Sleep & Dreamzzz 1. Understand the biology of our circadian rhythms. - circadian rhythm: the regular bodily rhythm that occurs over a 24 hour period; the biolog-ical clock- circadian rhythm is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus,which responds to light and triggers the pineal gland to decrease melatonin → natural method to wake up- most sleepy = maximum melatonin production (couple hours after sunset)2. What is an EEG? - EEG = electroencephalograph → measures brain activity by picking up the action poten-tials- you put electrodes on their scalp and see what sort of electrical activities you get in the brain3. How long is a general sleep cycle? - sleep stages: sleep occurs in a repeating pattern of distinct stages that occurs over 90 min-utes (60 min NREM, 30 min REM)- REM sleep = beta waves- stage 3 and 4 = slow delta waves4. What are the different sleep stages?- awake and alert- awake but drowsy- stage 1: NREM sleep - stage 2: NREM sleep; sleep spindles, K complexes - stage 3: NREM sleep; delta waves- stage 4: NREM sleep; delta waves- REM sleep: fast, active brain waves accompanied by rapid eye movements5. What is happening during REM sleep? - physiological arousal (heart rate rises, breathing becomes rapid, genitals are aroused)- “sleep paralysis” occurs when the brainstem blocks the motor cortex’s messages and the muscles don’t move- ^also known as “paradoxical” sleep; the brain is active but the body is immobile- fast brain-wave activity (beta waves)- similar to when a person is awake and alert- most dreaming takes place durning REM sleep (unconscious working memory)6. What is REM rebound? - REM rebound: when deprived of REM sleep and then allowed to sleep, we show in-creased time in REM sleep. - length of REM sleep increases the longer you remain asleep and towards the end of the night there is less deep (stage 3 and 4) sleep7. How do our sleep cycles change throughout the night? → what is this q asking?- 60 min NREM, 30 min REM8. How do our sleeping patterns change across our lifetimes? - as we get older, we need less and less sleep.- we spend ⅓ of our lives sleeping9. What are some general guidelines for good sleep hygiene? - if an individual remains awake for several days, immune function and concentration dete-riorates and the risk of accidents increases.- avoid daytime napping- get exercise- eat earlier/drink less alcohol/minimize caffeine and other stimulants at night- don’t use your bed except for sleep- minimize blue-light exposure at night- keep your bedroom as dark as possible while sleeping- get treatment for depression/anxiety if necessary- have a set sleep time/wake up time regardless of how much sleep you got at night- get 30-60 min direct sunlight exposure immediately upon awakening10. Describe the sleep disorders we discussed in class (e.g., what are some of the characteristics of night terrors, etc.) - insomnia: persistent inability to fall asleep/stay asleep- hyper-somnolence disorder: excessive nighttime sleep AND excessive daytime sleepiness- narcolepsy: sleep attacks, even a collapse into REM/paralyzed sleep NON-REM sleep disorders (so not considered dreaming):- night terrors: sudden scared-looking behavior (ex: bolting upright, heart-racing, and screaming). Difficult to sooth and often does not remember details of dream/episode; mostly found in children- sleepwalking/talking: runs in families, so possible genetic basis11. What are some of the major theories about why we sleep and dream? - sleep protects: sleeping in the darkness when predators loomed about kept our ancestors out of harm’s way- sleep and growth: during sleep, the pituitary gland releases growth hormones. Babies and teenagers need the extra sleep. Older people release less of this hormone and sleep less.- sleep recuperates: sleep helps restore and repair our energetically expensive brain. For example, sleep increases the reproduction of glial cells that form myelin, whereas sleep depri-vation triggers genes involved in the cellular stress response.- sleep and memory: sleep helps consolidate memories12. How is sleep (and dreams) related to our memories? Importance of Non-REM vs. REM? - sleep helps us store and rebuild our fading memories of recent experiences.- non-REM; broad tuning; slow-wave sleep helps get those memories to the cortex, ex-plicit memories (Ex: schoolwork, facts, figures)- REM: fine-tuning of local, synaptic consolidation of memories in the cortex (implicit memories (Ex: playing the violin, riding a bike, emotional memories)- sleep helps improve performance on these learned skills13. What is the content of the majority of our dreams? - everybody dreams at night, but about 95% of dreams are forgotten before we wake up- we dream primarily in REM sleep, but sleep can occur in other stages- we may incorporate real-world sounds/other stimuli into dreams- we incorporate our days’ experience, thoughts, emotions, and worries into our dream content- dreams often include images from recent, traumatic, or frequent experiences- about 80% of dreams often include some negative event or emotion, especially failure dreams (being pursued, attacked, rejected, or having bad luck)- dreams do not often include sexuality:- sexual dreams in men are about 1 in 10 ( with actual partner)⅙- sexual dreams in women are about 1 in 30 ( with actual partner)⅕Emotions, Stress & Happiness1. What are the three major theories of how we experience emotion?- James-Lange theory: arousal before emotion- Cannon-Bard theory: arousal with emotion- Two-Factor Theory: aroused, cognitive identify → emotion2. What are the six universally recognized emotions?- universally understood facial expressions:- happiness- surprise- sadness- fear- anger- disgust- Happy surprise! Sex fucks ass dick3. How are emotions such as anger, disgust, and fear adaptive from an evo-lutionary perspective? ANSWER.- evolved disgust: potential to give us a disease/make us sick = makes us instinctively moredisgusted to it- (ex: yellow mucus = some terrible infection)- disgusting = keeps us away from disease4. Dads & testosterone? - testosterone levels are correlated with irritability, assertiveness, impulsiveness, and low tolerance for frustration- violent criminal males have high testosterone levels- reducing testosterone reduces aggression, in both humans and animals- men with higher testosterone had higher mating success in terms of partnering with a woman and fathering a
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