Vanessa Reveles

Sleep, Adolescent Sleep Patterns and Sleep Disorders

Circadian Rhythms
o Physiological patterns that repeat approximately every twenty-four hours, such as
the sleep-wakefulness cycle.
o Biological clock sets functions such as metabolism, heart rate, body
temperature, and hormonal activity.
The Sleep Cycle
o Stage 1: Slow activity, but fast brain waves
o Stage 2: Sleep Spindles-Short burst of fast electrical activity that is the signal of
the end of stage 1.
o Stages 3 & 4: enters a deeper state of relaxed sleep, heart and breathing rate slow
down, also brain waves slow down and delta waves appear, stage four is the
deepest point in the sleep cycle.
o Once stage four ends, the electrical activity of the brain increases, and the sleeper
climbs back up through the stages in reverse order.
REM Sleep
o Once the sleeper reaches stage one again, fast beta waves reappear, the sleeper
now goes into REM and the entire cycle starts all over.
o REM Sleep: a stage that occurs approximately every ninety minutes, rapid eye
movements occurring under closed eyelids, (Dreaming)
o Non-Rem: the recurring periods, mainly associated with the deeper stages of
sleep, when a sleeper is not showing rapid eye movement.
o REM Rebound: A condition of increased REM sleep caused by REM-sleep
deprivation.
Sleep Disorders
o Sleep Paralysis: a sleeper is unable to move any of the voluntarily muscles except
those controlling the eyes.
o Sleep Debt: sleep deficiency caused by not getting the amount of sleep one
requires to function.
o Insomnia: inability to fall asleep quickly, frequent arousals, or early awakening.
o Sleep Apnea: A respiratory disorder in which the person stops breathing multiple
times while sleeping.
o Night Terrors: deep sleep episodes that seem to produce terror, although any
terrifying mental experience is usually forgotten upon awakening.
o Narcolepsy: Sleep attacks

Adolescent Sleep Patterns

o Adolescents should be getting about 8-9 hours of sleep
 o night owls teens find themselves with more energy around the time they should
be going to bed
o Most teens go to sleep around 11PM or later
o Teens average sleep time is 5-6 hours
o

Zimbardo, Philip G., Johnson, Robert L.,

Weber, Ann L., Gruber, Craig W.
PSYCHOLOGY AP* Edition with Discovery
Psychology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Print.