Evolutionary Theory: The Psychological Theories Of Sleep
Theories of Sleep
The 'Restoration Theory' is a psychological approach to sleep which claims that we need to sleep in order for our brain to restore energy resources depleted from biological processes throughout the day and remove any useless waste from the muscles. Oswald's research in 1966 proposed that the brain and the body are restored through different stages of sleep, the former being restored during rapid eye movement sleep and the latter during slow-wave sleep, part of non-rapid eye movement sleep.
Evidence supporting the 'Restoration Theory of Sleep' is found by the effects of sleep deprivation. It is recommended that people get an average of seven to nine hours of sleep each day in order to be able to function at the best of their …show more content…
Another research study conducted in 1967 by Allison and Cicchetti showed evidence that some species of animals which would be considered prey sleep for shorter amounts of time than their predators, meaning they would be awake at a time they are vulnerable. This study only focused on 39 species of animals on a planet containing around eight and a half million different species which leaves the question of just which species Meddis's research into the 'Evolutionary Theory' can be applied to.
The 'Consolidation Theory' is a psychological approach to sleep that proposes that we sleep in order for our brains to be able to completely process the information gathered throughout the day and to prepare our brain for the next days information, this is the contrary to Crick and Mitchison's 'Reverse Learning Theory' which proposes that we actually sleep so we can be rid of unwanted or useless information.
There is evidence that supports this theory in a study conducted in 1924 by researchers Jenkins and Dallenbach. In their experiment they taught a class of students a series of faux words before they went to sleep and testing them when they woke up. Their study showed that the students remembered more when they slept after learning, which supports the 'Consolidation …show more content…
Many anti-depressants available, specifically those containing monoamine-oxidase inhibitors, will actually suppress REM sleep. If the purpose of sleep truly is to consolidate information during REM then the use of these anti-depressants should theoretically result in memory impairment but that is not the case. Despite the 'Consolidation Theory' being one of the most popular theories of why we sleep, the specific details of the mechanics of the consolidation of information during sleep are still almost entirely
The 'Restoration Theory' is a psychological approach to sleep which claims that we need to sleep in order for our brain to restore energy resources depleted from biological processes throughout the day and remove any useless waste from the muscles. Oswald's research in 1966 proposed that the brain and the body are restored through different stages of sleep, the former being restored during rapid eye movement sleep and the latter during slow-wave sleep, part of non-rapid eye movement sleep.
Evidence supporting the 'Restoration Theory of Sleep' is found by the effects of sleep deprivation. It is recommended that people get an average of seven to nine hours of sleep each day in order to be able to function at the best of their …show more content…
Another research study conducted in 1967 by Allison and Cicchetti showed evidence that some species of animals which would be considered prey sleep for shorter amounts of time than their predators, meaning they would be awake at a time they are vulnerable. This study only focused on 39 species of animals on a planet containing around eight and a half million different species which leaves the question of just which species Meddis's research into the 'Evolutionary Theory' can be applied to.
The 'Consolidation Theory' is a psychological approach to sleep that proposes that we sleep in order for our brains to be able to completely process the information gathered throughout the day and to prepare our brain for the next days information, this is the contrary to Crick and Mitchison's 'Reverse Learning Theory' which proposes that we actually sleep so we can be rid of unwanted or useless information.
There is evidence that supports this theory in a study conducted in 1924 by researchers Jenkins and Dallenbach. In their experiment they taught a class of students a series of faux words before they went to sleep and testing them when they woke up. Their study showed that the students remembered more when they slept after learning, which supports the 'Consolidation …show more content…
Many anti-depressants available, specifically those containing monoamine-oxidase inhibitors, will actually suppress REM sleep. If the purpose of sleep truly is to consolidate information during REM then the use of these anti-depressants should theoretically result in memory impairment but that is not the case. Despite the 'Consolidation Theory' being one of the most popular theories of why we sleep, the specific details of the mechanics of the consolidation of information during sleep are still almost entirely