UNIT 4 AOS1 - SAC 1

Question 1

Define a psychological construct.

Answer 1

Psychological Construct:
Models or explanations ‘constructed’ to describe psychological activities. They are used to help explain and study things believed to exist, but which cannot be directly observed or measured.

Question 2

Explain conciousness.

Answer 2

Consciousness = (our own personal awareness of internal and external environments) is a psychological construct.

• A psychological construct
• Cannot be directly measured.

Because of this researchers must make judgements about consciousness based on indirect measurements including:
~ physiological responses (such as EEG brain recordings)
~ behaviour and psychological state (eg. self-control) and
~ self-reports (eg. what the individual says).

Question 3

Explain states of consciousness.

Answer 3

Consciousness is an experience whereby it changes when we shift our attention, it is often described as being…

Personal, Selective, Continuous and Changing.

Consciousness varies along a continuum with two distinct extremes:

Normal Waking Consciousness
Altered State of Consciousness

Question 4

Define normal waking consciousness (NWC).

Answer 4

Normal Waking Consciousness (NWC) = a state associated with being awake and aware of objects in the external world and of one’s own sensations and existence at any given moment.

Most people spend two thirds of the day in NWC. We shift between different levels but still remain in NWC.

Question 5

Define altered states of consciousness (ASC).

Answer 5

Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) = those that are distinctly different from normal waking consciousness in terms of awareness and experience.

For example, a person may have little awareness of the external environment or be experiencing perceptual distortions i.e. perceptions of time, emotional awareness, self control.

Question 6

Explain types of altered states of consciousness (ASC).

Answer 6

Altered states may be:

Naturally occurring - brought on by themselves without external influence
eg. sleep, daydreaming, fatigue

Induced – purposefully brought on
eg. meditation, hypnosis, drug use

Question 7

Explain sleep (naturally occuring ASC).

Answer 7

Sleep is a naturally occurring altered state of consciousness in which we spend about a third of our life.

Sleep = a reversible behavioural state with the person removed from perceptual experience and unresponsive to the environment.

Reversible – can be awoken again
Removed from perceptual experience – No (or very limited) awareness of sights, sounds, smells

Question 8

List the sleep stages.

Answer 8

Sleep is not a single or static state - instead we cycle through a series of stages of sleep.

There are two main stages of sleep:
- Rapid eye movement (REM)
- Non-rapid eye movement (NREM)

Question 9

Explain measuring physiological responses associated with sleep.

Answer 9

As consciousness is a psychological construct (that cannot be directly measured) physiological responses are often used as a measurement tool.

This is because sleep has different physiological characteristics to being awake.

In addition, both REM and NREM have distinct physiological responses.

= Measurement of physiological responses are considered objective measures (they are a judgement not based on personal feelings or opinions).

Question 10

Define what an Electroencephalograph (EEG) is.

Answer 10

EEG = A device that detects, amplifies and records the electrical activity of the brain (in the form of brainwaves).

EXAM TIP – YOU MUST REFER TO ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY WHEN DISCUSSING THE EEG, EOG AND EMG

Question 11

Outline and explain the brain wave patterns (chart)

Answer 11

Question 12

Explain EEG (Electroencephalograph).

Answer 12

• Brain activity can vary in frequency – number of brain waves per second. High frequency means many brain waves and low frequency means few brain waves per unit of time.
• Brain waves also vary in amplitude – the size of the waves (difference between peaks and troughs). High amplitude means big, tall wave height and low amplitude means small, short wave height.

BETA:
- High frequency & low amplitude
- Normal waking consciousness REM (dream sleep)

ALPHA:
- High frequency (but lower than beta) & low amplitude (but higher than beta)
- Relaxed & calm states in which we are still awake (daydreaming)

THETA:
- Medium frequency and mixed amplitude (high and low waves)
- Lighter NREM sleep (stages 1 and 2) Deep meditative state

DELTA:
- Low frequency & high amplitude
- Deep NREM sleep (stage 3)

Question 13

Explain an Electromyograph (EMG).

