The Psychology of Sleep - Coursework Example

The Psychology of Sleep Name Course Date Contents Contents 2 Abstract 3 Introduction 3 Phases of sleep 4 Importance of sleep 5 It promotes healthy functioning of the brain and emotional wellbeing 5 Sleep promotes physical health 6 Enhancing performance and safety during the day 7 Recommended amounts of sleep 8 Factors influencing sleep 8 The sleeping environment 8 Drugs and medicines 9 Pain due to medical conditions 11 Stress and anxiety 11 Sleep disorders 11 Insomnia 11 This is a disorder of being unable to fall asleep or to remain asleep. This means that a person may be having an opportunity to sleep but he/she cannot and will therefore leave the bed feeling not refreshed. There are two types of insomnia: primary insomnia where the sleep problems are not associated with a health condition but to other factors such as anxiety and stress. Secondary insomnia is where the sleep problems are associated with health conditions such as depression, cancer, asthma, or medications related to these health conditions (Hollister, 2011). 11 Sleep Apnea 12 Restless legs syndrome 13 Reference List 15 Epstein, L. (2007). Caffeine and Sleep. Retrieved from http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/how/external-factors 15 Abstract This report looks deeply into the psychology of sleep. The paper starts by introducing what sleep is and various concepts related to it. The report also discusses the research findings on the importance of sleep which has been found to be on issues such as maintain body health and proper functioning of the brain. However, there is the recommended sleep duration in terms of hours of sleep which all individual of particular age may require. Sleep may however be interrupted by various factors some which are from the body of an individual and others from the sleeping environment. The report also looks at various disorders associated with sleep which make it difficult for some people to sleep comfortably and adequately. Introduction Sleep is a brain function that is controlled by chemicals known as neurotransmitters by acting on the nerve cells of the brain. There are different types of neurotransmitters and are produced by different parts of the brain. They include serotonin and norepinephrine which are produced by the brainstem. These ensure that some parts of the brain are active while a person is awake. Others are produced at the base of the brain when a person falls asleep and they play a role of switching off the neurotransmitters that keep a person awake. Sleep is very important for the health and well being of a person and lack of it, or lack of enough of it, may result in various problems such as inability to make good decisions, inability to learn and accidents among others. However, there also are various problems that make it difficult to sleep such as stress, illness and life pressures among others (Intrater, 2002). This essay looks at various aspects of sleep including various phases of sleep, importance of sleep, causes of sleep problems and factors affecting a person’s sleep among others. Phases of sleep There are five phases that a person passes through during sleep. The first phase is light sleep where a person falls on and off sleep and can be woken up easily. At that stage, the muscle activity in the eyes slows down making the eyes to also move slowly. If a person wakes up at stage one, he/she can be able to remember fragmented images and may experience sudden contractions of the muscles referred to as hypnic myoclonia which starts as sensations of falling. In the second stage, the movements of the eyes stop and the waves in the brain slow down. There are also occasional spurts of rapid waves referred to as sleep spindles. In the third stage, there is presence brain waves known as delta waves which are extremely slow combined with smaller faster waves. By the fourth stage, the brain exclusively produces the extremely slow delta waves. The third and the fourth sates are referred to as deep sleep and it is usually very difficult to awaken someone who is in these stages. There are no eye movements and also no muscle activity. If a person is awakened during these stages of deep sleep, he/she cannot be able to adjust immediately and will for several minutes feel sleepy and unstable. During deep sleep, children may find themselves bedwetting sleeptalking and may also experience night terrors. The last phase of sleep is Rapid Eye Movement (REM) which starts about 80 minutes after a person falls asleep. During this stage, breathing rate increases, it becomes more irregular and rapid. The muscles of the limbs become paralyzed temporarily and the eyes twitch in various directions. The heart rate and the blood pressure increases and men start having penile erections. This is the time when people start having dreams. Much of the sleeping time is spent in stage 1, 2 and Rapid Eye Movement. These phases can however be changed by factors such as food and drugs which affect the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain (American Psychological Association, 2015). Importance of sleep U.S National Institute of Health (2012) explains that sleep is very important for proper health and wellbeing of a person. Enough and quality sleep is essential in maintaining proper mental