PSYCH 150 Exam
Consciousness correct answers-Consciousness, at its simplest, is "sentience or awareness of internal or
external existence".
-Sleep and wakefulness are common levels of consciousness, but they are not the only ones
-There are lower levels of consciousness than sleep
-Even when you sleep, you are conscious enough to respond if the fire alarm blares in your ear or your
phone's vibrations shake the bed or the bright sunlight streams through a crack in the blinds onto your
closed eyes
-There are also levels of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness—that gray area of brief
experiences like daydreaming, half-sleeping before you actually drift off, and half-awakening as sleep
comes to an end
Sleep deprivation correct answers-Any significant loss of sleep, resulting in problems in concentration,
irritability, and moodiness
-The failure to get enough sleep, regardless of the reason
-Sleep deprivation wrecks not just your feelings but your performance too; your brain is simply not as
sharp and not as quick when it operates on too little sleep and there are 4 reasons why:
1) Cognitive slowing: your neurons and the connections between them just don't function as fast when
you are sleep deprived. You notice this when you play Tetris or any other game that involves repetitive
fast responding. Poor sleep the night before rarely results in good gaming
2) Cognitive rigidity: lack of sleep kills your creativity. You are less likely to create an original masterpiece
or even offer witty comments when talking with your friends if you haven't slept well
3) Decreased motivation: it is not just that you can't perform well when you're sleepy; it is also that you
don't care that much about your poor performance when you're sleepy. As a result, your decreased
effort compounds your poor performance
4) Likelihood of unintended sleep the next day: the day after a sleepless night, there's a greater chance
that you'll doze off—or at least daydream or space out a lot—which interferes with performance
-Sleep deprivation impairs not only your cognitive abilities but also your ability to recognize that
impairment.
-Partial sleep deprivation is more common than complete sleep deprivation
,Circadian rhythm correct answers-The biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour
cycle
-The 24-hour cycle on which your brain and body function
-Your circadian rhythm is what makes you predictably sleepy at certain times of the day and predictably
alert at others
-Most of us have circadian rhythms that fall into step with each other, and with the rhythm of the sun as
well, but there is some variability; for instance, you probably know a few night owls and a few morning
people
-Our alertness tends to start at around midlevel when we wake up, then rise throughout the morning,
peak sometime around noon, decline through the afternoon and drop to its lowest levels through the
evening until we're back in bed
-Your circadian rhythm is determined by two things: (1) internal forces and (2) external cues
-The internal forces are driven by a very particular part of your brain: the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN),
which is within the hypothalamus.
-The SCN actually controls a whole system of clocklike mechanisms throughout your body (known as the
peripheral body clocks), including your digestive tract, liver, muscles, and fat tissue, and if damaged,
sleep-related problems may occur
-Although your SCN operates according to its own internal clock, it is also sensitive and responsive to its
surroundings: its external cues, such as light that might call for changes in your pattern of sleep or
wakefulness
-Another external cue that can affect your circadian rhythm is food, the time at which you eat can
determine how sleepy or alert you feel throughout the day
-One activity that can throw off your circadian rhythms significantly is shift work, particularly working the
overnight shift; shift work reschedules when you can eat, sleep, and do almost everything else
REM correct answers-Describes sleep in which vivid dreams typically occur; this type of sleep increases
as the night progresses while stage 4 sleep decreases
-REM is rapid eye movement or the flitting of the eyeballs behind the eyelids during sleep
-At its most basic, your sleep can be divided into two types, REM sleep, and non-REM sleep.
REM sleep correct answers-The stage of sleep marked by rapid eye movements, dreaming, and paralysis
of motor systems
-REM sleep is the stage of sleep in which intense brain activity and vivid dreams are most likely to occur
-REM sleep occurs after stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 of non-REM sleep.
