Unit 4 AOS1 Flashcards
Consciousness
Level of awareness an individual has over their thoughts, feelings, perceptions and existence.
What are the 2 different types of Consciousness?
- Normal Waking Consciousness.
- Altered State of Consciousness.
Normal waking consciousness
An individual is awake and aware of thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
eg. Awake.
Altered state of consciousness.
Characteristically different from normal waking consciousness in terms of awareness, thoughts and feelings.
Induced: Occurs due to a purposeful action or aid. eg. drunk + hallucination.
Naturally: Occurs without intervention. eg. Sleep + Daydreaming.
Consciousness continuum
Visual representation of consciousness, progressing from lower levels to higher levels of awareness.
What is Sleep?
Regular and naturally occurring altered states of consciousness involving loss of awareness and disengagement with external and internal stimuli.
What are the 2 different types of sleep?
Rapid Eye Movement - REM
Non-Rapid Eye Movement - NREM
Psychological construct
Phenomena that is believed to exist, but can’t be directly measured.
REM
Rapid eye movement.
High levels of brain activity and low levels of physical activity.
NREM
Non-Rapid eye movement.
Lack of eye movement is divided into 3 different Stages: NREM 1, NREM 2, and NREM 3.
NREM 1
- Light sleep
- Hypnagogic stage; hypnic jerks.
- Easily woken.
- Hear faint sounds; loses awareness of themselves and their surroundings.
NREM 2
- Truly asleep.
- Relatively light sleep –> brainwaves occurring.
- Most of the time asleep.
NREM 3
- Deep sleep.
- Difficult to wake; disoriented.
- Most likely to experience sleep walking and talking.
Sleep episode
Full duration of time asleep
Made up of multiple repeated cycles of REM and NREM sleep.
Sleep Cycle
An approximately 90-minute period that repeats during a sleep episode in which an individual progresses through the REM and NREM stages of sleep.
Electroencephalograph (EEG)
- Detects, amplifies and records brain activity –> brainwaves.
- When neurons communicate this device can detect impulses.
- Cords are attached to a person’s head.
High Frequency and Low amplitude in REM
Frequency
No. of brain waves that occur per second.
Amplitude
Intensity + height of brain waves.
The types of brainwaves
Beta
Alph
Theta
Delta
Beta
High frequency and low amplitude.
Alph
High frequency (lower than beta) and low amplitude (higher than beta).
Theta
Medium frequency and Medium-high amplitude.
Delta
Low frequency and high amplitude.
Electromyograph (EMG)
- Detects, amplifies and records the electrical activity of the body muscles.
- Attached to the skin above the muscles.
DURING REM: low activity; low levels of physiological activity.
DURING NREM: medium/moderate activity; some physiological activity.
Electro-oculograph (EOG)
- Detects, amplifies and records the electrical activity of muscles responsible for eye movement.
- Attached to the skin above eye muscles.
DURING REM: Rapid eye movement; high activity.
DURING NREM: No rapid eye movement; low activity.
Sleep diaries
- Self-reported descriptions of an individual’s own sleeping periods.
Records the: - Duration.
- Quality.
- Thoughts + Feelings before and after going to sleep.
- Behaviours before and after going to sleep.
- No. of times sleep was disrupted.
Video Monitoring
- Use of cameras and audio technologies to record an individual’s sleep.
Records: - Sleep-walking.
- Movements + activities.
- Useful for individuals with sleeping disorders to monitor behaviours.
- Validity for a phenomenon.
- Subjective.
Biological rhythms
Repeated Biological processes that are regulated by internal mechanisms.
- Circadian + Ultradian.
Circadian Rhythm
24-hour repeated cycle, transitioning between being sleep and awake, controlled by the SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) in response to external (changes in light - release in melatonin) and internal (genes on/off) stimuli.
Sleep-wake cycle.
A 24-hour cycle that makes up the time asleep and time spent awake + alert.
Ultradian Rhythm
Biological and behavioural changes that occur in a cycle and lasts less than 24-hours.
The Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
Area of the hypothalamus that is responsible for regulating an individual’s sleep-wake patterns.
- Receives information from both external and internal environments.
EXTERNAL: information from the environment; absence/presence of light.
INTERNAL: Originates in the body.
How do we fall asleep?
Information from our environmental cues dictates the messages the SCN sends to the pineal gland, which is responsible for the production and release of melatonin.
What is melatonin?
Hormones released by the pineal gland typically at night time to induce sleep as part of the sleep-wake cycle.
Makes an individual feel more calm and relaxed.
SCN regulates the sleep-wake cycle
- SCN retrieves external + internal cues.
- SCN sends neural messages to the pineal gland to produce and release melatonin.
- Pineal gland releases melatonin into the bloodstream, promoting a feeling of calm and relaxation, therefore promoting sleep.
- wake up due to the release of cortisol (adrenal gland) in the morning, therefore feeling more alert.
NEWBORN 1-15 days.
16 hours
50% REM 50% NREM
REM sleep is significantly high as they are experiencing rapid brain development.
INFANCY 3-24 months.
13.5 hours
35% REM 65% NREM
REM sleep is significantly high as they are experiencing rapid brain development.
CHILDHOOD 2-14 years
11 hours
Approx 20% REM 80% NREM
Time spent in REM starts to reduce as the pace of brain development settles.
ADOLESCENCE 14-18 years
9 hours
20% REM 80% NREM
Sleep patterns can change due to many social factors, therefore decreasing the amount of sleep an individual may have. Such as having to wake up early for school.
Biological clocks may not be in line with the demands of their environment.
