Biological Rhythms: Ultradian Rhythms Flashcards
(10 cards)
1
Q
what are ultradian rhythms?
A
- type of biological rhythm with a frequency of more than once cycle in 24 hours
2
Q
what is an example of ultradian rhythms?
A
- stages of sleep
3
Q
what did psychologists do to identify the stage of sleep?
A
- used EEGs to identify 5 distinct stages of sleep that altogether span approximately 90 minutes
4
Q
what are stages 1 and 2 of the sleep cycle?
A
- this is ‘light sleep’ where a person is easily woken
- stage 1: brainwaves are high frequency and short amplitude, these are alpha waves
- stage 2: alpha waves continued but occasional random changes take place, these are known as sleep spindles
5
Q
what are stages 3 and 4 of the sleep cycle?
A
- this is ‘deep sleep’ or slow wave sleep (SWS)
- involves delta waves with lower frequency and higher amplitude
- difficult to wake someone during this state
6
Q
what is stage 5 of the sleep cycle called?
A
- REM sleep
7
Q
what is stage 5 of the sleep cycle?
A
- body is paralysed but brain activity resembles the awake brain
- brain produces theta waves, and eyes occasionally move around = rapid eye movement(REM)
- dreams are more often experienced
8
Q
what are the evaluation points of ultradian rhythms?
A
+ improved understanding
- individual differences
9
Q
explain the improved understanding eval.
A
- sleep scientists have found that SWS reduces with age
- growth hormone which is normally produced in SWS for older people is reduced
- van Cauter et al = resulting sleep deficits can explain the various issues in old age(e.g. reduced alertness)
- relaxation and medication can be used to increase SWS
- practical value
10
Q
explain the individual differences eval.
A
- significant variation between people
- Tucker et al = large number of differences between ppts, the duration of each stage of sleep, mainly stage 3 and 4
- likely to be biologically determined
- cant explain sleep = normal way