and physical health as well as ability to observe safety in life. Some of the main reasons as to why sleep is important in the body include: It promotes healthy functioning of the brain and emotional wellbeing When one is asleep, the mind goes through a process known as consolidation where it practices some of the things learned during the day therefore strengthening a person’s memories. When one is sleeping, the brain is usually busy preparing for the following day. It comes up with new ways of learning and assisting in remembering information. Having good and enough sleep at night also improves learning. Dr. Rapoport of NYU Langone Medical Center states that "If you are trying to learn something, whether it’s physical or mental, you learn it to a certain point with practice, but something happens while you sleep that makes you learn it better." Lack of adequate sleep is also attributed to slowing down some brain activities such as decision making, problem solving, ability of a person to control his/her emotions and also inability to cope with change. It is also linked to risky emotions which may lead to suicide, depression and some risky behaviors. When children are wakened up before they had enough sleep, it is usually difficult for them to get along with even their caregivers. They usually look sad, demotivated and may experience changes in mood (U.S National Institute of Health, 2012). Sleep promotes physical health Sleep is important for the health of the heart and kidneys. According to the U.S National Institute of Health (2012),prolonged sleep deficiency increases the risks of diseases such as diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and heart and kidney diseases. Lack of sleep has also been shown to increase chances of becoming obese. A study conducted on teenagers indicated that as more hours of sleep are lost, the risk of becoming obese goes up. Sleep also plays a role of maintaining the balance of ghrelin and leptin hormones on a healthy level. Hormone ghrelin makes one to feel hungry while leptin makes one to feel full. Lack of enough sleep raises the level of ghrelin hormone and lowers the level of leptin. This makes a person to feel more hungry that at normal times (Lindsley, 2004). Sleep also plays a role in body’s reaction to insulin, a hormone that is involved in controlling the amount of glucose/ sugar in blood. Lack of enough sleep makes the body cells to fail to respond to insulin resulting in a lot of circulating glucose in the blood. This increases a person’s risk of diabetes. Others ways in which sleep promotes physical health include promoting growth and development by triggering release of growth hormones by the body and also boosting the immune system (Tremaine, 2009). Enhancing performance and safety during the day Adequate sleep at the right time enables a person to remain functional throughout the day. Lack of enough sleep makes a person to be less productive and slow in work and is also likely to make so many mistakes. It may also lead one into having a “microsleep”, which is defined as short sleep moments that occurs while a person is still awake. These are uncontrollable and one may not be aware of when they occur. These moments can lead one into missing important points for example in a meeting or if attending a lecture. Sleep deficiency may also affect a person’s safety especially for people who drive or who work with machineries. One may fall into the microsleep and loose control of the vehicle or the machine. Research has shown that lack of sleep can affect one’s ability to drive as much as, or even more that alcohol can. Generally, lack of sleep can affect not only the drivers but also cooks, pilots, health workers, and those working in assembly lines. Therefore it may not only affect the safety of an individual, but can also other people related to the person’s job (U.S National Institute of Health, 2012). Recommended amounts of sleep The amount of sleep that a person requires decreases with age although it also differs from one person to another. However, according to U.S National Institute of Health, (2012), the recommended hours of sleep are as follows: Newborns: 16-18 hours a day. Preschoolers: 11-12 hours a day School going children: minimum of 10 hours a day Teenagers: 9-10 hours a day Adults: 7-8 hours a day. People who sleep less hours that their age needs end up having sleep debt. This refers to the hours of lost sleep which usually add up altogether. Such people may experience reduced performance and may lose alertness. On the other hand, excessive sleep, also known as hypersomnia can lead to anxiety, loss of memory and low body energy (Horne, 2001). Factors influencing sleep Various factors may influence the amount, quality and the pattern of sleep. These may be both internal and external factors which in most cases people experiencing sleep problems overlook. These factors include: The sleeping environment Various factors in the environment where one sleeps can affect the quality and quantity of sleep. Things such as noise, temperature and light can make a person to be uneasy making it difficult to achieve the required amount of sleep. To avoid interference from these factors, one should get attuned to them and eliminate those that make him/her uneasy. The effect of light can be minimized