Answer 13

M=Muscles

Detects, amplifies and records electrical activity of muscles.

• Electrodes are attached to skin above muscles to be monitored.
• Shows muscular changes associated with different states of consciousness, particularly different sleep stages (eg. in deep sleep there is very little electrical activity in muscles – completely relaxed)

Question 14

Explain an Electro-oculograph (EOG).

Answer 14

O=Optical

Detects, amplifies and records electrical activity in the muscles surrounding the eye.

• Electrodes are attached to muscles that control eye movements. Note the electrodes are surrounding the eye (not on the eyelids or the eyeball!!)
• Shows eye movement changes associated with different stages of sleep – REM & NREM.

EXAM TIP:
- If you say that it measures the movement of the eye you will be wrong! It’s the muscles AROUND the eye, which then indicates presence or absence of movement.

Question 15

What should you say when explaining the EEG, EMG, and EOG.

Answer 15

DARE to remember

Detect
Amplify
Record
Electrical Activity of the….

Brain (EEG)
Muscles (EMG)
Eye Muscles/optical (EOG)

Question 16

Explain subjective reporting.

Answer 16

SUBJECTIVE MEASURES are based on personal interpretation, feelings and opinions.

This means you get rich personal information…but it is more open to biases.
In terms of sleep, subjective measures include:

• SLEEP DIARY in which an individual reveals and records information about their own experience of sleep.
• VIDEO MONITORING what can be observed.

Compared to EEG, EMG, EOG (which are considered objective measures), sleep diaries and video monitoring are more open to personal interpretation.

Question 17

Explain sleep diaries.

Answer 17

Sleep diary = a subjective, self report of sleep/waking time activities.

• May include time to fall asleep, length of sleep, awakenings in the night, diet/activity during the day, medications.
• Used to try and identify patterns of behaviours that may be interfering with sleep.

+ Advantages – valuable insight into an individual’s own experiences (eg. quality of sleep, level of sleepiness) and actions.

• Disadvantages – forget to complete, may not be truthful, open to interpretation.

Question 18

Explain video monitoring.

Answer 18

Video monitoring= Recording of sleep activities to assist with studying sleep (in particular sleep disorders).

• Responses that may be observed include changes in posture and position, breathing problems, nightmare/night terror responses, sleepwalking/talking.
• Considered a subjective measure as more open to personal interpretation

Question 19

List the types associated with sleep-wake patterns.

Answer 19

• Circadian rhythms
• Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
• Melatonin
• Ultradian rhythms

Question 20

Outline a hypnogram (diagram).

Answer 20

Question 21

Explain sleep and biological rhythms.

Answer 21

Sleep follows a naturally occurring biological rhythm.

Biological rhythms are cyclic changes in bodily functions/activities that repeat themselves over time.
- Other biological rhythms include body temperature, blood sugar level, menstrual cycle, alertness.
- All of these rhythms are controlled by inbuilt ‘biological clocks’ in the brain but are also influenced by external environmental factors such as light, noise and diet.

We look at two types of biological rhythms:

Circadian – biological rhythms that follow a 24 hour cycle

Ultradian – biological rhythms that follow a cycle of less than 24 hours

Question 22

Explain the sleep-wake cycle as a circadian rhythm.

Answer 22

A circadian rhythm involves changes in bodily functions/activities that occur as part of a 24 hour cycle.
- The sleep-wake cycle is a circadian rhythm as most adults have a period of wakefulness and a period of sleep that follows a basic 24 hour cycle (eg. Go to bed around 11pm and wake up around 7am).

The sleep wake cycle is controlled by an internal biological clock, but also controlled by external cues (‘zeitgebers’) – in particular light.

Question 23

Explain the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN).

Answer 23

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is our inbuilt biological clock.

