3. Explain One Aspect Of Mrs. A's Disorder Using Biological Theory

Biological research for sleep pressure began more than a century ago, and there was a fluid found in the brains of the test subjects, the hypotoxin would reveal why subjects would grow drowsy. Come the 20th century, researchers began to tape electrodes to the heads of human subjects. Using the EEGs, the researchers found out that the brain has a clear routine during the night’s sleep. About 35-40 minutes into the sleep, the metabolism has slowed down and the breathing is even. Meaning now the sleeper is no longer easy to wake. “After a certain amount of time has passed, the brain flips a switch and the waves tend to grow small and tight again” (Greenwood). When this happens, it is called rapid eye movement, or REM sleep, which is our dreaming period. The more sleep- deprived that the subject is, the bigger the waves during slow wave sleep, which is before REM sleep. The search for the hypotoxin was not unsuccessful, however, there are a handful of substances that clearly demonstrated to cause sleep. Including a molecule called

One approach to explain Mrs A’s sleep disorder is by using the Biological approach which believes us to be as a consequence of our genetics and physiology. It is the only approach in psychology that examines thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from a biological and thus physical point of view. Mrs A. is experiencing Insomnia due to disturbing her Circadian rhythm which are a variety of behavioural and physiological functions synchronised to the 24 cycle of light and dark These include heart rate, breathing, alertness, excretion and a metabolic rae. These reach a maximum level in the late afternoon and early evening and a minimum level in the early morning. The circadian sleep -waking rhythm determines our alertness and activity levels during the day and night. So by Mrs. A waking up and increasing her alertness and activity levels by using her ipad she is disrupting her circadian rhythm and thus the endogenous pacemakers or internal body clock of the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the pineal gland which humans use to regulate this are further being disrupted due to her Circadian rhythm being out of sync.

Functions and causes of sleep In the following paragraphs, I will introduce two theories of sleep to explain the functions of sleep and paraphrase circadian rhyme to interpret the causes of sleep. First and foremost, restorative theory focuses on physiology aspect of sleep, which claimed that sleep is a physiological repair. Oswald who is a sleep researcher proposed that Non-REM sleep and REM sleep have specific functions, he argued that REM sleep repair for the brain whereas non-REM sleep repair for the body.

Foster states, “Essentially, all the stuff we've burned up during the day, we restore, we replace, we rebuild during the night.” Foster also explains that “Within the brain, a whole raft of genes have been shown to be turned on only during sleep, and those genes are associated with restoration and metabolic pathways.” I agree with Foster’s first explanation of why we sleep. Sleep helps repair and renew tissue and nerve cells, the neutralization of neurotoxins, and the restoration of normal levels of chemicals throughout our bodies. Sleep can also heal the body physically. For example, it can heal wounds, strengthen the immune system, and increase growth hormone levels in the

Sleep is undoubtedly one of the most essential requirements for the human body to function properly. It plays a very important role in ensuring the wellness of the human body both physically as well as mentally. In fact, the importance of sleep is clear from the fact that it helps you in maintaining a good lifestyle throughout our entire lifetime. Not only does it help maintain our physical and mental health; rather it also helps in maintaining a decent and healthy lifestyle along with ensuring safety from a number of fatal diseases. It is usually said that the mood in which you wake up is largely dependent on the type of sleep you have been in. This in itself is a big proof of the importance of sleep in our lives. While sleeping, our body finally gets its share of rest and it also gets ample time in rejuvenating from all the wear and tear that it went through during the entire day. Not only this, the body is in its own working condition when we are sleeping as this is the time when it supports the healthy functioning of the brain as well as physical attributes of our body.

