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Afolabi James Adebayo
- 1. Help students acquire knowledge and skills needed to carry out their responsibilities and rights.
- 2. Help students improve on their thinking and decision making skills
- 3. Help students understand the effects and function of sleep and stress on the body systems.
- 4. Help students use skills in finding, comprehending, organizing, communicating information, and ideas.
- 5. Increasing student vocabulary.
- 6. Group discussion on sleep and stress
For some, falling asleep is as simple as lying back on a soft pillow. But for others, it is a frustration process of tossing, turning and glancing nervously at the advancing clock. Whether you awake refreshed and ready to face the day or wakeup red-eyed and sluggish depends on your sleep. Adults, and students make wake-up 1:30 a.m. You close your eyes and try to ignore the glaring red numbers on the digital clock, but somehow they burn right through your eyelids. You try to turn over into a deep slumber, but your mind races with inconsequential thoughts.
Same at 4: a.m. you are still awake. You think you are too hot, so you throw off the covers, then you become too cold, and you pull the blanket up to you chin and flop onto your back. You lie there long enough to see the first rays of daylight peek through the blinds, and finally, at 6: 25 a.m., you fall asleep. At 6:45 a.m. your alarm shrieks.
Though it may feel as if you are the only person tossing and turning, you are not alone. Research has shown that up to 40 percent of the population suffers from insomnia every year. A 1995 Gallup Poll conducted for the National Sleep Foundation in Washington D.C. showed that one out of two American experience insomnia.
As frustrating as nighttime sleeplessness can feel, the real problems associated with lack of sleep assert themselves in the daytime. "Cook reports that people suffering from long-time insomnia have two-and-half times more accidents than those who enjoy good sleep. They also demonstrate reduced productivity, have decreased cognitive abilities, suffer impaired memory and concentration, experience excessive daytime sleepiness, and are more irritable. Insomnia can interfere with work, relationship and the simple enjoyment of life.
What is a good sleep environment?
What is a good night of sleep?
- 1. Dark. Avoid lights, including night-light. Keep the window covered with blinds or curtains.
- 2. Cool. Keep the temperature of your sleep environment cool enough to necessitate blankets for warmth.
- 3. Quiet. Falling asleep and staying asleep is much easier if your environment is quiet. Use earplugs, if you cannot control the level of your sleep environment
- 4. Comfortable. Make sure you are sleeping on a comfortable mattress. A good mattress will support your back and will not leave you stiff and sore in the morning.
According to Cook, definition of sleep disorders is a disruptive pattern of sleep that may include difficulty falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at inappropriate times, excessive total sleep time, or abnormal behaviors associated with sleep. Lack of sleep results in repeated headaches or temporary changes in the diameter of the blood vessels in the head.
- 1. An uninterrupted sleep
- 2. A refreshing sleep
- 3. A deep sleep
- 4. A length of time that works for you personally (the average adult needs 7.5 to 8 hours per night."
Rapid eye movement sleep is different types of sleep, in which the eyes move rapidly and vivid dreaming is most common. During a night, there will be several cycles of non- rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement. Sleep walking mostly often occurs during deep, early night non- rapid eye movement sleep. It could occur also during rapid eye movement sleep.
In children, according to Cook, the cause of sleep walking is unknown but may also be related to fatigue, poor sleep loss, or anxiety. In adults, sleep walking is usually associated with a disorder of the mind but may also be seen as a reactions to drugs and/or medications and alcohol, and medical conditions such as partial complex seizures. In the elderly, sleep walking may be a symptom of an organic brain syndrome or rapid eye movement behavior disorders. The sleep walking activity may include simply sitting up and appearing awake while actually asleep, getting up and around, or complex activities such as moving furniture, going to the bathroom, dressing and undressing, and similar activities. Some people fall asleep while driving and as a result cause injury to the driver and innocent people. This unit will address the issue during class period.
Another misconception is that a person cannot be injured when sleep walking. Students need to have a broad knowledge of the brain to be able to draw conclusions, and to distinguish false from accurate and develop their vocabulary. Actually, injuries caused by such things as tripping and loss of balance are common for sleepwalkers. Sleep walking occurs at any age, but it occurs most often in children aged 6 to 12 years old. It may occur in younger children, adults, or in the elderly, and it appears to run in families.