• It is a pair of pinhead areas found just above the optic nerves (the point where they cross over taking information from the eyes to the brain).
• The SCN monitors external light levels and uses this information to control the related activities of sleep-wake cycle, body temperature and hormone release (melatonin and cortisol).
• The SCN detects light and then signals to the nearby pineal gland how much melatonin should be released (melatonin is a hormone that makes you feel drowsy).

Question 24

Explain Melatonin.

Answer 24

Low light = Higher melatonin = more sleepy

• This means in low light (nighttime) the SCN signals the pineal gland to produce more melatonin to make us feel sleepy.
• In higher light (daytime) the SCN signals the pineal gland to produce less melatonin to make us less sleepy (and increase cortisol to promote alertness and arousal).

Artificial light (eg. phones) can also interrupt/delay melatonin release.

Moon (darkness) brings on Melatonin

Question 25

Explain the Ultradian Rhythm.

Answer 25

An ultradian rhythm involves changes in bodily functions/activities that occur in a cycle that is less than 24 hours.

• This includes heartbeat, hunger, blinking and sleep cycles.
• In terms of sleep we move between REM and NREM sleep in cycles – these are 90 minutes long and we typically have 4-5 per night.

Question 26

Explain Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (REM).

Answer 26

Active brain & organs in a muscle-paralysed body.

• Known as paradoxical sleep as muscles are completely paralysed but internally the brain and organs are very active. Dreaming occurs.

EEG - beta-like brain waves
EOG - high electrical activity in muscles surrounding the eyes
EMG - little electrical activity in muscles

• Other physiological responses - heart rate and breathing fluctuates. Majority of dreaming.
• Timing - Occurs in longer periods later in night (towards morning). Around 25% sleep in adults.

Question 27

Explain NREM sleep stage 1.

Answer 27

Relatively inactive brain. Light Sleep. Sleep cycle first begins here.

• Hypnic Jerk (involuntarily twitches) due to muscles relaxing.

EEG - brain waves begin to slow
EOG - slow rolling eye movements
EMG - low electrical activity in muscles (but more than REM)

• Decrease in heart rate, body temp and muscle tension.
• Timing – 4-5 % of total sleep. Lasts for only 5 minutes in the first cycle.

Question 28

Explain NREM sleep stage 2.

Answer 28

Relatively inactive brain. Light-moderate sleep.

• Higher arousal threshold that S1 (harder to be woken).

EEG - brain waves slow further: Theta Waves. Sleep Spindles (brief bursts of electrical activity) occur.
EOG - eye movement stops
EMG - low electrical activity in muscles

• Continual decrease in heart rate, body temp and muscle tension.
• Timing – First cycle around 10-25 mins. This increases throughout the night. Eventually is about half of a sleep episode.

Question 29

Explain NREM sleep stage 3.

Answer 29

Relatively inactive brain. Deep Sleep

• Highest arousal threshold (difficult to wake, groggy if woken).

EGG - Slow Wave Sleep: Delta waves
EOG - no eye movements
EMG - low electrical activity in muscles

• Heart rate and body temp at the lowest. Muscles completely relaxed and we barely move.
• Timing – 10-15% total sleep time.

Question 30

Define a hypnograph.

Answer 30

A sleep graph that shows the timing of ultradian sleep cycles (REM and NREM) over the sleep period.

Question 31

Explain reasons for sleep.

Answer 31

NREM sleep plays an important role in helping the body repair tissues, build bone and muscle, and strengthen its immune system.

REM sleep allows your brain to process new learnings and motor skills from the day, committing some to memory, maintaining others, and deciding which ones to delete.

Question 32

Summarise sleep over the lifespan.

Answer 32

Newborn:
- 14-17 hours
- NREM = 50%
- REM = 50%

Child:
- 10-12 hours
- NREM = 75%
- REM = 25%

Adolescent:
- 9 hours
- NREM = 80%
- REM = 20%

Adult:
- 7-8 hours
- NREM = 80% (less in deep sleep)
- REM = 20%

Elderly:
- 6-7 hours
- NREM = 80% (less, if any, in deep sleep)
- REM = 20%

Question 33

Explain the key points of sleep over the lifespan.

