The Nature of Sleep + Lifespan Changes Essay Structure

Lifespan Changes;
Qualitatively different sleep patterns for different ages (babies, adolescents, adults, elderly)

- how we know there's different stages - EEG to show wave patterns in the brain

  Middle Age = less stage 4 sleep

  Elderly = no stage 4 sleep

Dement and Sleep Labs

Children spend 50% of their sleep in REM stage compared to older people.
-due to growth hormones + neurotransmitters + protein synthesis

Environmental/lifestyle factors affecting young adults/middle aged sleep. 
-eg. stress, caffeine

Elderly have disrupted sleep due to: medication, pain at night

Sleep apnea?

Nature of…