ADULTHOOD
18-30 years
30-75 years
Young: 7.75 hours
Middle: 7-8 hours
20% REM 80% NREM
Both are fairly constant.
20% REM 80% REM
Low levels of sleep occur due to health problems, sleeping disorders and the reduced amount of cognitive and physical growth.
OLD AGE 65+ years
6 hours
20% REM 80% NREM
Low levels of sleep occur due to health problems, sleeping disorders and the reduced amount of cognitive and physical growth.
Inadequate amounts of sleep due to:
- poor sleep habits.
- hormonal changes –> less/more dopamine.
- exposure to blue light –> less dopamine.
- busy schedules
The proportion of NREM AND REM sleep…
REM decreases over time.
What is sleep deprivation?
Insufficient sleep a person needs for their age. Poor quality/quantity.
Total sleep deprivation: No sleep within a 24-hour period.
Partial sleep deprivation: Sleeps for some duration within 24 hours but sleep duration is short or poor quality of sleep.
Effects of sleep deprivation.
Affective: change in mood or emotions. eg. snapping at others.
Behavioural: change in observable actions and the way we function. eg. physical changes.
Cognitive: changes in thinking processes. eg. lapses in attention.
Poor quality of sleep
- Sleepwalking
- Sleep apnoea (trouble breathing when sleeping)
- Medication changing sleep patterns.
Caused by: - Lifestyle factors.
- Sleep disorders.
- Pain.
How does sleep deprivation impact you?
- Lowered awareness (Cognitive)
- Affected judgement (Cognitive)
- Enhanced emotions (Affective)
- Clumsy (Behavioural)
- Reaction times (Cognitive).
Sleep deprivation compared to B.A.C %.
17 hours sleep deprived = effects of 0.05% BAC.
24 hours (totally sleep deprived) = 0.1% BAC.
Sleep disorders
disturbances to typical sleeping and waking patterns.
Circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
sleep disorders that interfere with the typical regulation of the circadian rhythm of sleep, leading to a change in the sleep-wake cycle.
-Delayed Sleep phase syndrome.
- Advanced sleep phase disorder.
- Shiftwork.
Delayed sleep phase syndrome.
Circadian rhythm is delayed 2-3 hours or more, resulting in going to sleep later and waking up later.
Causes:
- Lifestyle factors.
- Poor sleep patterns.
- Shift-work.
- Jetlag.
- Adolescence.
In adolescents:
Internal Biological, Internal psychological and External
INTERNAL BIO: Puberty; hormonally induced shift of the body clock with melatonin not being released 1-2hrs later than in childhood.
INTERNAL PSYCH: Rumination; repeatedly thinking and worrying about things.
EXTERNAL: Social factors. eg. work.
Adolescent sleep-wake shift.
Delayed
Both sleep time and wake time are delayed (naturally occurring release). Go to be late - late melatonin release.
Advanced sleep phase disorder.
Extreme tiredness in the evening. Sleep and waking occur earlier than usual.
Caused by:
- Life style factors.
- Genetics
- Shift work.
- Jetlag.
- Oldage –> reduction in melatonin, decreased exposure to light in early afternoon.
Shift-work.
Makes it more likely to develop a disorder.
The disorder would be not doing to sleep when your body tells you to.
Shift-work employment outside of a. normal work day. Working overnight.
People are forced to stay awake when their circadian rhythm indicates that they would be sleeping.
Shift-work impacts.
- Sleepiness at work (safety concerns).
- Partial sleep deprivation.
- Insomnia.
- Mood swings.
- 10 days to recover/adjust after night shifts.
Shift-work interverntion.
- Consistent hours.
- Bright light workplace conditions.
- Low light conditions after leaving shift and at home.
Bright light therapy.
Treatment for circadian rhythm disorders.
- Regular exposure to an intense but safe amount of light at regular patterns to shift an individual’s sleep-wake cycle to a desired schedule.
- Lightbox. Light is transmitted to SCN, therefore melatonin decreases and cortisol levels increase.
Use:
Advanced: the afternoon.
Delayed: the morning.
Consists of:
- exposed to 10,000 LUX.
Sleep Hygiene
The practices and habits that promote an individual’s sleep patterns.
How to improve sleep hygiene
- Establish regular sleep onset and wake schedules.
- Minisime exposure to light before bed and maximise exposure to light in the morning.
- Associate the bed and bedroom with sleep.
- Avoid stimulating activities before bed such as exercise.
- Avoid napping.
- Improve sleep environment.
- Bedtime routine.
Zeitgebers
Environmental time cues provide signals to the brain (SCN) to regulate the body’s circadian.
They include:
- Light.
- Eating/drinking.
- Exercise routines.
- Temperature.
Daylight - Zeitgebers
Exposure to the sunlight ensures we are awake during the day and asleep at night.
Blue light - Zeitgebers
Provides light exposure before bed, delaying the release of melatonin.
Temperature - Zeitgebers
External air temp
When the sun drops so does the temperature. 16% ideal.
Body core temp.
24-hour circadian rhythm, falling during the night and rising during the early morning.
When melatonin is released 2 hours before sleep your body’s temperature starts to drop and continues to fall during the night, reaching a low point in the early morning, then gradually increasing.
Eating + Drinking Patterns - Zeitgebers
- Sleep-wake is influenced by what and when you eat.
- Circadian rhythm prepares the body to be efficient at digesting food during the day when we are more active.
- Maintain a relatively stable eating + drinking pattern.
- Eat food during the day and avoid eating food 3-4 hours before bed.
- Avoid caffeine late afternoon.
