Danger of pulling a study all-nighter:

• evidence suggests that sleep consolidates memory

• the brain takes what happened during the day and processes that into the cortex storage during sleep

• if we pull an all-nighter, the brain doesn’t have time to consolidate information

• information may be lost with us the next day

Adaptive theory of sleep: animals and humans evolved different sleep patterns to avoid being present during their predator’s normal hunting times

Restorative theory of sleep: sleep is necessary for the physical health of the body, chemicals we use during the day are replenished

Two kinds of sleep:

• REM

  • relatively active type of sleep

  • most dreaming takes place in this stage

  • voluntary muscles are turned off

  • heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing all increase

  • makes up 20% of sleep

  • occurs in shallow stages of sleep

  • most of the body is paralyzed

  • dreams can occur in non-REM, but are most likely to occur here

  • Rebound Effect: if awakened from REM, when allowed to sleep again, people go right back to REM

• Non-REM (stages 1,2,3,4)

  • much deeper stage of sleep

  • more restful sleep

  • body muscles are free to move

  • after a bad day, people seem to spend more time in non-REM sleep

  • growth hormones are released in high amounts

Four stages of sleep:

• Stage 1

  • images appear in your mind like photos

  • transition stage between wakefulness and sleep

  • lasts just a few minutes

  • still aware of the sounds around you

  • stages 1 and 2 dominate the 2nd half of sleep

• Stage 2

  • makes up half of our sleep

  • harder to wake up from

• Stage 3 & Stage 4

  • these stages of sleep are the 2 deepest levels

  • first half of your sleep is dominated by stages 3 & 4

  • stage 4 is most likely to occur at the start of the night

Sleep Disorders:

• Nightmares

  • bad dreams that take place during REM sleep

  • children tend to have more nightmares than adults

  • children have more nightmares because they are in REM longer

  Night Terrors

  • a rare disorder that is more likely to happen in children and stop by puberty

  • a state of panic happening in non-REM sleep

  • symptoms include sitting up, screaming, running around the room, flailing

  • it’s rare to remember what happened during the episode, but some people can remember vividly

  Sleep Walking

  • also known as somnambulism (som means “sleep” and embolism means “walking”)

  • occurs in about 20% of the population, due to heredity

  • typically occurs during stage 3 deep sleep

  • much more common in children, occurs more frequently in males

  • A sleepwalker may sit up in bed, walk around the house, look in the fridge and eat, and even get into a car.

  • Sleepwalkers don’t remember their episodes 

  Insomnia

  • Insomnia is the inability to sleep, stay asleep, get a good amount of sleep, or waking up early consistently

  • Some tips could be going to bed when you are sleepy, don’t use electronic before bed, only sleep in your bed, and get used to a regular sleep schedule

  Sleep Apnea

  • People who tend to snore every night loudly have sleep apnea 

  • A person stops breathing for 20 seconds or more, and when that happens there is silence followed by a gasp

  • Causes an unrestful sleep

  • Serious issue, about 5-25% of adults in the US have it

  • Causes a person who be sleepy during the day and have heart problems

  • Some infants can experience this due to immaturity of the brain stem, often associated with SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) but isn’t necessarily caused by it

  Narcolepsy

  • A sleep disorder in which a person falls immediately into REM sleep during the day without warning

  • Effects 1 in every 2,000

  • A sudden sleep seizure during a waking states

  • Symptoms of excessive daytime tiredness that can happen when someone is experiencing strong emotions

  • Medication is being developed to treat it

  Cataplexy

  • narcolepsy on steroids

  • connected to narcolepsy

  • collapsing, muscles stop working

  • happens with stress or strong emotions

  • hard to wake up after

  • aware of people attempting to help when asleep

  SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)

  • possible sleep disorder

  • tied with sleep apnea

  • a baby goes to sleep and never wakes up

Daydreams:

• fantasies people construct when they are awake

• more under control of the person that dreams

• more likely to connect to whats going on around us

• average person spends about 10% of their life daydreaming

• super day dreamers: 2-4% of the population can spend up to 50% day dreaming

  Downsides:

  • missing important info

  • unsuitable for certain jobs

  • danger that people believe their daydreams

• Upsides

  • relieves stress

  • enhances creativity

Meditation:

• Meditation: a series of mental exercises to refocus attention and achieve a trance-like state of consciousness

• Mantra: a sound, word, or phrase that is repeated to induce meditation or prayer

• Mindfulness Meditation: involves focusing on the present moment and letting other thoughts and distractions fade away

• Guided Visualization/Meditation: listen to and follow specific instructions during the session; visualizing self in favorite place (beach, forest, etc)

• Movement Meditation: walking, stretching, running, working, gardening, painting, cleaning, yoga

• Manta Meditation: normally involves the repetition of a mantra

  • sacred words or phrases to help focus the mind on achieving a state of relaxation

  • “peace”, “hope”, “calm”, “i am focused”, or “i am worthy”

  • Certain types of prayer can be forms of mantra meditation “the Lord is my shepherd, i shall not want”, praying the rosary

• Potential uses and benefits of meditation

  • Physical benefits:

    • reduces stress and boosts immune system

    • reduces stress levels for cancer patients and contributes to lowering risk of reoccurrence

    • lowers resting heart rate and blood pressure

    • reduces the risk of heart disease and heart attacks

    • improves quality of sleep

    • increases melatonin levels

    • can help manage chronic pain

  • Mental benefits:

    • can slow the constant stream of thoughts going through our mind

    • reduces negative emotions

    • increases self awareness

    • reduces stress, anxiety, depression

    • decreases impulsivity and reactivity

    • improves creativity

  • Spiritual benefits:

    • experience more balance

    • inner calm and peace

    • increases feelings of compassion and belonging

    • develops inner “bliss”, not dependent on external factors

    • feeling more connected to a higher power