Answer 33

• The total amount of sleep decreases as we age.
• The percentage of REM sleep decreases as we age.
• Adolescents typically do not get the required amount of sleep (due to sleep-wake cycle shift they don’t feel tired until later in evening and lifestyle factors).
• Elderly people spend more time in lighter sleep (NREM 1 & 2) with deeper sleep (NREM 3) eventually disappearing. They also have much more frequent awakenings. Opposite to adolescents they often feel tired earlier in the evening. Harder time falling asleep and staying asleep.

Question 34

Define sleep deprivation.

Answer 34

Sleep deprivation: a state caused by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep (either voluntarily or involuntarily).

Question 35

Define partial sleep deprivation.

Answer 35

Partial Sleep Deprivation: Less than required amount of sleep (or poor quality of sleep). This may occur periodically or persistently over the short or long term.

Question 36

Define total sleep deprivation.

Answer 36

Total Sleep Deprivation: Involves not having any sleep at all over a short or long period. (can be from one day to weeks).

Question 37

Explain poor quality sleep.

Answer 37

Could be very light sleep or disrupted sleep due to things like:
- Sleepwalking
- Sleep apnoea (breathing disturbance during sleep)
- Not going into deeper NREM sleep
- Sleep medication changing normal sleep patterns

Question 38

List the causes of sleep deprivation.

Answer 38

• Lifestyle factors (work/study/gaming/social)
• Sleep disorder (insomnia, sleep apnoea, circadian phase disorder)
• Medication
• Stress, rumination
• Physical pain
• Outside noise/light

Question 39

List the impacts of partial sleep deprivation.

Answer 39

• Affective
• Behavioural
• Cognitive

Question 40

Explain affective.

Answer 40

Affective = changes in emotional state and functioning.

• In particular partial sleep deprivation tends to lead to quicker and more intense or exaggerated emotional responses.
• Eg. snapping at others, emotional outbursts, less empathy, overact to small events, more aggressive impulses.

Question 41

Explain behavioural.

Answer 41

Changes in actions and way we function. These behaviours are typically observable by others.

• Physical changes– yawning, rubbing eyes, shaking hands
• Increased risk taking
• Reduced motor and hand-eye coordination
• Eating more
• Can also experience microsleeps – a brief period of sleep (1-10 seconds) in which the person typically has eyes open but a fixed gaze and doesn’t blink.

Question 42

Explain cognitive.

Answer 42

Refers to changing in thinking processes

• Lapses in attention (selective and divided)
• Poorer decision making and problem solving ability
• Impaired learning and memory ability
• Difficulty completing automatic processes (but less impairment on controlled processes)
• Illogical or irrational thinking

Question 43

Define sleep debt.

Answer 43

Sleep debt is the accumulated amount of sleep loss from insufficient sleep.

Question 44

Explain sleep deprivation v BAC.

Answer 44

17 hours wakefulness is comparable to BAC of 0.05

24 hours wakefulness is comparable to BAC of 0.10

Question 45

List the cognitive effects.

Answer 45

• Cognition – logical reasoning and complex thought
• Concentration – wandering mind and lack of attention.
• Alcohol is a DEPRESSANT drug that slows down the nervous system. In doing so, it decreases alertness, reflexes, hand eye coordination and decision-making ability.

Question 46

List the affective effects.

Answer 46

Influences on mood:
- Generally, sleep deprivation results in a negative mood (irritability, short-tempered).
- Alcohol consumption results in either a negative or positive mood.
- Our overall mood influences our conscious experience by either enhancing or impairing concentration or cognitive performance.

Influenced by mood:
- Our mood can influence how likely we are to drink, what we drink and the amount we drink.
- Likewise our mood can influence sleep deprivation, when we go to sleep, difficulties falling asleep.

Question 47

Define circadian phase disorders.

Answer 47

A group of sleep disorders involving a mismatch between the actual and desired sleep-wake pattern.

