Sleep Homeostasis, Sleep Deprivation, and Slow Wave Activity
Vahan Hovannisian
Mrs. Lee
AP Biology 10A
18 October 2016
Hovannisian 2 In all species of animals that have ever been studied, sleep cycles are regulated homeostatically. This means that longer an animal stays awake, the longer and deeper the next sleeping period will be. Slow wave activity (also known as SWA), or slow wave sleep, is deep-sleep. If an organism is sleep deprived for a long period of time, there will be large amounts of slow wave sleep once the animal is sleeping. Slow wave activity decreases if the organism naps during the day. Experiments have been held to test slow wave activity after several days of sleep deprivation, or more accurately, sleep …show more content…
Throughout most of the experiment, the rats were kept awake, but during their mandatory twenty hours of wake per day, they had several attempts to sleep. This number of sleep attempts increased. On the first day, there was an average of 6.3 sleep attempts per hour, or about 125 attempts per day, but by the last day, the number increased significantly to 22.3 sleep attempts per day, or about 450 attempts per day. The numbers nearly quadrupled. Also, it was found that the occurrence of slow wave activity during the twenty wake hours in the day is negatively correlated to the slow wave activity during sleep. This means that the higher the slow wave activity is during the wake hours, the lower the slow wave activity will be during the four hours of sleep, and vice …show more content…
The author’s predictions were accurate and answers were found for all the questions asked. Sleep restriction, sleep deprivation, sleep homeostasis, slow wave activity, slow wave energy, and many more factors were studied and tested to reach final, accurate results for the different tests about the rats. For example, it was proven that rapid eye movement sleep was rebounded after the five days of sleep restriction, just as predicted. Also, it is shown that wake slow waves, or slow waves that are produced when the organism is awake, may lead to a lesser need of sleep, because some of the benefits of sleep are provided through these waves.
Hovannisian 6
Works Cited
1. Leemburg, Susan, Umberto Olcese, Claudio L. Bassetti, Giulio Tononi, and Chiara Cirelli. "Sleep Homeostasis in the Rat Is Preserved during Chronic Sleep Restriction." Peas.org. N.p., n.d. Web.
2. Vyazovskiy, Vladyslav V., Brady A. Riedner, Chiara Cirelli, and Giulio Tononi. "Sleep Homeostasis and Cortical Synchronization: II. A Local Field Potential Study of Sleep Slow Waves in the Rat." Sleep. Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, 01 Dec. 2007. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.
3. "Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.
4. "Sleep Homeostasis in Primary Insomnia." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct.
Vahan Hovannisian
Mrs. Lee
AP Biology 10A
18 October 2016
Hovannisian 2 In all species of animals that have ever been studied, sleep cycles are regulated homeostatically. This means that longer an animal stays awake, the longer and deeper the next sleeping period will be. Slow wave activity (also known as SWA), or slow wave sleep, is deep-sleep. If an organism is sleep deprived for a long period of time, there will be large amounts of slow wave sleep once the animal is sleeping. Slow wave activity decreases if the organism naps during the day. Experiments have been held to test slow wave activity after several days of sleep deprivation, or more accurately, sleep …show more content…
Throughout most of the experiment, the rats were kept awake, but during their mandatory twenty hours of wake per day, they had several attempts to sleep. This number of sleep attempts increased. On the first day, there was an average of 6.3 sleep attempts per hour, or about 125 attempts per day, but by the last day, the number increased significantly to 22.3 sleep attempts per day, or about 450 attempts per day. The numbers nearly quadrupled. Also, it was found that the occurrence of slow wave activity during the twenty wake hours in the day is negatively correlated to the slow wave activity during sleep. This means that the higher the slow wave activity is during the wake hours, the lower the slow wave activity will be during the four hours of sleep, and vice …show more content…
The author’s predictions were accurate and answers were found for all the questions asked. Sleep restriction, sleep deprivation, sleep homeostasis, slow wave activity, slow wave energy, and many more factors were studied and tested to reach final, accurate results for the different tests about the rats. For example, it was proven that rapid eye movement sleep was rebounded after the five days of sleep restriction, just as predicted. Also, it is shown that wake slow waves, or slow waves that are produced when the organism is awake, may lead to a lesser need of sleep, because some of the benefits of sleep are provided through these waves.
Hovannisian 6
Works Cited
1. Leemburg, Susan, Umberto Olcese, Claudio L. Bassetti, Giulio Tononi, and Chiara Cirelli. "Sleep Homeostasis in the Rat Is Preserved during Chronic Sleep Restriction." Peas.org. N.p., n.d. Web.
2. Vyazovskiy, Vladyslav V., Brady A. Riedner, Chiara Cirelli, and Giulio Tononi. "Sleep Homeostasis and Cortical Synchronization: II. A Local Field Potential Study of Sleep Slow Waves in the Rat." Sleep. Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, 01 Dec. 2007. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.
3. "Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.
4. "Sleep Homeostasis in Primary Insomnia." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct.