Sleep

Interesting Statistics

• 77% adolescents go to bed after 10pm

• 84% get up before 7am

• 50% need an alarm to wake up

• 74% of Americans do not get enough sleep each night

Interesting statistics

• Sleep Deprivation: Costs $150 billion each year in higher stress and reduced worker productivity.

• Average American get 6 ¼ hours of sleep each night. About 2 hours less than a century ago.

• Teens should get 65 hours of sleep during the week.

Interesting stats

• 2/3 teens do not get enough sleep

• 70 million Americans have sleep problems

• 35 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder

Interesting stats

• 51% of Americans have admitted to driving while drowsy– 100,000+ accidents/year– 1550 deaths/year– 24% of Americans have fallen asleep

while driving– Peak drowsy times: 2am-4am; 2pm-

4pm

Sleepiness and Reaction Time

• After 18 hours awake, your reaction time begins to slow from ¼ second to ½ second…then longer.

• Then you can begin experiencing microsleep – zoning out for 2-20 sec.

• After 20 hours awake, your reaction time is the same as someone with blood-alcohol level of .08 (DUI level)

General Information

• About 1/3 of our life is spent sleeping

• Averaging less than 5 hours of sleep will lead to sleep deprivation and problems– Less alert– Difficulty focusing and learning– Slower reaction time– Health Problems

General Info

• Sleep helps

build resistance

to infection

• Sleep helps us recover from stress

• Sleep aids in making learning easier and helps us retain information faster

Stages of Sleep

• Sleep stages are defined in terms of brain-wave patterns

• Awake and alert, the brain emits beta waves (short and quick)

• Drowsy and relaxed, the brain emits alpha waves (slower)

Stage 1:

• Lightest stage of sleep.– Brain waves slow from alpha to theta– Transition may be accompanied by brief

images that resemble photographs

• If awakened during this stage, we will recall these images and feel as if we haven’t slept at all

• Stage lasts 30-40 minutes.

Stage 2:

• Brain moves to the slowest pattern of brain waves – delta waves

• Spindles may also occur – rapid bursts of activity

Stage 3:

• Delta waves continue as you fall into a deeper sleep

• Night Terrors (not nightmares) can occur in stages 3 and 4

• Stages 3 and 4 make deep sleep

Stage 4:• Stage of deepest sleep – hard to

awaken during this stage

• By the time you reach this stage, you have been asleep about 1 hour

• You remain in this stage for about 30 minutes, then move back to 3, then to 2, then to 1 (relatively quick return)

REM Stage: Rapid Eye Movement

• Breathing becomes irregular, blood pressure rises, heart beats faster

• Dreams occur during REM– First dream lasts about 10 minutes– Last dream lasts about 30 minutes

• REM takes place every 90 minutes from the time you fall asleep until morning

• Body becomes paralyzed so it doesn’t try to act out the dreams.

REM Stage

• Stabilizes emotions• Catalogues and stores memories• Restores the body and makes new

cells, restores chemicals used by the brain during the day.

• W/out:– Less attentive– More anxious– More irritable– Difficulty learning

Awake

Stage 1

Stage 1

Stage 2,3, 4