by using nightlights. Different people sleep at different temperatures. Some people are unable to sleep in high temperatures while others sleep well when temperatures are low. However, extreme temperatures are known to disrupt sleep especially at the REM stage. A bed mate may also be a factor in the sleep environment that may cause disruption. Some bedmates snore or they may be suffering from “sleep-disordered breathing” and this may be a source of noise (Svorad & Wellnerová, 2010). Drugs and medicines Various chemicals including prescribed and un-prescribed drugs may affect the ability of a person to sleep. These include: Caffeine: this is a stimulant that binds to the adenosine receptors in the central nervous system therefore inhibiting its role in promoting sleep, resulting in long periods of wakefulness. Adenosine receptors function by regulating the release of neurotransmitters by the brain. Caffeine is the most commonly used drug in the world and is naturally found in most plant species such as coffee, cocoa, tea and kola (Epstein, 2007). Alcohol: it affects the process of sleeping especially when taken almost at bedtime. It makes a person start the sleep at the deep sleep stage missing the first, second, third and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stages. When one sleeps having taken alcohols, he/she might wake up from sleep to go urinate and this interferes with sleep as well as causing dehydration in the body. Alcohol also causes a person to snore sometimes too loud. This is because it causes the body muscles to relax and the tissues of the respiratory system to interrupt smooth flow of air (Amira, 2007). Nicotine: this is a stimulant found in tobacco or cigarettes. It causes loss of sleep and withdrawal symptoms such as headache. According to Dr. Epstein (2007), much of a smokers’ sleeping time is spent on the stages of light sleep while for non-smokers, much of the time is spent on deep sleep. Antihistamines: these cause drowsiness by antagonizing the action of histamine. Histamine is a neurotransmitter produced by the central nervous system and they play a role of increasing the amount of time one is awakened therefore preventing sleep. They are contained in several over-the-counter medications (Proctor & Bianchi, 2012). Prescribed drugs such as antidepressants, alpha blockers, and beta blockers. Antidepressants are usually prescribed to those experiencing symptoms of depression. These cause sleep problems by interfering with the brain’s reuptake of serotonin, a neurotransmitter produced in the brain. Beta blockers are prescribed to people suffering high blood pressure and high heart rates. They are associated with sleep problems such as nightmares and remaining awake at night. This is because they prevent the brain from secreting melatonin, a hormone that is involved in regulating sleep and heart rhythms. Alpha-blockers are prescribed to patients suffering from high blood pressure and Raynaud’s disease. They help in relaxing the cardiac muscles and maintain the small blood vessels open. They interfere with the REM stage of sleep and also sleepiness during the day (Proctor & Bianchi, 2012). Pain due to medical conditions Chronic pain due to conditions such ads arthritis and gastroesophageal reflux disease among others can affect sleep. These affect the deep sleep and make a person to keep waking up in between sleep. Stress and anxiety These make individual of all ages to experience sleep difficulties and if they sleep, much of it is only light sleep and very little of deep sleep. This is because bodies are generally programmed to respond to stress and anxiety by remaining awake. With stress and anxiety, it is also difficult for a person to achieve restful sleep (Kelly, 2003). Sleep disorders These are conditions where a person experiences sleeping problems such as too much or too little sleep, feeling sleepy at the wrong times or behaving abnormally during sleep. These disorders include: Insomnia This is a disorder of being unable to fall asleep or to remain asleep. This means that a person may be having an opportunity to sleep but he/she cannot and will therefore leave the bed feeling not refreshed. There are two types of insomnia: primary insomnia where the sleep problems are not associated with a health condition but to other factors such as anxiety and stress. Secondary insomnia is where the sleep problems are associated with health conditions such as depression, cancer, asthma, or medications related to these health conditions (Hollister, 2011). Insomnia is characterized by irritability, inability to concentrate, poor memory, short sleep periods and feeling sleepy during the day. Options for treatment of insomnia include changing the lifestyle, medication and counseling (Meltzer, Phillips & Mindell, 2000). Sleep Apnea This is a sleeping disorder where a person experiences pauses during breathing or a person having shallow, irregular breathing while sleeping. These pauses normally last for about 10 to 20 seconds and can happen for about 100 times during night sleep. This makes a person to spend more time in light sleep stages depriving one of the deep sleep. A person therefore wakes up feeling sleep deprived and may find him/herself wanting to sleep during the day and unable to concentrate in day time activities. There