Stages of Sleep and Major Sleep Disorders - Essay Example

Introduction to Psychology The science of he mind and behavior is called psychology. It seeks to explain the physiological and neurobiological processes underlying behaviours and physical and mental functions benefit the society using its findings. Stages of sleep and major sleep disorders. According to Zimbardo and Gerrig (2010), the sleep cycle has different stages each with a different EEG pattern. In stage one, the brain waves as shown by EEG are 3-7 cups. In stage two, sleep spindles are recorded by the EEG. There are minute bursts of 12-16 cups. Stages three and four are stages of deep relaxed sleep. The EEG records reduced brain waves of about 1-2 cups. There is a decrease in breathing and heart rate. At the final stage/paradoxical sleep, the EEG recordings increase as those of stage 1 and 2 due to increased brain activity. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is experienced here. The EEG pattern is like that of a person who is awake. Generally, there is deeper sleep in the early cycles but in the later cycles there is more time in the REM. Sleep disorders result in distorted sleep which can affect a person’s live and career. It reduces the optimal functioning of a person and increases the chances of accidents during work. They result from psychological, biological and environmental factors. Insomnia: This refers to a condition of unsatisfactory quantity or quality of sleep. Continued lack of satisfactory sleep leads to inability to sleep on time, arousals during sleep, early awakening. Sleep Apnea: This affects the upper respiratory system. There is a stop in breathing during sleep hence emergency hormones are secreted causing the person to awake so as to breath (Gray, 2010). Narcolepsy: The person affected experiences periodic sleep during the day. When they sleep, they enter REM sleep immediately so they experience vivid dream images and terrifying hallucinations. Muscle weakness or lack of muscle control can be experienced under emotional excitement causing the person to suddenly fall. This causes negative psychological and social impact. Somnambulism/sleepwalking: While asleep, the person leaves their beds and walk around. It is associated with NREM sleep. Language acquisition Children learn both spoken and gestural languages. A child can be said to have fully acquired language when they have reached a stage of being able to analyze and recognize the units of sound and the meaning of that language. They should also be able to organize sounds into words and derive meaningful sentences from these words and participate actively in coherent conversations. The first step in language acquisition is developing the capacity to perceive speech and words. The child should perceive repeated sound patterns (words) in a speech. At this stage, child is able to distinguish general buzzing around them and sounds relevant for communication Zimbardo and Gerrig (2010). The child can differentiate sounds that are meaningful in that language. This usually happens in the ages of 6 to 7.5 months on average. However, children evidence perception of single special words at around 4.5 months. At this age, they exhibit a preference for their own names. The infant turns their head towards the source of meaningful sound and change when the source direction is changes. The child can now relate words and experiences. In the case of sign language, the child should be able to notice and understand changes in hand positions. The second big step is learning word meanings. Children start acquiring new vocabulary mainly names of objects. This increases so much from 18 months of age also called ‘name explosion’. By six years of age, a child can comprehend 1,400 words on average. For this to happen, the child develops hypotheses for the meaning of each new word. They then overextend these words to cover refer to different objects like chick to refer to all birds. Later on they learn how to use a word in different contexts and continue getting new meanings fro all new words (Windholz, 1997). Acquisition of grammar is the third important stage. The child acquires the rules applied when combining meaningful units into larger meaningful units. As time goes, the child learns grammatical rules for different languages apart from their first language. Social development in children: attachment, costs of deprivation, and gender roles Temperament forms the basis of social development. These are biological-determined levels of emotional and behavioral responses to physical and social stimulation. Children begin socializing from different levels of temperament and social development depends on whether these temperaments are inhibited or not. According to Gray (2010), infants can be classified as ‘born bold/uninhibited’ or ‘born shy/inhibited’. The bold babies have less fears for new situations, are sociable and spontaneous while the shy babies are always fearful and cautious when they meet unfamiliar people. Until the age of four months, children with inhibited and uninhibited temperaments behave differently and this continues as they grow. At the age of two years, a lot of fear is portrayed by those children who are inhibited and least fear portrayed by the uninhibited group. When 4 years old, ease of interacting with unfamiliar children is noted among the uninhibited children as opposed to the inhibited children. These trends lessen or progress as they grow but never shift completely. Prior and Glaser (2006) reveal that children get attached to sensitive and responsive parents or care givers. As the mother or care giver responds well