,-Following REM sleep, the whole cycle repeats again. In a typical night of high-quality sleep, the cycle
lasts about 90 minutes and repeats about five times. The cycle differs slightly throughout the night, such
that early cycles are heavier on stages 3 and 4 sleep, but later cycles are heavier on REM sleep
-REM sleep features a fascinating combination of characteristics: the brain is very active (producing EEG
waves that resemble those during waking hours), but the body is completely inactive. That is due to REM
paralysis: temporary immobility during REM sleep. This discrepancy between the high level of activity of
your brain and the complete inactivity of your body is the reason early sleep researchers also called REM
sleep paradoxical sleep
REM rebound correct answers-When you don't get enough dream time one night, the next night you
experience REM rebound: an increase in REM sleep after a period of REM sleep deprivation
-REM rebound is part of the more general experience of sleep rebound—catching up on hours in the
sack after a night (or more) in which sleep was scarce. When your body responds to a sleep debt in this
way, it adds hours to your sleep total and fills those hours with a higher percentage of REM sleep than
usual
-When this happens, your body rushes past the non-REM sleep stages more quickly than usual to get to
REM sleep sooner
non-REM sleep correct answers-A quiet or deep sleep state characterized by the absence of motor
activity or eye movements and more regular, slow brain waves, breathing, and heart rate
-Non-REM sleep is any sleep other than REM sleep, when rapid eye movement, intense brain activity,
and dreams are unlikely to occur
-Non-REM sleep can be further divided into stages:
1) Stage 1 sleep is the lightest sleep, which happens right when you fall asleep and for a short time
afterward. When you're in stage 1 sleep, you've just drifted off. You stop responding when people call
your name, but if you do wake up, you may say you hadn't even been sleeping yet
2) Stage 2 sleep is a bit deeper. Your body temperature drops, your heart rate slows, and it takes more to
wake you up.
3 & 4) Stage 3 and stage 4 are the deepest stages of sleep and together are often called slow-wave sleep.
In slow-wave sleep, an EEG shows that brain activity produces big, slow waves that are markedly
different from any other stage of sleep or wakefulness. In slow-wave sleep, you are difficult to wake up. If
you do arise from slow-wave sleep, you are likely to be confused and disoriented for a short time, a
condition sleep researchers sometimes call sleep inertia, or being "sleep drunk"
-Following stages 3&4 is REM sleep
-REM sleep occurs after stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 of non-REM sleep.
, -Following REM sleep, the whole cycle repeats again. In a typical night of high-quality sleep, the cycle
lasts about 90 minutes and repeats about five times. The cycle differs slightly throughout the night, such
that early cycles are heavier on stages 3 and 4 sleep, but later cycles are heavier on REM sleep
Insomnia correct answers-Insomnia is a sleep disorder featuring consistent difficulty falling asleep,
staying asleep, or achieving high-quality sleep. People with insomnia just can't sleep
-Insomnia is, unfortunately, common. About one-third of us experience at least some symptoms of
insomnia
-Studies have demonstrated that worrying about your job—or losing your job altogether—increases your
odds for insomnia
-People of low socioeconomic status have higher rates of insomnia than the rich
-The cost of insomnia is tremendous, not just the personal aftereffects of a sleepless night, but also in
dollars and cents
-In total, insomnia-related work problems cost the United States over $100 billion per year
Sleepwalking (somnambulism) correct answers-Occurring during deep sleep, an episode of moving
around or walking around in one's sleep
-Sleepwalkers usually can't be woken up easily
-When sleepwalkers do wake up, they are often confused about what just happened
-The cause of sleepwalking is still being researched, but it's clear that heredity is a factor
-The odds of sleepwalking are higher when all of the genes, rather than just half of them, are shared
with a sleepwalker
-More generally, about 80% of sleepwalkers have at least one biological relative who also sleepwalks
-Stress and psychological problems also seem to contribute to sleepwalking, as suggested by the overlap
between sleepwalking and anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders
-In sleep-related eating behaviors, the sleeper eats while staying asleep. This typically takes place during
the first few hours of the night and is most common in young women
-In sleep-related sexual behaviors (also known as sexsomnia), the sleeper gropes another person, tries to
have intercourse, masturbates, or performs other sexual behaviors while staying asleep
Narcolepsy correct answers-A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer
may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times