• This results in less sleep or sleep at less preferable or inappropriate times.

Question 48

List the types of circadian phase disorders.

Answer 48

• Delayed sleep phase disorder
• Advanced sleep phase disorder
• Shift work disorder

Question 49

Explain a delayed sleep phase syndrome.

Answer 49

Delay in sleep onset resulting in going to sleep later and wanting to wake up later (compared to typical sleep patterns).

• Onset of sleep may be delayed by 2-3 hours. Eg. Instead of going to sleep at 11pm and waking up at 7am there is a shift to going to bed at 2am and wanting to wake up at 9am.
• The most common circadian phase disorder
• Typical symptoms are sleep-onset insomnia (difficulty getting to sleep at desired time), difficulty awakening at standard time and excessive sleepiness.
• A person with DSPS cannot easily change their sleep pattern
• Most common in adolescents, with around 7-16% experiencing DSPS
• Can result in ongoing partial sleep deprivation if a person is unable to wake up later in the morning.

Question 50

List the causes of delayed sleep phase syndrome in adolescents.

Answer 50

Internal biological- due to puberty there is a hormonally induced shift of the body clock with melatonin not being released until 1-2 hours later than childhood (seems to come to a sudden change at age 20).

Internal psychological – rumination (repeatedly thinking and worrying about things).

External - social factors – work, study and social commitments, social media, gaming.

Question 51

List the effects of adolescent sleep wake shift.

Answer 51

Daytime fatigue, impaired cognitive functioning, moodiness, lack of motivation, poorer memory formation.

Question 52

List the interventions to minimize effects of adolescent sleep wake shift.

Answer 52

• Bright light therapy (exposure to bright light in morning and avoiding exposure to light before sleep).
• Consistent sleep schedules and routines.
• Good sleep hygiene – no stimulants after lunch, no exercise before bed, use bed for sleep only.

Question 53

Explain advanced sleep phase syndrome.

Answer 53

Early sleep onset resulting in going to sleep earlier and waking up earlier (compared to typical sleep patterns).

• Onset of sleep may be advanced by 2-3 hours. Eg. Going to bed between 6 and 8pm and waking up between 1 and 3am.
• Typical symptoms are extreme tiredness in evening, early sleep onset, awakening early, tiredness during the day.
• A person with ASPS cannot easily change their sleep pattern.
• Most common in older people, with around 1% of population.
• Possible causes – age related deterioration of the biological clock, reduction in melatonin, decreased exposure to light in early afternoon/evening.

Question 54

Define shift work.

Answer 54

Shift work – involves employment outside normal 9 – 5 work day (evening, night or early morning shifts) which disrupts natural circadian rhythms and the sleep-wake cycle.

Question 55

List the impacts of shift work.

Answer 55

• Sleepiness while working at night (safety concerns)
• Partial sleep deprivation and accumulation of sleep debt
• Insomnia when trying to sleep
• Excessive sleepiness when awake
• Increased risk of mood swings and mental health problems and physical illness (eg. cardiovascular disease, diabetes)
• Takes about 10 days for body to adjust after night shifts

Question 56

List the interventions to minimise the impacts of shift work.

Answer 56

• Shift friendly rosters – consistent hours (fixed schedules)
• Bright light conditions in workplace during shift (to reduce melatonin & increase cortisol)
• Low light conditions after leaving shift and at home (to increase melatonin)
• If rotating shifts – use longer rotations (eg. 3 week minimum) & make shift changes with a later start time (not earlier).

Question 57

Explain bright light therapy.

Answer 57

Bright light therapy involves exposure to intense, but safe, amounts of light at regular patterns to shift an individual’s sleep-wake cycle to a desired schedule.

• A light box, which emits a strong artificial light, is usually used.
• The individual uses the box at home on a regular basis at the optimal time for increasing alertness and waking up.
• The light is transmitted to the SCN, which will then decrease melatonin and increase cortisol levels.
• The aim is to gradually change the sleep-wake cycle to the desired schedule.

