Sleep And Actigraphy: What Does It Means?

“Why do we sleep?” is a very popular questions that many humans ask today. Sleep is very sufficient to the human body. If it was not important, then God would not have designed for a third of our life to be occupied by sleep. During this time period, many people are interested to know what is a good amount of sleep and what are the harmful effects to not getting enough sleep.

Sleep is a vital component to sustaining life in humans. Even though everyone participates in sleeping, many individuals do not understand the true significance of sleeping, and what benefits and consequences come with too much or too little sleep. Sleep comes in different stages throughout the period of rest, with some stages being more important than others. By interrupting various stages, different types of problems can arise from which stage is being affected. In particular, elder adults are affected in larger numbers to a more extensive depth of issues. “However, aging does not mean elders should encounter sleep disorders; it merely increases the possibility that more elders will seek help to manage the problem” (Song, Hollenbeck, Blair, Schatzkin, Chen. 2012. p.316) By understanding possible causes for sleep disorders, what kinds of physiological effects this has on the aged anatomy, and the types of problems that appear in the psychological aspect, it becomes achievable to begin working towards reversing complications and promoting elder sleep health.

The sleep assessment conducted on the patient had an interesting dynamic in how we think we sleep opposed to how our partner says we sleep. The patient wakes up every morning at 6 a.m. and takes a nap right after lunchtime approximately at 1 p.m. The daily naps, according to the patient, last about forty-five minutes to an hour. When asked about restlessness when waking up the patient with a stern voice and pointed finger says, "When I'm up I'm up and ready to go." The patient also explained that they have no trouble staying asleep; however going to sleep can be challenging depending on if anything troubling is on her mind.

Studies have shown that daytime drowsiness, reduced alertness, and diminished intellectual performance is the result of poor sleep quality and shortened duration of sleep (Badran, Yassin, Fox, Laher, & Ayas, 2015). Moreover, it has been documented that disturbances in sleep and shortened duration of sleep can have negative effects on quality of life (Badran et al., 2015; CDC, 2013). Furthermore, without exception, sleep is vital for the brain and body to relax and repair itself for the purpose of functioning adequately (Jackson, Redline, & Emmons, 2015). Several epidemiologic research studies have linked untreated sleep-disordered breathing to several negative health and safety repercussions, including the increase threat of diabetes, depression,

The average human spends about 25 years of their life sleeping. That is equal to one-third of a person’s life. So if sleep is vital and common among every single human, what do you know about it? What happens when we sleep (Attention Grabber)? Before the 1950s, scientists believed that the brain would just “shut off” when we would go to sleep. It wasn’t until the discovery of the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) state that scientists really looked into what happens in the brain while we are asleep. Studies have found that we go through a cycle of stages during sleep, and it is important for our health (Orientation to Topic). Today, I am going to inform you about what really happens when we sleep, and some issues that are found among it (Specific Purpose). In order to really understand this worldwide commonality, you need to know some background on sleep, the stages in the cycle, and some common disorders (Central Idea). I have taken a year long psychology course that went into depth on sleep psychology, and I have done extensive research on the topic to better grasp it (Statement of Credibility). I want to inform you on sleep so you can understand what happens when you close your eyes every night, and so you can detect any irregularities in your sleep pattern (Statement of Goodwill). First, I will give a background of why and how we know to sleep, then I will explain the stages in the sleep cycle, and finally I will tell you about some common disorders (Preview).

Sleep has been an important topic of research for many years. Early sleep literature only reported observations from sleep habits to compare and contrast with the data taken from the wake state. Before the majority of the science behind sleep was discovered, it was assumed that sleep was when the brain “turned off” and was in an entirely homogeneous state (Dement, 1998). Slowly, advancements were made in the study of sleep, including in 1729 when Jean Jacques d’Ortous deMairan demonstrated the persistence of circadian rhythms and in 1877 when narcolepsy was first described in medical literature (Dement, 1998; “Sleep Research Timeline”, 2017). Sleep research has since become much more advanced and is progressing quickly.

The in-depth quality of the “Sleep-Wake” paper may be linked to the qualifications of its authors. All three sources were written by some level of expert within the field. Keith J. Anderson, the writer of the article “College Students try to Cheat Sleep Needs” for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has a Ph D., yet is only a counselor for Gallagher Health Center. The four authors of the Biological Rhythm Research study are all very highly specialized in this area. As workers and researchers for the Physiology Department for the Chronobiological Laboratory in Natal, Brazil, they deal with the intricacies of sleep and its effects on the human body daily. The people who wrote the “Sleep-Wake” pattern are also very well educated and conditioned to address the topic of sleep and its effect on college students. Two of these authors are professors with the Department of the Sciences of Education at an international university, while the third author works directly with the Sleep Disorders Unit inside of the

