Insomnia its affects and its treatments.
Insomnia is a common affliction. Half of the adult population has it over the course of a year, 35% experience insomnia on an occasional basis, and 12% on an ongoing basis. Insomnia is perhaps the second most prevalent health complaint after pain. Insomnia affects all ages, yet increases in prevalence with age, and women are twice as likely to have it compared to men. It is seen in all cultures and races as well. Even though one-third of Americans are affected by insomnia, 50% of these patients consider their insomnia serious, and 10% have even been prescribed a medication for the insomnia, only 5% of all insomniacs approach their physicians specifically for insomnia as a primary complaint. This is surprising, considering insomnia can have profound negative effects on health and well being. Insomniacs report difficulties with memory and task completion, are often irritable, and have greater difficulty staying awake during daytime tasks than non-insomniacs. Although long-term risks of insomnia have not been sufficiently assessed, scientists suggest depression and other emotional difficulties will develop with persistent insomnia. One of the causes of insomnia is the use of stimulants. Even though caffeine near bedtime may not disturb sleep, it may trigger awakenings later. Caffeine related ingredients are also found in soft drinks, chocolate, and strong tea. Nicotine is a
Discuss Research That Has Suggested A Link Between Stress And Ill Health.
Research that has suggested a link between stress and ill health. Looking at the link between stress and illness, there have been many studies done to show the direct effect stress has in relation to illness, the main three pathways looked at are the direct effect, stress interacting with pre-existing vulnerabilities and how stress leads to behavioural changes that are not beneficial to one’s health. However it is hard for researchers to establish a definite cause and effect relationship between stress and specific physical symptoms or illnesses. Not only do people's minds and bodies react differently to stress, but there also are other factors at work when someone falls ill. Most researchers have found the more a person suffers from stress the weaker his or hers immune system becomes. In trying to understand why stress can be bad for the body is to look at it from an evolutionary perspective, where in the past our ancestors were often confronted with life threatening situations and as a result the ‘fight or flight’ response evolved. Whilst being confronted by dangerous situations such as confrontation with a predator it was necessary to send blood to the muscles and be in a heightened state of arousal, however today it might not be relevant to most everyday stressors. So we can say most stressors do not pose a physical danger to us yet the way our nervous and
Discuss the role of endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers in the sleep/wake cycle, and at least one other biological rhythm
Discuss the role of endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers in the sleep/wake cycle, and at least one other biological rhythm The sleep/wake cycle is a circadian rhythm, which means that it rotates a full cycle every 24 hours, and is controlled and regulated through endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers. Endogenous pacemakers are inbuilt biological clocks that regulate our behaviour, such as the sleep/wake cycle, stages of sleep and the menstrual cycle. Exogenous zeitgebers, such as lights or clocks, keep us regulated with the outside world. It is believed that humans have many endogenous pacemakers, some of which have yet to be identified. In this essay I will be discussing research that helps us to understand the role and importance of endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers. The biological clock that regulates the sleep/wake cycle in mammals is called the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN), found in the primitive area of the brain, and the exogenous zeitgeber that acts upon it is light. When the optic nerves at the back of the eyes can sense light, the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus doesn’t function. But when the optic nerves sense a lack of light it sends a signal through the optic chiasm to the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus. The SCN then activates the pineal gland, which releases the hormone melatonin, making us feel tired and want to sleep. This shows us that
Is a stressful lifestyle a habit as harmful to the body as a long term substance abuse?
Is a stressful lifestyle a habit as harmful to the body as a long term substance abuse? The arousal level can be thought of as how much capacity you have available to work with. The concept of arousal relates to the activities of the ANS, this is also known as the Automatic Nervous System. The automatic nervous system or the ANS is a network of unmediated nerve fibres, which regulates internal systems such as the body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure. The function of the sympathetic division is concerned with states which are highly activated and preceded for action, while the parasympathetic division is concerned with states which are quiet and restorative. Activation of the sympathetic division of the automatic nervous system is often given the general term of arousal. Psychological interest in arousal has tended to centre on the relationship between physiologically aroused condition, and the experience of emotions. Periods of high physiological activity happen when we take vigorous exercise are accompanied by high levels of adrenaline and by all the other symptoms of the generalised arousal state. However aroused states also accompany the emotional states of fear and anger. Some evidence suggests that the sensation of arousal appears to interact reflexively with these emotions, with each enhancing the other. As our level of arousal has an effect on our
Describe two psychological wxplanations for schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder
Describe two psychological explanations for schizophrenia & multiple personality disorders. Abnormal behaviour is difficult to define as there are no single characteristics that apply to all instances. A model of abnormality offers a complete and coherent explanation for the origins of abnormal behaviour. First we discuss the psychodynamic model/approach along with Freud's psychosexual development stages and defence mechanisms. Next we will look at multiple personality disorders and how Freud's psychodynamic theory explains it. The paper will then move onto the biological model/approach and how this explains abnormal conditions. We will then look at schizophrenia and how the biological theory explains what causes it. The psychodynamic model of abnormality was the first major challenge to the biological model. Freud and others developed this model through clinical work with mentally disordered patients. Freud believed that problems arose from dynamics of the personality (psyche), rather than from physical problems. Freud believed that the mind had both conscious and unconscious areas. The unconscious is the biggest part of the psyche and is dominated by the 'id'. Id is a primitive part of the personality and pursues only pleasure and gratification. It is only concerned with its desires being satisfied and is not interested in social rules. The second area is the conscious
Why do we dream?