Question 58

List the important variables that influence the effects of bright light therapy.

Answer 58

BLT

1. At the Best/right time of the day
2. Using the right Light intensity
3. For the right amount of Time

Question 59

Explain bright light therapy’s effect on each sleep phase disorder.

Answer 59

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder:
- To correct a persistent delayed sleep phase, light exposure generally takes place during the early morning hours (e.g. between 6–8  am) to help advance the circadian rhythm to an earlier time (i.e. shift the phase forward) so that the person will be sleepier earlier and wake up earlier.

Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder:
- To correct a persistent advanced sleep phase, light exposure takes place early at night/in the evening to help delay the circadian rhythm to a later time (i.e. shift the phase backward) so that the person will be sleepier later and wake up later.

Shift work sleep disorder:
- In general, using light treatment in the evening can help someone who regularly works nights.
- Correcting a shift work sleep disorder is particularly difficult because the required work schedules, days off and social activities can alter exposure to light from day to day making it hard to reset the biological clock.

Question 60

Define improving sleep hygiene.

Answer 60

Practices that improve and maintain good sleep at night and full daytime alertness.

Question 61

List what improves sleep hygiene.

Answer 61

• Establish regular sleep onset and wake schedules – get your circadian rhythm regular!
• Minimise exposure to light before bed and flood yourself with light in the morning
• Associate your bed and bedroom with sleep
• Avoid stimulating activities (such as vigorous exercise) before bed
• Avoid napping during the day
• Avoid stimulants too close to bedtime
• Improve your sleeping environment – clean, dark, quiet, right temperature (around 17-19 degrees)
• Establish a wind-down bedtime routine

Question 62

Define zeitgebers.

Answer 62

Environmental time cues that provide signals to the brain (SCN) to regulate the body’s circadian rhythms.

Question 63

Explain other zeitgebers.

Answer 63

These include clocks, alarms, school bells, timetables, workplace routines, eating and drinking patterns, social routines, newsfeeds and notifications, the noise of the weekly garbage truck activity, exercise routines, medications, temperature.

When the SCN adjusts the sleep-wake cycle to match the external zeitgebers it is said to be entrained (the process of becoming part of something).

Question 64

Explain light as a zeitgeber.

Answer 64

• Light can affect sleep both directly (making it difficult to fall asleep) and indirectly (by influencing the timing of SCN activity and therefore our sleep onset.
• Virtually all types of light can affect sleep - but we focus here on Daylight and Blue Light.

DAYLIGHT
Exposure to sunlight helps ensure that we are awake during the day and asleep at night. We are synchronized to sunrise and sunset.

BLUE LIGHT: light on the visible light spectrum with short wavelengths. The sun is actually the main source of blue light.
- Blue light is also emitted through devices such as LED lighting and screens including computers, mobile phones, TV and video game devices.
- When this happens before bed the body is getting conflicting information

Question 65

Explain temperature as a zeitgeber.

Answer 65

1. Core body temp starts to drop about 2 hours before falling asleep, coinciding with the release of melatonin.
2. Air temperature, which also decreases as the sun goes down, can be a zeitgeber (cue) to help the body get ready for sleep.
3. As well as being dark, a bedroom should be cool to promote sleep and get better quality sleep. 18 degrees is suggested as the ideal temp but this is also subjective.

Question 66

Explain eating and drinking habits as a zeitgeber.

Answer 66

• Sleep-wake patterns can be influenced by WHAT you eat and drink and WHEN you eat and drink.
• In general, the circadian rhythm prepares the body to be efficient at digesting food during the day when we are more active.

TOP TIPS:
- Maintain a relatively stable eating and drinking pattern
- Eat during the day and avoid food 3-4 hours before bed (particularly sugary foods)
- Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon and evening (it takes about 4-6 hours for the body to break down caffeine)
- Alcohol can lead to the onset of sleep but typically impairs sleep quality, particularly in the second part of the night