Transcript The Restoration Theory Of Sleep

The Restoration Theory Of Sleep
The function of
sleep is to allow
the body to be
repaired/ restored
Hartmann (1973) said that REM sleep is a time for making
neurotransmitters to compensate for the amount used during the
day.
Stern and Morgane (1974) also thought that that REM sleep
allows the brain to restore levels of neurotransmitters to 'factory
settings'.
Oswald (1980) claimed that NREM sleep restored the body and
REM sleep restored the brain, through protein synthesis and that
Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) helped the body restore itself.
Horne (1988) distinguished between core (SWS & REM) sleep and
optional (stages 1 to 3) sleep
The main predictions of Restoration Theory are:
Deficits in functioning when sleep deprived

'Rebound' effects following sleep deprivation

Increase in REM sleep during brain growth,
reorganiation and repair

Increase in SWS during times of illness or injury

Deficits when sleep
deprived?
Peter Tripp 201 hours
Randy Gardner, a 17 year old
student, stayed awake for 11
days (260)
Rebound effects?
Dement (1960)
PPs deprived of REM sleep seemed
to have a need to catch up
Attempts to enter REM sleep
doubled from an average of 12 to
26 times by the seventh night.
When allowed to sleep normally
the participants spent much longer
than normal in REM sleep, as did
Randy Gardner.
Increase in REM sleep during brain
growth and repair?
Total sleep time increases during illness
REM increases during recovery from brain
injury, ECT & drug withdrawal
Evaluation
The FACE VALIDITY of this theory is high – it
makes sense.
Extrapolating from hamsters, cats and rats to
humans is always risky.
The research is not always RELIABLE and so we
might question its VALIDITY. (cf human sleep
deprivation studies and animal sleep depriavation
studies – fatal or not fatal?)
Case Studies- 'Alien Among Us' criticism
It is easy to obtain quantitative (OBJECTIVE?)
data on REM, amount of neurotransmitters etc

The main problem...
...is the lack of death among humans who are
sleep deprived!!