Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Restoration theory of sleep
- Key idea
- Sleep serves an important biological function in restoring our body's
resources so that we can function better and for cell and tissue repair
- when sleep deprived research has found that people spend more
time in SWS 4 and REM sleep
- Oswald suggested that SWS is for our body's
repair and REM sleep is for brain restoration.
- SWS
- Growth hormone is secreted during slow wave sleep which enables protein
synthesis and cell growth, both of which are vital for repair of body tissue.
- Although GH is produced during the day greater amounts are released at night and seemed to be linked neural mechanisms related to SWS
- There is a decline in the amount of GH produced in
elderly people who also spend less time in SWS
- REM sleep neurotransmitters
- it is thought that REM sleep is important
from neurotransmitter activity in the brain
- Seigel et al suggests that their is less released while we are
asleep which allows the neurons to regain their sensitivity
- REM sleep and Development
- in babies and infants it is suggest that brain growth and devlopment occurs
during REM sleep as they spend a high proportion of sleep in that section.
- Comparing sleep in other animals, the amount of time spent in REM
sleep is proportional to the immaturity of the brain.
- AO2 and IDA
- Total sleep deprivation
- Case studies such as Peter Tripp who strayed awake for 201
hours and suffered from psychotic episodes as a result supports
the idea that REM is restoration of the brain and neurotranmitters
- however other case studies such as Randy Gardener have not support
this model of sleep as he showed no signs of psychotic episodes.
- Case study evaluation
- however case studies only represent a small
sample of people and these people are likely
to be unique in how they react to little sleep.
- they have probably volunteered to be part of a sample
so are prepared to fight sleep deprivation
- We should therefore be careful in generalising
the findings to the rest of the population.
- Animal Studies
- Experiments on animals suggest that total sleep deprivation
can lead to death, supporting the restoration theory
- However sleep patterns in animals are different to
humans who are more effect by exogenous zeitgebers
such as social dues and cultural factors.
- Also the ways of keeping the
animals awake may have caused
stress and lead to death.
- Partial sleep deprivation
- Empson studies or partial sleep deprivation found that
when participants were denied REM sleep, they spent
more time in REM sleep when allowed it again
- However these studies were conducted in lab so the
results lack ecological validity as the person wouldn't
of sleep as well as they would have at home
- This suggest that REM sleep is the most
important part of sleep to us.
- Endurance atheletes
- Sharpio found that athletes such as marathon runner slept
for longer after an event that usual which supports the idea of
sleep being for restoration.
- However other research suggests that although they
fall asleep faster they dont spend longer asleep.
- Biological Reductionism
- A strength of this approach is that it can provide predictions and can be tested, also the theories can be falsified by research such as Horne's
- Although it is sometime described as reductionist as it ignores the complexity
of sleep and the influences of external factors such as social cues and cultural
influences.