Myths And Facts About Sleep

Wakefulness & Sleep You can cheat on the amount of sleep you get.

Health problems are unrelated to the amount and quantity

of a persons sleep.
PSY 324: Biological
Psychology
Week 7 The older you get, the fewer hours of sleep you need.
November 3/4

During sleep, your brain rests.

1 2

National Survey of 963 Emergency National Survey of 963 Emergency

Medicine Residents Medicine Residents (continued)
Motor Vehicle Accidents Near-Crashes
8% had N = 963
N = 963 (62% response rate)
>1 MVAs (1554 polled,
(mean = 1.3 62% response rate)
accidents)
80%
553
(58%)
76 (8%) 26%
74% 20%

74% of MVAs were 80% of near-crashes

58% had >1 near-
related to night shift were
MVA = motor vehicle accident
crashes
(mean = 2.6 near-crashes) related to night shift
Steele et al. (1999) Steele et al. (1999)
3 4

Fatigue effects on drivers Drowsy driving symptoms

Slowed reaction time Not being able to focus

Poorer judgment Continuous yawning
Tunnel vision Difficulty in keeping head up
Missing signals Wandering thoughts

Inconsistent speed and lane position Not remembering driving the last few miles
Drifting in or out of lane
Decreasing ability to identify excessive
sleepiness

5 6
 Lecture Outline Endogenous Cycles

Circadian Rhythms & Biological Clock Endogenous circadian rhythms:

Internal mechanisms that operate on an
Stages of Sleep approximately 24 hour cycle
Non-REM vs. REM Wakefulness and sleep
Brain Mechanisms Eating, drinking
Body temperature
Sleep Disorders

Functions of Sleep

7 8

Endogenous Cycles

Cycles can differ between people:

Night owls vs. early birds

Change as a function of age

Sleep patterns from childhood to late
adulthood

9 10

External Cues affect Biological Clock

Circadian rhythm keeps internal workings in

phase with outside world

However, its not perfect

Human circadian clock generates a rhythm
slightly longer than 24 hours when it has no
external cue to set it

Need other cues to keep it perfectly in sync

11 12
 External Cues

Zeitgeber (time giver):

A stimulus that resets the circadian rhythm

Examples: sunlight, tides, exercise, meals,

arousal, meals, environmental temperature,
etc.

13 14

Disrupting the Biological Clock Disrupting the Biological Clock

Jet lag: Shift work:

Stems from a mismatch of the internal
circadian clock and external time
Sleepiness during the day, sleeplessness at
night, and impaired concentration
Is it easier to travel east or west?
Our circadian rhythms are stubborn
Even after years working the night shift,
people dont adjust completely (e.g., body
temperature)
Night-shift workers tend to have more
accidents than day-shift workers

15 16

Mechanisms of the Biological Clock Mechanisms of the Biological Clock

Mechanisms of the biological clock include the Suprachiasmatic

following: nucleus (SCN):
The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) part of the hypothalamus
Genes that produce certain proteins main control center of the
circadian rhythms of
Melatonin levels sleep and temperature
Located above the optic
chiasm

17 18
 Mechanisms of the Biological Clock Mechanisms of the Biological Clock

Circadian rhythm is a property of the neurons Two types of genes

in the SCN (genetic control)
Neurons in the SCN respond to light through
retinohypothalamic path
Period: produce proteins called PER
Timeless: produce proteins called TIM
PER and TIM protein concentrations oscillate
during the day (low during day, high at night)

These proteins promote sleep and inactivity

19 20

Mechanisms of the Biological Clock Lecture Outline

The SCN controls activity levels in other areas Circadian Rhythms & Biological Clock
of the brain
Pineal gland: Stages of Sleep
endocrine gland located posterior to the Non-REM vs. REM
thalamus Brain Mechanisms
secretes melatonin, a hormone that
increases sleepiness
Sleep Disorders

Functions of Sleep

21 22

What is Sleep?