A2 PSYCHOLOGY - PYA4: DREAMING TASK BASED LEARNING ASSIGNMENTS The idea of task-based learning is that students are given a substantial task or set of tasks to complete from which they will learn about a particular part of the specification. Students carry out the assignment set them, sometimes on their own, other times in small groups, by following guidelines or questions posed in pre-defined stages. There are lots of benefits to completing TBL assignments: your research skills and independent learning abilities are vastly improved; you get a sense of achievement when you finish the assignment. From the teacher's point of view, it gives them a chance to have a chat with individual students in the class. This could be to get to know you better, or to talk through any problems you might have, provide support or solutions, perhaps stretch you a little bit, in fact, all sorts of things! Practicalities: You will be given a set of goals to achieve (so that you know what you're aiming for) and some clues to help you achieve those goals. You will also be given a timescale by which you should have done certain things. Time management is most important, as you must ensure that you stick to deadlines, interim and overall. This is good training for life, good for your CV, and good for your Psychology. You will need to report in to each lesson whilst you are working on
Describe 2 theories of the function of sleep and evaluate them in relation to evidence from sleep deprivation studies
Describe two or more theories of the function of sleep and evaluate them in relation to the . evidence coming from sleep deprivation studies. One theory of the function of sleep is the energy conservation theory (Webb). Warm - blooded animals, such as humans use up a lot of energy to maintain a constant body temperature. This is especially difficult for small animals with a high metabolic rate. All activities use energy, and animals with a high metabolic rate use even more energy when scavenging and hiding or escaping from predators. Sleep, however, provides a period of enforced inactivity (therefore using less energy), much like hibernation. This means that it is a way of conserving energy and may provide explanation towards the function of sleep. We can see that this has a certain amount of face validity if we compare sleep patterns in different species. It has been noted that the percentage of sleep varies according to the size of a species. The amount of sleep is further affected by two other external factors: food requirements and predator avoidance. For example, cows and horses (grazing animals) have to spend a lot of their time eating because the food that they eat, such as grass and plants, is low in nutrients and so they need to eat a lot of the time and therefore have less time to sleep. However, carnivores such as cats and dogs eat a more balanced and healthy
Describe & discuss how each psychological perspective explains smoking using empirical evidence to support your answer
Access to HE (Science) Psychology (SCIFT/SCIPT) 1 Assignment 1 Nichola J Brown Psychology Assignment 1 Describe & discuss how each psychological perspective explains smoking using empirical evidence to support your answer A Psychological perspective is a view or an approach to studying human behaviour. Smoking today kills around 4 million people every year; it is the main cause of lung cancer and disease in humans. To understand smoking behaviour we can look at the main psychological perspectives to better understand the reasons behind smoking, and maybe come up with effective solutions to reduce this behaviour and promote healthier lifestyles. Biological Perspective Charles Darwin (1859) first demonstrated the idea that genetics and evolution played a major role in affecting human behaviour through natural selection. Biological Psychologists also agree with this theory that all human behaviour has been evolved over millions of years to adapt behaviour to the environment that we live in. Biological Psychologists also believe that because the mind resides in the brain, that factors such as chromosomes and hormones have a significant influence on our behaviour for example, gender personality development. Using the biological approach there is scientific evidence to say that smoking behaviour is linked to effect that nicotine has on the brain. There are over 300
Why do the Poor Relation and Walter Mitty choose to escape from reality in the way they do? How successful are they?
Why do the Poor Relation and Walter Mitty choose to escape from reality in the way they do? How successful are they? Michael, in the Poor Relation's story, escapes from his reality and lives in life where he has no regrets and where everything has happened the way he wanted it to. Walter Mitty on the other hand escapes into a reality where he is not a shy, incompetent man, but a hero in many aspects of life. In this world of his he is respected and brave. Michael seems to be an escapist because it is a better life and he can forget about his poverty; Walter does it to seem a better man in his own eyes and to get away from his bossy, inconsiderate wife. Michael lives in the 19th century where poverty is rife in England and does not have a job, L. 38 'on pretence of going to business, L. 44 'I get through the day'. We learn he is 'unbusiness-like'. We can see how he is poor as he names prices showing he worries over having too little money, For example on L. 45 'of one and threepence'. On the other hand Walter Mitty lives in the 1940's where he has a home and car and does not feel poverty and does not starve. He has a home and wife and a puppy. Buying things is not such a problem, L. 91 'weekly trips to town'. He seems to live the life of the post-war USA 'The American Dream' of prosperity and ownership. This shows us that men of their type can exist regardless of
Outline and evaluate one neurobiological theory of dreaming and one psychological theory of dreaming
a) Outline and evaluate one neurobiological theory of dreaming One neurobiological theory of dreaming is the activation-synthesis hypothesis, which suggests that the brain stem generates random signals as it does when you're awake due to internal and external stimuli (Hobson and McCarley, 1977). However, unlike when you're awake, during sleep there is a sensory and motor blockade i.e. no input from senses and no control of muscles due to paralysis so there is a lack of internal and external stimuli but EEG recordings show that the cortex is still active in REM sleep. The only muscles that are allowed to move are those controlling the eyes, hence REM sleep is called rapid eye movement sleep. Dreams are supposedly created during the synthesis part of this process. When the activation (the random signals) reaches the frontal cortex, it essentially does the same job as when we are awake. It tries to make sense of the stimuli being received. Dreams are often of a strange nature because of the combination of the electrical signals from the brainstem and stored images in memory and because the brain attempts to invest the dream with meaning. Hobson (1988) believed that dreams are no more than reactions to random nervous system stimuli, which the brain "interprets" as peculiar images and other sensory illusions. Research to support this theory comes from recent developments in
