Eliza Hancock and Sarah Jordan
G Block
MHS Honors Biology
Modern Biology Research Project
Introduction
Sleep is necessary in order for the body to rest, and is a state of decreased consciousness and lowered metabolism. Sleep is very important for all living things. Getting a sufficient amount of sleep has numerous positive effects on humans. In humans, there are five main stages of sleep. As the brain passes through each stage, the frequency of waves slows down. The amount of sleep required for humans varies depending on age. Sleep is vital for the well-being of all living things because it improves both physical and mental health. Humans just can’t get enough of it!
History
During ancient times, early humans believed that the soul left the body during sleep. They had a prayer that connects to this that says, “if I should die before I wake”. This shows their very basic understanding of what happens during sleep.
In 1929, Hans Berger, a German psychiatrist, created an electroencephalograph that detects signals produced by the brain’s electrical activity. A few years later, in the 1930s, Berger made a photograph of people’s brain waves. He did this by placing electrode wires on a person’s scalp. This received electrical activity that the nerve cells produced in the brain.
In 1953, Professor Nathaniel Kleitman and Eugene Aserinsky closely observed a stage of sleep that they called Rapid Eye Movement (REM). They used an electrooculogram, which they taped to the patient’s eyelids and it recorded eye movement which became rapid during REM sleep. They also used an electromyography to measure movements of the chin and neck during sleep. Surprisingly, they found that there was little movement in the chin and neck region, which is still...
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...any disorders related to sleep. Three types of sleep related disorders are Insomnia, Narcolepsy, and sleep-walking. All three can be dangerous, depending on the severity. All three are related to the amount of sleep an individual receives and what happens while they are asleep.
The exact purpose of sleep is still not fully understood but it is thought to be a state in which organisms can regenerate and further development in the brain. When humans get enough sleep, they feel more energized and refreshed. Sleep can aid the body in fighting off harmful infections. It can also decrease the risk of obesity and some heart and blood related problems. Sleep is a time when organisms are able to repair damaged cells and produce more energy through the process of cellular respiration. Without sleep, our bodies would not function properly and would eventually shut down.
Sleep deprivation is a common condition that occurs if you don’t get enough sleep. In case of sleep deprivation people have trouble falling and staying asleep for a long period of time. In order to understand how serious sleep deprivation can be, one must need to know causes and consequences of sleep deprivation, how much sleep do we need? What does sleep do for us? And how we can cure sleep deprivation.
When most people think of sleep, they think of it as a relaxed but yet not a very important part of our daily lives. What most people don’t understand is although we are not up and moving around and getting tasks completed, our brains are still very active. Without sleep our bodies do not function correctly on a daily basis, and our mental state is at risk.
Sleep is one of our basic needs to survive and to function in day to day operations, but not everyone needs the same amount of sleep. Some people can survive on very little sleep, i.e. five hours a night, and some people need a lot of sleep, to the extend that they are sleeping up to 10 to sometimes 15 hours a night (Nature, 2005). According to Wilson (2005) the general rule states that most people need from seven to eight hours of sleep. The deprivation of sleep in our society in continually increasing with the demands in society increasing work loads, the myth that a few hours of sleep is only necessary to function properly and that sleep is sometimes considered as killing time (Nature, 2005). Sometimes sleep deprivation is also caused by other situations like sleep disorders, i.e. sleep apnea, chronic insomnia or medical conditions such as stress (Wilson, 2005).
Mental health conditions can also cause chronic, long-term insomnia. Some examples of mental health conditions that can cause insomnia include general anxiety disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Why do we need sleep? Even the most gifted scientist on the planet don’t know the answer to this question. But, there are many ideas on why we need sleep. One reason we need sleep is because without it obesity would be an even bigger problem in this world than it already is. Obesity is the condition of being very fat or overweight. Scientist have discovered that short-term sleep can make you hungrier and make you eat more. Another reason that we need sleep is because without enough of it you will have a higher risk of getting diabetes. Diabetes mellitus is a very serious condition that occurs when the body can’t use glucose normally. Scientist have proven that too little or too much sleep was linked with a host of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Another serious medical emergency that can happen to you if you don’t get enough sleep is a stroke. A stroke is what occurs when your blood flow is interrupted to part of the brain. A stroke is a serious medical emergency that requires immediate treatment. Scientist have discovered that with a while of not enough sleep your stroke risk quadruples. Scientist have also found a recurrent sleep pattern called REM. REM is a recurrent sleep pattern during which dreaming occurs while the eyes rapidly shift under close lids. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. In comparison to REM there is NREM. NREM is a recurring sleep state during which rapid eye movement doesn’t occur. NREM stands for Non-Rapid eye movement.