Sleep is a state that the brain actively Electroencephalography

produces (EEG) revealed that sleep
is divided into stages
Moderate decrease in brain activity and
decreased response to stimuli

23 24
 Stages of Sleep

Relaxation:
Alpha waves (8-12 Hz)

Stage 1 sleep:
EEG is dominated by irregular, jagged, and
low voltage waves

Stage 2 sleep:
Sleep spindles
K-complex

25 26

Stages of Sleep Paradoxical or REM Sleep

Stage 3 and stage 4 together constitute slow
wave sleep (SWS):
EEG ! slow, large amplitude waves
Indicates highly synchronized neural
activity
Slowing of heart rate and breathing rate
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
Characterized by rapid eye movements
Paradoxical because has features of deep
sleep and light sleep

27 28

Stages of Sleep
Brain Mechanisms of Wakefulness and
Arousal

Reticular formation:
Part of the midbrain that extends from the
medulla to the forebrain
Responsible for arousal

29 30
 Brain Mechanisms of Wakefulness and Brain Mechanisms of Wakefulness and
Arousal Arousal

Pontomesencephalon: Locus coeruleus:

Part of the reticular formation
Axons extend to the hypothalamus, thalamus,
and basal forebrain (acetylcholine and
glutamate)
Maintains and increases arousal
Small structure in the pons
Axons release norepinephrine to arouse
various areas of the cortex and increase
wakefulness
Dormant while asleep

31 32

Brain Mechanisms of Wakefulness and

Arousal

Hypothalamus:
Lateral and posterior nuclei release orexin
neurotransmitter
Stimulates acetylcholine-releasing cells in
the basal forebrain
Excitatory projections to thalamus and
cortex

33 34

What about sleep?

Cells of the basal forebrain release the

inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA

Inhibition provided by GABA is essential for

sleep
Decreases body temperature and metabolic
rate
Decreases stimulation of neurons
throughout brain

35 36
 Lecture Outline Sleep Disorders

Insomnia is a sleep disorder associated with

Circadian Rhythms & Biological Clock inadequate sleep

Stages of Sleep Multiple causes:

Non-REM vs. REM Noise, stress, pain, Parkinsons disease,
Brain Mechanisms medication, depression, anxiety, etc.

Sleep Disorders

Functions of Sleep

37 38

Sleep Disorders

Sleep apnea:
Inability to breathe while sleeping for a
prolonged period of time
Leads to sleepiness during the day,
impaired attention, depression, and
sometimes heart problems
Caused by genetics, hormones, old age,
obesity

39 40

Sleep Disorders Sleep Disorders

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized Narcolepsy:

by frequent periods of sleepiness
Gradual or sudden attack of sleepiness
Occasional cataplexy: muscle weakness
triggered by strong emotions
Sleep paralysis: inability to move while
falling asleep or waking up
Hypnagogic hallucinations: dreamlike
experiences
Runs in families but no gene has been
identified
Caused by lack of hypothalamic cells that
produce and release orexin
How to treat?

41 42
 Lecture Outline Functions of Sleep

Circadian Rhythms & Biological Clock Functions of sleep include:

Energy conservation
Stages of Sleep Restoration of the brain and body
Non-REM vs. REM Memory consolidation
Brain Mechanisms

Sleep Disorders

Functions of Sleep

43 44

Functions of Sleep Functions of Sleep

The original function of sleep was probably to
conserve energy
Conservation of energy is accomplished via:
Decrease in body temperature
Decrease in muscle activity
Evidence for energy conservation:
Animals increase their sleep time during
food shortages
Animals sleep habits are influenced by
particular aspects of their life
How many hours they spend each day
devoted to looking for food
Safety from predators while they sleep

45 46

Functions of Sleep

Enhancing learning and strengthening

memory
New task ! Sleep ! Better performance
Hippocampus:
activity during sleep similar to activity
during learning
activity during hippocampus correlated
with improvement in performance
The brain strengthens some synapses and
weakens others during sleep

47 48