Sleep problems: Definition of Insomnia is chronic inability to sleep, sleep problem may be temporary and come from a simple cause, such as jet lag. Temporary insomnia may be caused by an illness or a stressful event or by drinking too much coffee. Stress, depression or anxiety may cause long lasting insomnia. Expect to have trouble sleeping and become irritable when bedtime are difficult. Some people can maintain sleep problems for many years.
There are several factors that can contribute to sleep problems:
Virtually everyone suffers at least an occasional night of poor sleep but some people are particularly vulnerable. These people include students, shift workers, in ability to sleep caused by traveling across several time zones and the biological rhythms, and person suffering from acute stress, environmental interference such as rooms that are too hot or too noisy. Bright can be a barrier to good sleep. The comfort and size of the bed and the habits of your sleep partner are also important. A number of other factors such as arthritis, chronic pain, asthma, and sleep apnea can cause problems with sleep. Additionally, other hormonal shifts such as menopause accompanied by hot flashes, and pregnancy can also make sleep difficult.
- 1) Age. Many infants may sleep up to 16 hours per day. But most children don't sleep through the night without a feeding until about 4 to 5 months of age. School-aged children may sleep for 10 hours or less. People over the age of 60 may not sleep as deeply as younger people.
- 2) Lifestyle. People who drink coffee, smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol are more likely to have sleep problems than people whose lifestyle are not associated with bad habits.
- 3) Medication. Many medications can cause sleeplessness. Others can cause daytime fatigue, depression and anxiety. Some people find it difficult to sleep at night because they become breathless when they lie down.
These are samples of 10 questions taken from the sleep hygiene test: This question would be distributed to students, as a class exercise. Students would answer all questions as unit practice. Then discuss how the students feel about the test.
Note: This test is not suitable for shift employees or people who work nigh and sleep during the day. Take the Sleep Hygiene Test and find out bedtime behavior that enhances your experience or detracts from it.
2. If the "bogey-man" were to tiptoe into your room in the middle of the night, would he be able to find you?
- a) Above 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius)
- b) Between 73 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit (23-25 degrees Celsius)
- c) Between 68 and 72 Fahrenheit (20-22 degrees Celsius)
- d) Between 63 and 66 Fahrenheit (17-19 degrees Celsius)
- e) Between 57 and 61 degrees Fahrenheit (14-16 degrees Celsius)
- f) Less than 57 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius)
3. Do you have a bedtime ritual? (Ex. A warm shower and 15 minutes of reading?)
- a) Yes, with no problem- I keep a light on all night.
- b) Yes, with a bit of squinting- I have a night light in the room.
- c) Yes, by feeling around a bit- I keep the blinds open so the moonlight comes in.
- d) Yes, by feeling around a bit- I keep the blinds halfway open.
- e) No, my room is pitch black- I keep all light out.
- f) Yes, there is light in my room but I wear a sleep mask.
4. Do you have difficulty falling asleep at night?
- a) Yes, every night
- b) Yes, occasionally
- c) No
5. Do you have difficulty staying asleep until a reasonable time in the morning?
- a) yes
- b) Some
- c) No
6. Do you exercise?
- a) Yes
- b) Some
- c) No
7. How do typically feel during your waking hours?
- a) Yes, regularly
- b) Yes, on occasion
- c) Yes, but rarely
- d) Never
8. In a typical week how often do you take daytime naps?
- a) I feel energetic and wide-awake all day long
- b) I feel well rested all day long
- c) I feel tired all day.
- d) I feel tired in the morning, but I am fine after I get going
- e) I feel energetic in the morning but I hit a low sometime later in the day.
9. Which of the following activities do you engage in during the 3-4 hours before you go to sleep? Check all that apply
- a) Everyday
- b) 5 or 6 times a week
- c) 3 or times a week
- d) 1 or 2 times a week
- e) Never
10. Which of the following activities do you typically do in bed? Check all that apply
- a) Eating a large meal
- b) Eating a light meal or snack
- c) Smoking a cigarette
- d) Drinking coffee
- e) Drinking tea
- f) Drinking decaffeinated tea or coffee
- g) Drinking alcohol
The score would be based on the result from the sleep test. If you answer yes to previous question, what disorder have been diagnosed with? I don't want to answer or click for the answer below. Have you been diagnosed with sleep disorder? I don't want the answer or click for the answer below. This test is scored online. Click once on the score button below to see the results and interpretation. If the answer fails to respond, try clicking again.