to the child’s social interactions, a strong socio-emotional relationship forms. The child uses this relationship as a survival tactic, for example, feeding and protection. This attachment leads to the child developing internal working models through reference to their interaction with the caregiver. This internal model directs the child’s thoughts, perceptions emotions and expectations in later relationships. The attachment can either be secure, insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant. If by the age of 15 months the child is securely attached, the child becomes more social and popular in school than those who are insecurely attached especially at age 8-9. This attachment determines how the child seeks and accepts relationships with other people. The loss of attachment especially at early stages can lead to psychological damage as a cost of deprivation. This will impact negatively on the child’s behavior and personality, for example, the child may experience affectionlessness and even become delinquent. Such a child shows general depression and apathy. The child becomes emotionally withdraw and less sociable. The initial behaviors may evolve so as to increase the infant’s survival. The development of gender roles in children occurs when they discover their gender identity. Initially, boys and girls do the same things but with time, they act differently. They can discover their identity biologically or through socio-cultural factors. This influences their behaviour, preferences and attitude. For example, boys prefer more friends and outdoor play whereas girls had preference for best friends and indoor plays. Boys are welcoming to new entrants during play while girls tend to be jealous. Eriksons Psychosocial Stages According to Gray (2010), Erikson identified eight psychological stages each person must go through in their lifecycle. Each stage has its own conflicts which should be sufficiently resolved so as to enable the individual to cope with conflicts successfully later on in life. However, these conflicts do not disappear completely. The acquisition of a basic sense of trust is the first psychological stage. This trust in the environment is acquired by the child through strong attachment with a caring and providing person, for example, a mother who gives food, love and warmth. On the contrary, a child who does not get basic needs like compassion and food will develop insecurity, mistrust and anxiety. When the child develops language and the ability to work, it increases their ability to explore and manipulate objects. This leads to development of autonomy. The child becomes capable and worthy. The crisis of self-doubt may develop if the child experiences a lot of criticism and restrictions. Autonomy development can be interfered with by tasks that are beyond the child’s ability. For example, toilet training that comes early or is too severe may interfere with child development. Towards end of preschool the child develops the ability to initiate activities. These are intellectual and motor activities. The parents’ response to these self-initiated actions is very important. The child can be encouraged to develop self-confidence and a sense of freedom or develop feelings of guilt and an intruder. The child then proceeds to systematic development of competencies after solving earlier crises of life. The child puts efforts to activities like sports and learning with an aim of developing competency. Inferiority is experienced by those who spectate instead of acting. This group cannot meet demands later in life (Zimbardo and Gerrig, 2010). The sense of identity is developed at adolescence. The person is able to recognize their roles in the social world. The adolescent has a sense of coherent self. Inability to do this leads to role confusion. Young adults can either experience intimacy or isolation. The intimate ones can make responsible moral, emotional and sexual commitments to others. They can develop privacy and independence, sacrifice their preferences and assume responsibility. Gray (2010) explains that in mid adulthood, some people develop a sense of generativity. They can look beyond themselves and spouse into the family, society, future generations and work. Those who are still self-indulgent due to unresolved past crises experience stagnation. They pursue freedom instead of security. The conflict of Ego integrity vs Despair is experience in late adulthood. Ego is experienced by those who were able to resolve earlier life crises. They do not experience regrets when they reflect on their lives; they feel wholesome. For those with unfulfilled aspirations due to unresolved issues, they experience despair. Conclusion The understanding of various branches of psychology is very important. It forms our basis of judgment in regard to how people understand, perceive and act within the world. We also get to know the various factors that can affect the overall development and behaviors of a person, for example, sleep disorders and crises in the psychological stages of development hence intervene appropriately. References Gray,O (2010). Foundations for the study of psychology (6th ed). New York. Worth Publishers. Prior, V and Glaser, D (2006). Understanding Attachment and Attachment Disorders: Theory, Evidence and Practice. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, RCPRTU. London and Philadelphia. Jessica Kingsley Windholz, G (1997). "Ivan P. Pavlov: An overview of his life and psychological work". Journal on American Psychologist (52) pp 941–946. Zimbardo, R and Gerrig. R (2010). Psychology and Life (19th ed). Boston, MA. Allyn and Bacon. Read More