Purpose & Sleep-Wake Cycle
Suggests sleep helps animals avoid periods of activity when they are most vulnerable.
Evolutionary
During this stage of sleep, the body experiences muscle atonia
REM
This cognitive function is impaired by partial sleep deprivation, affecting concentration and focus
Attention
Limitation of He et al's research
Measures subjective (self-reports) which could be improved with objective measures.
Sample size small which limits the generalisability.
All participants believed phone use before bed was disturbing their sleep which gave them motivation to reduce use and also an example of a potential demand characteristic.
Name one type of extraneous variable
Participant or Environmental or Researcher
In a study on sleep habits of teenagers, this term refers to the group actually studied
Sample
This type of data involves numerical information, such as the number of hours participants sleep each nigh
Quantitative
Researchers use a standardised sleep diary to ensure that participants’ self-reported sleep data is consistent. This addresses which concept?
Reliability
This hormone helps regulate sleep-wake cycles
Melatonin
This term refers to the complete progression through all stages of NREM and REM sleep
Sleep Cycle
Bob uses his phone late into the night, exposing himself to blue light, which disrupts his sleep. This is an example of sleep deprivation caused by this factor.
Sleep Environment
What is the term for the practice of maintaining consistent sleep and wake times, even on weekends
Consistent Sleep Patterns
In a study investigating the impact of caffeine consumption on sleep quality, what would be the dependent variable?
Sleep Quality
In a sleep study, this group receives the treatment or intervention being tested.
Experimental
This type of data is based on personal opinions and feelings, such as self-reported sleep quality.
Subjective
In a sleep study, ensuring that the sleep quality questionnaire accurately measures sleep quality and not another variable is an example of this type of validity.
Internal or Construct Validity
Suggests that sleep aligns with the body’s circadian rhythms for optimal functioning
Evolutionary
During this stage of sleep, muscle tension decreases, but brief muscle twitches may occur
Stage 2 NREM
Lisa has been feeling anxious about an upcoming presentation, causing her to wake up frequently during the night. This is an example of sleep deprivation caused by this factor
Stressors
To improve sleep quality, what should you do with electronic devices like smartphones and tablets before bedtime
Stop using them 30 minutes before bed
In a study comparing the effects of meditation and exercise on sleep patterns, what would be the control group?
The group of participants who didn't exercise or meditate
Researchers investigating sleep habits in a large city use a computer program to randomly select participants from the city’s population registry
Random sampling
This measure of central tendency is calculated by adding up all the hours of sleep and dividing by the number of participants
Mean
To ensure the findings of a sleep study can be applied to the general population, researchers select a sample that represents various demographics. This improves what?
Generalisability
The natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours.
Circadian rhythm
This stage of sleep is characterised by a significant drop in heart rate
Stage 3 NREM
Blocks adenosine receptors which promotes sleepiness and also delays melatonin production, disrupting the circadian rhythm.
Caffeine
How can you create a sleep-conducive environment?
Bed should be used for sleep or intimacy only as this helps create a cognitive link between bed and sleep.
Keeping your bedroom cool (around 15-19°C) helps promote deeper sleep.
Using blackout curtains or an eye mask can help create a dark environment
Minimising noise with earplugs, white noise machines, or soundproofing
Comfortable bedding to reduce discomfort and prevent sleep disturbances
Imagine a sleep study involving administering a new experimental drug to participants. What ethical principle ensures that participants are fully aware of the potential risks and benefits before participating?
Informed Consent
In a study examining the effects of blue light exposure before bed, researchers use a computer program to assign participants to the condition where they use a blue light filter or or the condition where there is no filter.
Random Allocation
This subjective measure involves participants rating their sleep quality from 1 to 10
Rating Scale
Imagine a scenario where a participant experiences distress during a sleep experiment. Which ethical guideline should be applied in this scenario?
Withdrawal Rights
Recent research suggests that sleep may allow the brain critical time and conditions to remove waste such as the accumulation of beta-amyloid and abnormal tau proteins.
Restorative
The average length of a complete sleep cycle in adults
90-110 minutes
Severe reduction or lack of sleep over a short period of time
Partial sleep deprivation
The time it takes for you to go from being fully awake to sleeping
Sleep Latency
A researcher hypothesises that exposure to natural light during the day will impact sleep quality. What type of hypothesis is this?
Non-directional
These are cues that participants pick up on, which may influence their behaviour in a sleep study.
Demand Characteristics
This measure of central tendency is the middle value when all sleep durations are arranged in order.
Median
To protect participants’ identities, researchers use codes instead of names when recording sleep data. This addresses which ethical issue?
Confidentiality
The stage of sleep which may assist in the consolidation of new memories by converting them from short-term to long-term storage, while information deemed unimportant is removed
REM
During this stage of sleep, eye movements are slow and rolling.
Stage 1 NREM
Two physiological effects of chronic sleep deprivation
Obesity and Heart Disease
Aim of He et al's study
Assess the effects of restricting mobile phone use before bedtime on sleep, pre-sleep arousal, mood and working memory
A researcher wants to investigate the impact of noise pollution on sleep disturbances. They ensure that the bedrooms for every participants have the black out curtains. This is an example of which type of variable?
Control
In a study on the impact of light exposure on sleep, all participants are exposed to the same light intensity and duration to maintain consistency
Standardisation of Procedure and Instructions
This type of quantitative method involves measuring participants’ heart rates while they sleep
Objective Physiological
This type of reliability is demonstrated when different researchers obtain similar results using the same sleep study methods
Inter-rater reliability
A biological rhythm that involves changes in bodily functions or activities that occur as part of a cycle shorter than 24 hours
Ultradian
This stage of sleep decreases in duration as the night progresses
Stage 3 NREM
Can lead to increased irritability, mood swings, and heightened emotional reactivity making it harder to regulate emotions.
Psychological effect of partial sleep deprivation
Overall key findings from He et al's study
After four weeks of intervention effective reduction of sleep latency, increased sleep duration, improved sleep quality, reduced pre-sleep arousal, reduced negative affect and improved positive affect and working memory were achieved.
What is one role of an ethics committee?
deciding whether a research proposal meets all the requirements of the National Statement and is therefore ethically acceptable
deciding whether the researcher(s) is adequately experienced and qualified
monitoring approved research (e.g. through progress reports, random inspections of research sites, interviews with participants)
handling complaints (e.g. from participants, the wider community)
ensuring accountability of the researcher (e.g. the researcher understands, accepts and maintains responsibility for all aspects of their research)
This type of study might explore the relationship between sleep duration and stress levels
Correlational
This type of table shows how often different sleep durations were reported by participants
Frequency Table
Researchers control for room temperature in a sleep study to prevent it from affecting participants’ sleep quality. This addresses which type of extraneous variable?
Environmental