AP11228

Prompt: Science Summary

Doctors at Tel Aviv University's School of Psychological Sciences conducted an experiment to discover a link between sleep deprivation and interrupted sleep. They claim that interrupted sleep is equivalent to only getting four hours of consecutive sleep (Kahn). The sixty-one participants in the experiment either had eight hours of sleep, were restricted to four hours of sleep, or had their disrupted sleep where they were woken up four times during their eight hours of sleep and kept awake for ten minute intervals. The participants were then asked to perform computer acts to their test cognitive abilities and attention span. Those who were restricted to four hours of sleep and those who had their sleep interrupted performed equally. Results also indicate that both groups showed an increase in depression, fatigue, and confusion in addition to a decrease in motivation and vigor (Kahn). This connects to the restorative theory of sleep, the theory which states that sleep's purpose is to rejuvenate the body and mind(Wood, 117). Someone who suffers from a dyssomnia, like insomnia, a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling or staying asleep, will not be able to restore their minds and bodies to an ideal degree. This concept is applicable to new parents whose sleep patterns are interrupted by their child, which can be detrimental to their daily functioning. Further experimentation on a larger group of participants will be needed to make this discovery more valid and reliable.

References: Kahn, Michal, Shimrit Fridenson, Reut Lerer, Yair Bar-Haim, and Avi Sadeh.//Sleep Journal//. Tel Aviv University, 01 May 2014. Web. 11 July 2014. 

Wood, Samuel E., Ellen R. Green. Wood, and Denise Roberts. Boyd. //Mastering the World of Psychology//. Fourth ed. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. Print.

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