Sleep… How much is too little? How much is too much? Does it matter when one sleeps? Without the crucial state of rest for both the mind and the body, known as sleep, human beings would be unable to perform everyday skills essential to thriving, such eating, critical thinking, and performing tasks effectively. If one’s sleeping patterns are disturbed on a regular basis, then that person quite possibly might have a sleep disorder. The topic of sleep disorders is complex and extensive due to the fact that various types are diagnosed and recognized. Each type of sleep disorder can affect individuals in its own specific way. A few of the wide range of sleep disorders include: sleep apnea, night terrors, Restless Leg Syndrome, narcolepsy, excessive snoring, insomnia, and many more. Sleep disorders are quite intriguing simply because, no matter the type, two patients might display the same sleep disorder but exhibit differing symptoms. The two types of sleep disorders to be discussed in extent are obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy. When one experiences narcolepsy, involving the overwhelming urge to sleep during the day, and sleep apnea, involving the disturbance of one’s breathing patterns, that person can be effected both physically and emotionally.

The design of the study was a correlation base study among different age groups, explored effect, and efficiency, latency, and assessed sleep duration. The researcher viewed and measured the participant's PSQI and MRI scans by an average of 3.5 years. The outcome of the research showed that poor sleep quality was associated with an increase of atrophy in frontal, parietal, and temporal regions, and reduced volume in the right upper frontal region. Correlations for the age of 60 and above, could not be explained by any of the variation in BMI, blood pressure, physical activity, and were linked to decrease in sleep efficiency. With the graphs and tables of the research, from the data, we can conclude that the measure of the atrophy was widely correlated with sleep quality. The conclusion for this article was largely driven by correlations from elderly age adults, could not be explained by characteristics that are being

Sufficient sleep is defined as 7 or more hours in a 24-hour period. Poor sleep health is a common problem in the U.S. with 25 percent of adults reporting insufficient sleep for at least 15 out 30 days (2009). Over the last 30 years, the odds of being a short sleeper (less than 6 hours a night) has increased notably in the United States (Knutson et al. 2010). Currently, it is estimated that approximately 70 million Americans have sleep problems and that nearly 60 percent of them have a chronic disorder. Possible chronic disorders include; sleep apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia, parasomnia, jet-lag syndrome, and disturbed circadian rhythms (National Institutes of Health).

This topic is of immense interest to me. Sleep patterns to a very large extent can tell a lot about a person's health and well being. My interest in this topic is due to the fact that it's a relatively new field and will be an excitement to follow it's unfolding.

I have fallen asleep every night for the last 22 years, but yet I never analyzed my own sleep pattern. Never truly aware of what time I fell asleep, whether I dreamt every night, or the quality of my sleep. All I knew was that the older I got, the more lethargic I got, and the more caffeine I consumed. Now given the opportunity to monitor my sleep for five nights with the use of a sleep diary I have better knowledge of my sleep patterns. Basing my sleep patterns on concepts learned in class, I was able to understand my sleep, and apply different issues I experienced each night to the resolutions I learned. Hopefully, after my sleep diary I will know how to improve my quality of sleep on a regular basis based on concepts learned in class.

Sleep can be disturbed in a variety of different ways and problems with sleep are a major health concern. In fact, the issue is considered to be such an important one that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) established National Sleep Week to promote awareness of disordered sleeping and promote educational of sleep hygiene practices (CDC, 2011). Disordered sleep may be classified on the basis of quality, timing, or duration (APA, 2013). Most of the research focused on disordered sleep has focused on aspects of insufficient sleep; that

Sleep is very important to a human being’s health. The consequences of sleep manifest in both health and performance. The relationships between sleep and performance have been studied in many different fields including human science, medicine, psychology, education, and business and etc. Sleep-related variables for instance sleep deficiency, sleep quality, sleep habits have been shown to influence the performance of students (Lack, 1986; Mulgrew et al., 2007; National Sleep Foundation, 2008; Pilcher & Huffcutt, 1996; Rosekind et al., 2010). According to Weitzman et al. (1981) , Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS) was defined into three big categories which are long sleep latency on weekdays (normally fall asleep between 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.),

The first evaluation was a polysomnography sleep study. Which involves measurements of multiple physiological parameters by a combination of electroencephalography, electrocardiography, electromyography, electrooculography, pneumography and pulse oximetry to measure sleep worthiness and sleep efficiency (Meltzer & Mindell, 2006). The polysomnography recorded the participant’s brain waves, the oxygen level in their blood during sleep, heart rate and breathing, as well as any eye and leg movements during the time of the study. Statistically significant polysomnographic findings will show lower sleep efficiency, higher apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) and a larger number of sleep stage shifts per hour in the children, determining the quality of sleep each participant is experiencing (Meltzer & Mindell, 2006) as being good or bad. Subjects were rated to have good sleep, if Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep stage was