“When the going gets tough, the tough take a nap.” This statement by Tom Hodgkinson perfectly describes the solution to the life of the average American high schooler, who wakes up early, rushes to school, and undergoes several grueling classes, only to later participate in extracurricular activities and return home to complete homework. Due to all these activities, only a vast minority of teenagers obtain the amount of sleep they need in a night; Tom Hodgkinson’s quote proposes a solution to this problem. By instituting naptime in high schools, students could simply nap to refresh themselves when the going gets tough, whether that be an excessive amount of homework, an extremely demanding test, or a sports practice that lasts long into the
Getting sufficient sleep is a basic human need and is vital for life. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, sleep is a high priority for survival. Having enough sleep is therefore important to restore body and brain functions, preserve energy, maintain general well-being and prevent illnesses.
Overall, sleep improves the quality of one’s life. Sleep is the very essence of what keeps us moving forward. There won’t be any waking without sleeping, and with that said, sleep allows us to indulge at a privilege naturally given to us – rest. Although insomnia would occur from time to time, may it be one’s aim for holistic development through appropriate amount of sleep.
On a regular basis I don’t typically remember my dreams or even try to remember them. Keeping a sleep journal was a very hard thing for me to do. It was also difficult to know in what specific stage I was in during different times throughout the night. I can’t say for sure the amount of time I spent in each stage either. I can say that I could barely hear my alarm about two hours into the night, so I consider that to be REM because normally I hear my alarm just fine in the morning.
Arousal disorders are the most common type of parasomnia. These disorders include: confusional arousals, sleepwalking, sleep terrors and nightmares. Experts believe that each is related and share some symptoms. Essentially, they occur because a person is in a mixed state of being both asleep and awake, generally coming from the deepest stage of non-dreaming sleep. The individual is awake enough to act out complex behaviors, but asleep enough not to be aware of or remember them.
Sleep disorders are an underestimated public health concern considering that fifty to seventy million Americans are affected. Technological advances in the field of sleep have facilitated various theories to explain the need for and the purpose of sleep. Scientist have uncovered many types of sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. Sleep disorders affect men ,women, children, the elderly, and the obese in different ways. Factors such as the number of children and the effects of menopause have been studied to determine their effects on sleep. Various treatments have been utilized ranging from non-pharmacologic to pharmacologic methods. Scientist have pinpointed areas of the brain that are involved in sleep deprivation and hormones that ultimately affect sleep.
Because sleep is vital to our well-being, we have to make sure to get an enough quality sleep at the right times as it helps to protect our mental and physical health, quality of life and safety.
The four stages of sleep are REM (rapid eye movement sleep), NREM1 (non-rem), NREM2, and NREM3. During the REM stage “your heart rate rises, your breathing becomes rapid and irregular, and every half-minute or so your eyes dart around in momentary burst of activity behind closed lids” (Myers, 2014, p. 96).
Getting enough sleep can increase our chances of being more mentally/physically healthy and our safety throughout the day. How we feel throughout the day is depending on our sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to impaired judgment and actions, which can be a safety hazard towards yourself and your surroundings. When we sleep, our bodies are working to revitalize the brain to form new pathways to help with memory functions and our physical health such as healing repair heart and blood vessels and hormone balance. It is very important for everyone to maintain a good night’s rest to maintain daytime performance and lower stress. Sleep will reduce the levels of stress, help others gain control on their actions and avoid depression. Contributing to these sleep benefits will change your body and mind
Sleep is very important for human beings. Sleeping means taking rest for every person and each person spends one-third of his lifetime sleeping. Without sleeping, no one can exist in this world. Sleeping is essential for a person’s health and well-being throughout his life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times helps all people protect their mental health, physical health and safety. A person who does not get enough sleep might suffer from mental disorders, diseases and even harmful situations. Therefore, it is important for every human being to have enough sleep.