are three types of apnea: obstructive sleep apnea is caused by the relaxing of the soft tissues at the back of throat while a person is sleeping. This causes a blockage of the airways making a person to snore loudly. The other type is the central sleep apnea which occurs due to the failure of the brain to send information to the muscles responsible for controlling breathing. People suffering from this type of apnea rarely snore. The third type of apnea is complex sleep apnea which combines both the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea and those of central sleep apnea (Montagna, 2011). The most common symptoms of sleep apnea are chocking while snoring and sleepiness during the day. Other symptoms include headaches in the morning, inability to concentrate, loss of memory, learning difficulties, depression, mood swings, frequent urination at night and waking up with sore throat in the morning. However, the difference between sleep apnea and normal snoring is that snoring does not affect the quality and quantity of sleep (Montagna, 2011). Restless legs syndrome This is a condition of the nerves where a person experiences unpleasant and uncontrollable sensations in the legs. These occur mainly at night or other times when a person is resting but they are more sever at night. These sensations are referred to as paresthesias or dysesthesias. One uncommon thing about these sensations is that they are activated by attempts to relax or while lying down. Those suffering from this condition experience sleeping difficulties. If one does not seek treatment, the condition can cause fatigue and exhaustion and inability to carry out daily functions. In severe cases, it can lead to depression (Montagna, 2011).. Symptoms of this disorder include uncomfortable sensations especially on the legs and an urge to move the leg. The sensations affect other parts of the body such as the head, hands and the trunk. The sensations may also be triggered by other inactive moments such as driving for long trips, sitting for long in movie theatres or even relaxation exercises. This condition can be treated by conducting a neurological test and finding out some of its triggers as well as its relievers (Wilson & Nutt, 2008). Conclusion Sleep is a very important aspect of human life. However, most people do not achieve adequate sleep that is recommended for people of their age. This causes underperformance during the day, loss of concentration and poor memory. Healthy sleep is very important for good health of a person. However, there are various sleep disorders that interrupt smooth sleep. Other factors which occur from within an individual or the environment also affects the ability of a [person to acquire adequate sleep. Excessive sleep is also not good for the body since it causes low body energy leading to underperformance. Reference List Epstein, L. (2007). Caffeine and Sleep. Retrieved from http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/how/external-factors Intrater, R. (2002). Sleep. New York: Scholastic. Horne, J. (2001). The End of Sleep: ‘Sleep Debt’ Versus Biological Adaptation Of Human Sleep To Waking Needs. Biological Psychology. Kelly, W. (2003). Worry and Sleep Length Revisited: Worry, Sleep Length, and Sleep Disturbance Ascribed to Worry. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, vol 45:296-304. Meltzer, L., Phillips, C., & Mindell, J. (2000). Clinical Psychology Training In Sleep And Sleep Disorders. Journal of Clinical Psychology,vol 112, 305-318. Lindsley, J. (2004). Why we sleep: The functions of sleep in humans and other mammals. Biological Psychology, 297-299. Wilson, S., & Nutt, D. (2008). Sleep disorders. New York: Oxford University Press. Montagna, P. (2011). Sleep disorders. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Showers, P., & Watson, W. (1997). Sleep is for everyone. New York: HarperCollins. Tremaine, R. (2009). Subjective and objective sleep in children and adolescents: Measurement, age, and gender differences. New York: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. Svorad, D., & Wellnerová, J. (2010). Temperature and air humidity as factors influencing sleep and wakefulness. International Journal of Bioclimatology Biometeorology, vol 67: 201-204. Hollister, L. (2011). Insomnia. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, vol 99:128-127. Proctor, A., & Bianchi, M. (2012). Clinical Pharmacology in Sleep Medicine. Accessed on 20th April 2015 from http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2012/914168/ U.S National Institute of Health. (2012). Why is sleep important? Accessed on 24th April 2015 from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why U.S National Institute of Health. (2012). How much sleep is enough? Accessed on 23rd April 2015 from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/howmuch Amira, S. (2007). Alcohol and Sleep. Accessed on 21st April 2015 from http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/how/external-factors   American Psychological Association. (2015).why sleep is important and what happens when you don’t get enough, retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx American Psychological Association. (2015).What is sleep. Retrieved https://www.sleepassociation.org/patients-general-public/what-is-sleep/ Read More

