- Information
- AI Chat
Psych 3 - Why do people sleep?
Psychology (PSYC 101)
Queensborough Community College
Preview text
Why do people sleep?
Sleep cycle:
- Every night, we cycle through five stages of sleep about every 90 minutes
- During the first part of the night, we spend greater amounts of time in stage 4 (deep sleep)
- As we spend more time sleeping, we spend greater amounts in REM (shallow sleep) where dreaming takes place
- The stage of sleep are identified by:
- EEG (electroencephalogram)
- Measures small electrical charges in the brain
- As person goes through stages, brain waves change
Stage of sleep: Stage 1:
- Go from waking state relaxed state
- Rapid, low voltage brain waves
- Images appear, snapshots (not dreams) Stage 2:
- Slower more regular wave patterns
- "spikers" in waves appear Stage 3:
- Brain waves become slower -- higher peaks, lower valley Stage 4:
- Wave patterns are slower and more regular
- People
- are least influenced by stimulation
REM Sleep: REM- Rapid eye movement
Increased brain activity- similar to being awake Blood flow increases Breathing increases Paradoxical sleep- brain is very active but the body is paralyzed Eyes are darting everyone Dreams are vivid and story like People spend more time in REM sleep a people sleep more
Why do people sleep? - Restorative function- allow body to recover from physical and psychological strains of the day. - Evolutionary significance- keep people from predators, conserve energy - Being deprived of sleep leads to; ◦ Inability to concentrate ◦ Loss of creativity ◦ Decline in logical reasoning ◦ Slower reaction time--> longer to respond ◦ Lowered immune response - Process information from their waking hours
What do dreams mean?
Guide to the unconscious
Unconscious wish fulfillment
Dreams represent unconscious wishes
Many times, wish may be harmful or threatening to conscious awareness
Freud (two aspects to dreams) ◦ Manifest content- actual dream which may bear little relationship to underlying wish ◦ Latent content- symbolic nature of dreams which represent actual wish
Heart rate decreases
Blood pressure decreases
Drug use
People take drugs because of:
Availability
Peer pressure
Thrill
Helplessness Stimulants: Drugs that have an arousal effect on the central nervous system, causing a rise in heart rate, blood pressure, and muscular tension.
Caffeine- increases the firing of neurons
Nicotine- similar to caffeine but a soothing feeling
Increased heart rate
Increased blood pressure
Increased muscular tension
Better attention and mood
Decreased reaction time- takes less time to respond
Nervousness
Biological dependence
No sudden stopping is possible
Depressants
Alcohol
Decrease the firing of neurons
In small doses
Joy, feeling of intoxication
In large doses
Speech is slurred
Loss of consciousness
Emotionally and physically unstable
Poor memory and judgement
Decrease inhibitions --> natural barriers of behavior
Increases reaction time
Poorer spatial reasoning
Alcohol poisoning is possible
Takes longer to respond, therefore you react more slowly.
Sleeping better tips:
- Exercise during the day
- Avoid naps
- Choose a regular bedtime
- Don’t use your bed as an all purpose area
- Avoid drinks caffeine
- Drink a warm glass of milk before bed
- Avoid sleeping pills
- Try not to sleep
Psych 3 - Why do people sleep?
Course: Psychology (PSYC 101)
University: Queensborough Community College
