Unit 4 AOS 1 dot Point 3

Sleep changes as we age. Which one of the following statements best describes a noticeable change that occurs?

• The time spent sleeping overall increases as we age.

• The proportion of time spent in NREM sleep increases as we age.

• As we progress over time from infancy to old age, the proportion of time spent in stages 1 and 2 of NREM sleep significantly decreases.

• The proportion of time spent in REM sleep significantly decreases from infancy and then remains steady as we continue ageing.

Dr Abdulla is a sleep researcher. He has collected data from four healthy participants: a child, an adolescent, an adult and an elderly person. Dr Abdulla forgot to label the hypnograms so he decided to try to identify them by considering the typical sleep patterns for each life stage. The hypnogram shown is likely to belong to which participant?

• the adolescent, because adolescents go to sleep later at night

• the adult, because adults have four to five sleep cycles per night

• the child, because children spend 20 per cent of their sleep in REM

• the elderly person, because elderly people wake frequently during the night

As a person ages, the total amount of time that they spend asleep each night

• decreases, while the proportion of time spent in REM sleep increases.

• decreases, while the proportion of time spent in NREM sleep increases.

• increases, while the proportion of time spent in REM sleep also increases.

• does not change in relation to the percentage of time spent in REM sleep and NREM sleep.

The following graphs show the typical sleep cycles for two distinct age groups.

• infant, adolescent.

• infant, elderly person.

• elderly person, infant.

• adolescent, elderly person.

Samuel is a healthy 55-year-old who sleeps for an average of seven hours per night. It is likely that his sleep pattern

• is normal for a man of his age.

• demonstrates partial sleep deprivation.

• is abnormally short for a man of his age.

• is likely to consist of proportionately more stages 3 and 4 sleep than other stages of sleep.

The proportion of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep to non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep is

• equal across the life span.

• greater in infancy than later in the life span.

• lower at birth and equal in later adolescence.

• lower at birth and higher in late adolescence.

Which of the following requires the least total amount of sleep?

• an infant

• an adolescent

• an elderly person

• All sleepers require the same amount of sleep regardless of age.

It is likely that you will be difficult to wake if you are woken a couple of hours into your night’s sleep because you

• are likely to be in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stage 3 sleep.

• will not have completed more than one sleep cycle.

• are likely to be in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

• are likely to be in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stage 1 sleep.

Which of the following statements is true of the sleep cycle in a typical night’s sleep for an adult?

• Each cycle lasts for approximately 35 minutes.

• About 60% of the night is spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

• Periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep get longer and closer together as the night progresses.

• Periods of Stage 3 sleep occur more often as the night progresses.

When an individual's sleep is being investigated, qualitative data may be collected through

• electroencephalography

• their heart rate

• electrooculography

• their sleep diaries