CSP 280 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Light Therapy, Suprachiasmatic Nucleus, Chronobiology

• School: University of Rochester
• Department: Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology
• Course: CSP 280
• Professor: Estrada

Document Summary

Long term sleep deprivation = association with mental health issues. Suffer from chronic insomnia = indication of other underlying health issues such as depression. Extra hours of sleep per night can decrease the risk of artery calcification by 33% and also drop blood pressure by 17 mm- there is a need to sleep! Sleep protects us from the dark (an evolutionary perspective) If we don"t sleep, we will die (experiment with rats that were perpetually deprived of sleep and they started to become sick and stopped grooming their fur) Independently sleeping hemispheres: half of the dolphin"s brain can go to sleep while the other half is intermediate sleeping. However, you need around 8 hours continuously of sleep and not just 8 hours of naps. There is genetic variability in the need for sleep. Humans will usually sleep for at least 9 hours in a room without alarms or clocks.