In the third stage, there is presence brain waves known as delta waves which are extremely slow combined with smaller faster waves. By the fourth stage, the brain exclusively produces the extremely slow delta waves. The third and the fourth sates are referred to as deep sleep and it is usually very difficult to awaken someone who is in these stages. There are no eye movements and also no muscle activity. If a person is awakened during these stages of deep sleep, he/she cannot be able to adjust immediately and will for several minutes feel sleepy and unstable.

During deep sleep, children may find themselves bedwetting sleeptalking and may also experience night terrors. The last phase of sleep is Rapid Eye Movement (REM) which starts about 80 minutes after a person falls asleep. During this stage, breathing rate increases, it becomes more irregular and rapid. The muscles of the limbs become paralyzed temporarily and the eyes twitch in various directions. The heart rate and the blood pressure increases and men start having penile erections. This is the time when people start having dreams.

Much of the sleeping time is spent in stage 1, 2 and Rapid Eye Movement. These phases can however be changed by factors such as food and drugs which affect the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain (American Psychological Association, 2015). Importance of sleep U.S National Institute of Health (2012) explains that sleep is very important for proper health and wellbeing of a person. Enough and quality sleep is essential in maintaining proper mental and physical health as well as ability to observe safety in life.

Some of the main reasons as to why sleep is important in the body include: It promotes healthy functioning of the brain and emotional wellbeing When one is asleep, the mind goes through a process known as consolidation where it practices some of the things learned during the day therefore strengthening a person’s memories. When one is sleeping, the brain is usually busy preparing for the following day. It comes up with new ways of learning and assisting in remembering information. Having good and enough sleep at night also improves learning. Dr. Rapoport of NYU Langone Medical Center states that "If you are trying to learn something, whether it’s physical or mental, you learn it to a certain point with practice, but something happens while you sleep that makes you learn it better.

" Lack of adequate sleep is also attributed to slowing down some brain activities such as decision making, problem solving, ability of a person to control his/her emotions and also inability to cope with change. It is also linked to risky emotions which may lead to suicide, depression and some risky behaviors. When children are wakened up before they had enough sleep, it is usually difficult for them to get along with even their caregivers. They usually look sad, demotivated and may experience changes in mood (U.

S National Institute of Health, 2012). Sleep promotes physical health Sleep is important for the health of the heart and kidneys. According to the U.S National Institute of Health (2012),prolonged sleep deficiency increases the risks of diseases such as diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and heart and kidney diseases. Lack of sleep has also been shown to increase chances of becoming obese. A study conducted on teenagers indicated that as more hours of sleep are lost, the risk of becoming obese goes up.

Sleep also plays a role of maintaining the balance of ghrelin and leptin hormones on a healthy level. Hormone ghrelin makes one to feel hungry while leptin makes one to feel full. Lack of enough sleep raises the level of ghrelin hormone and lowers the level of leptin. This makes a person to feel more hungry that at normal times (Lindsley, 2004). Sleep also plays a role in body’s reaction to insulin, a hormone that is involved in controlling the amount of glucose/ sugar in blood. Lack of enough sleep makes the body cells to fail to respond to insulin resulting in a lot of circulating glucose in the blood.

Read More