencing a significantly longer amount of REM sleep after being sleep deprived.

Question 22

What is the link between REM rebound and drug withdrawal?

Answer 22

REM rebound for people coming off drugs that prevent or limit REM sleep (such as alcohol, nicotine and antidepressants) can have serious implications. These include more vivid dreams, often nightmares, as they experience more time in REM sleep. These nightmares can be quite distressing.

Question 23

How has research on REM rebound been conducted?

Answer 23

Dement conducted an experiment that discovered REM rebound. For 5 nights he woke participants each time they entered REM sleep, therefore depriving them of REM sleep. When participants were then allowed to have REM sleep on the 6th night, they engaged in much more REM sleep than usual, creating a catchup (rebound) effect.

Question 24

What is microsleep and when is it more likely to occur?

Answer 24

A brief, involuntary period of sleep in the midst of a wakeful activity that can occur due to the amount of sleep deprivation increasing. It’s more likely to occur in the midst of an activity.

Question 25

How does sleep/wake cycle shift during teenage years? Provide 2 main points.

Answer 25

• shifts towards the evening
• a delayed onset of sleep (going to sleep later)
• teens need slightly more sleep to function at their best
• the need for more sleep (9-10 hours sleep per night) than an adult

Question 26

What are 3 factors that can lead to teenagers not getting enough sleep?

Answer 26

• school homework
• part-time jobs
• social activities and family commitments
• electronic devices

Question 27

What is the role of melatonin in the sleep/wake cycle?

Answer 27

Melatonin causes sleepiness in humans, secreted by the pineal gland, a small structure in the brain when it’s dark. Hence why we naturally feel sleepy at night.

Question 28

What’s the role of cortisol in the sleep/wake cycle?

Answer 28

Encourages alertness and is released during the day.

Question 29

What happens to the release of melatonin and cortisol in teenagers with delayed sleep onset?

Answer 29

It’s delayed for up to 2 hours

Question 30

What’s the link between melatonin and light?

Answer 30

Light stops melatonin secretion and therefore prevents sleepiness.

Question 31

What is the hat phenomenon?

Answer 31

After 4 days of no sleep we are likely to experience the hat phenomenon, a feeling of tightening around the head as though a hat that’s too small is being worn.

Question 32

If Madeline were asked to complete some simple tasks and some complex tasks after suffering partial sleep deprivation for seven days, it is likely that she would perform?

Answer 32

Poorly on the simple tasks but well on the complex tasks.

Question 33

Researchers found it difficult to generalise the results of studies on humans which investigate prolonged total sleep deprivation because?

Answer 33

Studying sleep deprivation often depends on convenience sampling.