I joined the UC Davis Sleep lab to get a better idea of how sleep labs worked. Similar to the actigraphy measurements, electroencephalogram (EEG) is another method allowing insight into sleep patterns. Looking at EEG data is fascinating since I can visualize the sleeping pattern of the patient throughout their stages of sleep. It is like intruding on their sleep for the benefit of understanding the workings of their brain. Applying and interpreting different analytical models and programs will enhance my techniques in understanding sleep. From this lab, obtaining knowledge of using these models will help to interpret data from various sleep studies and to expand designing and planning for future graduate

The function of sleep is to promote restoration. The human body accumulates damages due to impact strain and from reactive oxygen species that damage cells and buildup during times of activity (Sleep-wake cycle, 2006). During sleep, most of the body's systems are in an anabolic state, helping to restore the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems (Sleep-wake cycle, 2006). Most of the body has restorative processes that can supplement the restorative processes that happen during sleep for long periods of time, but the brain is more reliant on regular intervals of sleep for restoration as quiescent restoration is insufficient (Sleep-wake cycle, 2006). When the body does not get enough sleep, most body functions work at diminished capacity. (Brain Basics, 2017). Sleep deprivation is defined as obtaining inadequate sleep to support adequate daytime alertness (Kryger, Roth, & Dement, 2005). The pathological effects of sleep deprivation can lead to undesirable physiologic

It is no secret that, similar to other animals, sleep is one of the most important things for a human being’s overall health. According to Watson and Breedlove, there are four main biological/neurological functions of sleep: energy conservation—the body uses less energy when it is asleep through what is called slow-wave sleep (SWS) by doing things such as reducing body temperature and slowing respiration; niche adaptation—the environmental happenings to which organisms are adapted to; body restoration—it restores materials used during awake hours; and memory consolidation—SWS and REM sleep help the brain consolidate memories from the previous day (2012).

There are many theories scientists have made for way we sleep. Inactivity theory states humans use to sit still for long periods of time to wait out their predators and it is now manifested in the form of sleep. Energy conservation theory states that we sleep to conserve our energy to search for food, or in modern times, work. Restorative theory states we sleep to renew our bodies and minds. Then, there is the brain plasticity theory which states that we sleep so that our brains can grow.

 A most popular theory on why we sleep is the restorative theory of sleep:

“Why did you sleep in so late?” A question everyone has been asked and then abruptly replied with “I guess I was just tired.” But why were you tired? Well to be completely honest we don’t know for sure. But we do have theories on why we may sleep, including the: Inactivity Theory, Energy Conservation Theory, Restorative Theories, and the Brain Plasticity Theory. These theories are still very controversial for most scientists. Even though we don't know why, we do know it’s necessary to survive since its reflexive and it enables us able to function.

Sleep is a curious function in almost all living things, however, some animals don’t sleep, some hibernate, and others have a constant cycle of sleep. The field of evolutionary psychology tries to explain this phenomenon. There are several hypotheses concerning the human sleep cycle. Some suggested adaptive reason from Psychology are the following: like bears in hibernation, we sleep to save and replenish resources; we sleep in safe places to reduce risk from predators in the night; finally, we may sleep to increase cognitive function. (Psychology, 2014) However, humans are not the only species adaptions seem to evolve for adaptive reasons.

Sleep is the period when various body processes take place, including cell regeneration, an essential process for growing infants. It is the time when your baby’s length and weight increases due to the growth hormones released during sleep. Growth hormones are not only important for muscular and skeletal growth, but also for mental and cognitive development. Proper rest periods also stimulate the growth of toenails, fingernails, hair follicles and skin.

Restorative theory of sleep is brain restorative and adaptive theory of sleep is body restorative.

Stern and Morgane put forward an alternative restoration theory, proposing that during sleep, the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain are restored. Again, this theory would seem plausible, in part because people who take antidepressants (these drugs help restore neurotransmitter levels) appear to need less REM sleep than normal. Evolutionary theories would perhaps seem less likely than restoration ones in terms of explaining the apparent need for sleep. According to hibernation theory (Webb, 1982), sleep has evolved to enable energy to be saved at times when being awake and active would be of little use to animals (e.g. because it is too dark for them to do anything).