Biopsychology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Biopsychology - Assignment Example Another reason for sleep is that it serves as physiological maintenence. During sleep, muscles and other damaged cellular components use the time to repair and regenerate. Another important feature of sleep physiology is the notion of an internal clock, or our natural circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are observed in almost all living things. This internal clock serves as regulating when to be active and using energy compared when the organism should be resting to conserve energy. The cycle occurs once per day. In particular, the effect can be seen with the impact of the changing between daylight and nighttime. This can be seen by the effects of sleep and light on the secretion of certain neurochemicals and hormones such as melatonin. Sleep occurs in distinct phases, which is characterized by a change in brain wave activity as well as some physiological changes. There are 2 main phases of sleep: non- rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement. Stage 1 is characterized as the light sleep that is predominated by theta waves that lasts between 5-10 minutes. The second stage lasts around 20 minutes and sleep spindles begin to form, which are rapid bursts in brain activity. The third stage is characterized by delta waves and is in between light and heavy sleep. Stage four is deep sleep, which is again characterized by an increase in delta waves. Stage 5 is the deepest stage of sleep and this is where REM occurs. REM stands for rapid eye movement. The most vivid dreaming occurs during this stage of sleep because it is the deepest stage of sleep. REM usually occurs between 4 and 5 times throughout the entire night. The mind is extremely active during this period with levels of neurological activity being similar to that of being awake. Theories show that REM is important in not only maintaining neurological activity, but also for memory processing. Sleep disorders can be caused by a majority of cases and there are a variety of them. Sleep apnea is a disorder in whic h a person physically stops breathing during sleep. Insomnia is where a person cannot fall asleep easily, therefore feels the effects of sleep deprivation. Too little and too much sleep can result in some diseases and conditions. These can range from diabetes to certain types of cancers. Stress One of the most important topics in health psychology, stress is a multidisciplinary topic that goes into not only the cognitive effects of stress, but also the physiological effects of stress. Principally there are two main chemicals, which are mediated in stress responses. Cortisol and norepinephrine release are triggered when a person is experiencing a stressful situation. These chemicals function as a stimulus, which heightens physiological response to handle the incoming threat or danger. Stress has been linked to a multitude of physiological problems. Prolonged stress can lead to sleep deprivation and insomnia, which leads to a host of its own physiological problems. Increases in blood pressure and pulse can lead to heart disease and cancers. Stress can also affect the endocrine system because too much stress leads to over activity in this system, which can lead to certain types of cancers as well as certain types of diabetes. Increased stress can also lead to compromising the immune system, which can make a person more susceptible to developing infection and illnesses. It has also been shown that stress has a physiological