- a) Sleep
- b) Have sex
- c) Eat
- d) Watch TV/listen to talk radio/
- e) Read
- f) Work/ study
- g) Surf the internet
- h) Talk on the phone to friends
- i) Meditate
- j) Exercise
- k) Listen to music
- l) Have long conversations with your partner
More than half of people over the age of 65 have difficulty in sleeping, but this is not an inevitable part of the aging process. It is true that biological clock changes and that over time the elderly go to sleep earlier, wake up more often, get less deep sleep, and rise earlier, the total amount of sleep these people get should not be reduced. Changes in the daily routine and quality of life due to retirement or death of a spouse, a high incidence of health problems, and increased use of medications can cause the elderly to loose sleep.
The number one cause of short- term loss of sleep is stress. Common stressors are school related or job related pressures. However, if these sleep problems are not managed properly from the beginning, it can lead to a bigger problem as time goes on.
- • What does the words mean to you? Consider your own intellectual and experiences into consideration when answering these questions
- • What aspects of your life can help you understand and appreciate the unit?
- • List the advantages and disadvantages of this unit.
- • How can this unit be of help to you and your friends?
Objectives: To pull out important materials from the reading that has been read and Illustrate each one.
To write a 1-2 sentence description of the event.
To arrange each events in chronological order.
Materials: Videos and reading materials
Definition source of stress comes from William Dement, MD, Ph.D., a leading authority on sleep deprivation, and the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. Stress is a physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension. Tension is mental or emotional strain, suspense, anxiety, or excitement. Anxiety is a reaction to a real or imagined threat, a general feeling of uneasiness or dread. Stress is what you feel when you react to pressure, either from the outside world (school, work, after school activities, family, friends) or from inside yourself (wanting to do well in school, wanting to fit in). Stress is a normal reaction to life for people of all ages. It is may be caused by your body's instinct to protect itself from emotional or physical pressure or in extreme situations, from danger. In fact, a little bit of stress is good.
Most of us wouldn't push ourselves to do well at things like sport, music, dance, school work, or we would not be able to finish projects or get to work on time without the stress of deadline! Second, the negative effect of stress are all the things that you are doing and all the things that are out of your control because of age, It is easy to feel overwhelmed. Things that you control are often the most frustration. Maybe your parents are fighting, or your social life is a mess. You can also feel bad when you put pressure on yourself- like to get good grades or to get promoted at your fulltime job. Common reaction to stress is to criticize yourself. You may even get so disgusted with your situation or with yourself that things don't seem fun anymore and life looks pretty grim. At this stage, whatever happens it is easy to think there is nothing you can do to change things.
There is a danger sign. Stress can become a bigger problem to deal with. It can lead to anger, that you may think of hurting or even killing some one or yourself. When you feel like giving up life. Talking about your feelings is the best way or step to deal with stress problems.
There are safe and unsafe ways to deal with stress. It is dangerous to try to escape your problems by using drugs and alcohol. Both can be very tempting, and your friends may offer them to you as an alternative way of solving the problems. Drug and alcohol may seem like easy answers, but there are not. Dealing with alcohol and drugs just add new problems, like addiction, lead to a new health problems. Although you can't always control what is stressing you out, you can control how you react. The way you feel about thing results from the way you think about things. If you change the way you think, you can change the way you feel. Try some of these tips to cope with your stress:
Excessive stress in your life can interferes with your interpersonal relationships at home, on the job, and socially. It can make you spend your efforts on not being unhappy. Stress can waste your vitality and deplete your personal energy resources that could be used for enjoyment. You can become negatively influenced in your attitudes and feelings about yourself. In addition, medical research estimates as much as 90 percent of illness and disease is stress related. Stress can interfere with your physical functioning and bodily processes. High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and heart disease have been linked to stress factors. Other stress-related ailments include ulcers, allergies, asthma, and migraine headaches. Stress is a natural part of our life. Without some stress one would lose energy for living. You can thrive for certain amounts; but too much or too little stress will limit one's effectiveness. Ideally, you find optimal level of stress- the balance at which you are motivated. This unit would help you to that.
- 1. Make a list of what's causing your stress.
- Think about your friends, family, school and other activities. Accept that you can't control everything.
- 2. Take control of what you can.
- For example, if you are working too many hours and can't study enough, ask your boss if you can cut your hour down.
- 3. Give yourself a break.
- Remember that you can't make every hour in your life happy all the time. It is okay to make mistakes, but don't use your energy on the problems you can control.
- 4. Don't commit yourself to things you can't or don't want to do.
- If you are already too busy, don't promise to decorate for the school dance. If you are tired and don't want to tell your friends you can come to school for help. Find something positive to tell them why you are not going.
