Psychology Video: Teenagers and Sleep

Current Research in Psychology

Sleep Deprivation in TeensLack of sleep affects both the mind and the body. Sleep deprivation can produce mental states of fatigue, drowsiness, and irritability. In addition, lack of sleep can contribute to physical symptoms such as weight gain, heart disease, and other symptoms and ailments. Teenagers who do not get enough sleep can also develop these problems.• Studies show a link

between lack of sleep and increased rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.

• Teenagers need 9.2 hours of sleep a night.

• Many high school students get less than 9.2 hours of sleep a night.

• Lack of adequate sleep puts teenagers at risk for weight gain, poor school performance, car accidents, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse.

• Starting school later might be one possible solution to insufficient sleep by teenagers.

Sleep and Dreams

• The sleep cycle is made up of four stages of sleep and REM sleep.

• Sleeping and dreaming are essential to human health

• Sleep serves important physical and psychological needs.

• Some people are troubled by various sleep problems; common sleep problems include: insomnia, nightmares, night terrors, sleepwalking, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy.

Essential Question: Why do humans sleep and what are common sleep problems?

STAGES of SLEEP Awake & Alert – beta waves (short & quick) Laying Down to Sleep – alpha waves, feel like we are

falling or experience visual images Stage 1 – lightest sleep, move from alpha

waves to slower theta waves Stage 2 – if we aren’t awakened Stage 3– deep sleep, brain produces delta

waves Stage 4 – deepest sleep, really hard to wake

upafter half hour in stage 4, go back to 3, 2, 1 and then REM = 90 min.

REM – breath more irregularly, blood pressure rises, heart beats faster, eyes move rapidly

NREMour eyes

don’t move as much as

REM

The Sleep Cycle

• Much of how people, animals, and plants function is governed by circadian rhythms, or biological clocks.

• Circadian rhythms in humans include a sequence of bodily changes that occurs every 24 hours.

• The most studied circadian rhythm is the sleep-wake cycle.

• Sleep stages are described in terms of brain-wave patterns.

• There are five stages of sleep.• Stage 1 is the lightest stage of

sleep.• Stage 4 is the stage of deepest

sleep.

The Stages of Sleep• After about 30 minutes of

stage 4 sleep, we return to stage 3, then stage 2, and then stage 1 sleep.

• This takes about 90 minutes. • Then another stage of sleep

begins. It is called rapid-eye-movement sleep, or REM sleep. Beneath the closed lids, the eyes move rapidly.

REM Sleep

The Importance of Sleep and Dreams• People need sleep to revive the tired body and build up

resistance to infection.• Sleep may help people recover from stress and consolidate

memories.• REM sleep seems to help animals and people learn,

remember, and retain information.

• REM sleep is when we have the most vivid dreams.

• People dream in color and in black and white.

• People seem to dream in “real time.”

• People do not always remember their dreams.

Dreams• Sigmund Freud theorized that

dreams reflect a person’s unconscious wishes and urges.

• He also believed people dream in symbols as a way to deal with painful material they cannot otherwise deal with consciously.

The Freudian View

The Importance of Sleep and Dreams-cont

The Biopsychological Approach

• Some psychologists believe that dreams begin with biological, not psychological, activity.

– According to this view, neurons fire during sleep. The neurons fire in the part of the brain that controls movement and vision. The brain tries to make sense of them by dreaming.

NOVA: Why do we sleep?

Essential Question: Why do humans sleep and what are common sleep problems? Sleep Deprivation can affect you by…

Irritability Inability to focus eyes Speech difficulty Memory lapses

REM Deprivation can affect you by… Learning more slowly Forget more rapidly Less “exercise” of the brain cells (in adults)

Psychology Video: Dreams

Essential Question: Why do humans sleep and what are common sleep problems?SLEEP PROBLEMS INCLUDE: Insomnia – the inability to sleep Nightmares – caused by a variety of events such as work or

even anxiety/depression, during REM, toward the morning Night Terrors – more severe than nightmares but are seldom

remembered, during stages 3 and 4, shortly after going to sleep

Sleepwalking – roaming about almost nightly during stages of deep sleep, may answer questions, won’t remember anything

Sleep Apnea – breathing interruption (air passages are blocked) that occurs during sleep, includes sitting up and gasping for air, but not totally awake = unaware, feel tired during the day

Narcolepsy – a rare sleep disorder in which people fall asleep no matter what time it is or where they are, into REM sleep, genetic disorder

Sleep Problems

Insomnia• Insomnia is the inability to

sleep.

• The most common type of insomnia is difficulty in falling asleep.

• Many psychologists believe that the best ways to overcome insomnia do not involve medication.

• They recommend using relaxation techniques, establishing regular bedtimes, and using pleasant images to relax.

Nightmares and Night Terrors

• Nightmares are a product of REM sleep.

• People who are anxious or depressed are more likely to have nightmares.

• Night terrors are similar to nightmares but they are more severe.

• Night terrors tend to occur during deep sleep.

Sleep Problems-cont.

Sleepwalking•Many children walk in their sleep.

•Most children outgrow sleepwalking as they mature.Sleep Apnea

•Sleep apnea is a breathing interruption that occurs during sleep.

•About 10 million Americans have sleep apnea.

• Sleep ApneaNarcolepsy•Narcolepsy is a rare sleep problem in which people suddenly fall asleep, no matter what time it is or where they are.

•It is believed to be a genetic disorder of REM-sleep functioning.