- 5. Find someone to talk to.
- Talking to your friends or family can help by giving you a chance to express your feelings. But problems in your social life or family can be the hardest to talk about. If you think you can't to your family or friends, look for someone outside the situation like your priest, or minister, school counselor or your family doctor.
Environmental and societal pressures our competitive, success-oriented way of life may lead us to potentially hazardous health problems. According to the United States Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. Eighty-three percent of all deaths for adults between the age of 21 and 65 are related to lifestyle.
Everyone differs in what stressful or potentially stressful. What work for one person might seem to be a catastrophic event or may be a minor setback for others. Some physical fears that cause stress are:
Psychological fears associated with stress include:
- A. - Dangerous machinery;
- Exposure to toxic chemical; - Dangerous, congested traffic;
During peak activity period, do you:
- B. - Failure;
- - Not being able to get the job done;
- - Inability to manage debts;
- - Adult children who do not want the family business.
Life is filled with uncertainty. It is discomfort not to know what is going to happen, particularly if your control of the situation is impeded by:
- C- Rest adequately?
- - Eat well-balanced food?
- - Take breaks?
- - Rebuild energy resources with time off?
A positive or negative attitude influences a person's reaction to stressful situations. For example, if you feel your job is worthwhile, you may see some of the problems you encounter as challenges. Seen as pulse, the problems or potential problems become motivated. However, if you resent your situation or feel stuck in your job, similar experiences create stress, a stress that frustrates instead of motivating you. Common causes of stress include the following: actual danger, physical and emotional stress, grief (such as from death of a loved one or loss of a job) drugs including caffeine, cold remedies (Cough/Cold Combinations-oral), decongestants (antihistamines and decongestants- oral), bronchodilators] withdrawal form drugs, poor diet, hyperventilation syndrome, hyperthyroidism. All these stress items can create negative feeling.
- D.- Government policies and control;
- - Weather;
- - Market fluctuations;
- - Illness
- - Interest rates;
- - Mechanical breakdown
- - Accidents
These are six examples of the myths surrounding stress. Dispelling them will enable one to understand stress problem and then take action against them. The six myths came from Lyle H. Miller, Ph.D., and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.
Myth 1: Stress is the same for everybody.
No, stress is different for each of us. What is stressful for one person may or may not be stressful for another; each of us responds to stress in an entirely way.
Myth 2: Stress is always bad for you.
Zero stress makes health and us happy. Wrong. Stress is the human condition. The issue is really how to manage it. Manage stress makes us productive and happy; mismanaged stress hurts and even kills us.
Myth 3: Stress is everywhere, so you can't do anything about it.
You can plan your life so that stress does not overwhelm you. Effective planning involves setting priorities and working on simple problems first, solving them, and going on to more complex difficulties. When stress is mismanaged, it is difficult to prioritize. All your problems seem to be equal and stress seems to be everywhere.
Myth 4: The most popular techniques for reducing stress are the best ones.
This is not a universal effective way of solving stress reduction. We are all different, our lives are different, our situation are different, and our reactions are different. Only a comprehensive program tailored to the individual needs.
Myth 5: No symptoms, no stress.
Absence of symptoms does not mean the absence of stress. Camouflaging symptoms with medication may deprive you of the signals you need for reducing the strain on your physiological and psychological systems.
Myth 6: Only major symptoms of stress require attention.
This myth assumes that the minor symptoms, such as headaches or stomach acid, may be safely ignored. Minor symptoms of stress are the early warnings that your life is getting out of hand and that you have do something about it.
As providers and caretakers, adults tend to view the world of children as happy and carefree. After all, what could they possibly have to worry about? Every child has to worries and feels stress to some degree. Stress, in a nutshell, is the result of demand and a person's level of ability to meet them. Pressures come from outside family, friends, school, but also within. The internal pressures can be most significant, because we set rules and standards for ourselves to live by, and there is often a discrepancy between what we think we ought to be doing and what we are actually doing. Stress affect everyone, a two year- old, for example may be anxious because the person she needs to help her feel good- her mother or father -isn't there enough to satisfy her. In pre-school aged children, separation from parents is the greatest cause of anxiety. The younger the child, the more powerful the effect of separation. As children get older, academic and social pressures create stress. In addition, well-meaning parents sometimes unwillingly add to the stress in their children's lives. For example, high-achieving parents often have great expectations for their offspring. Children who lack their parents' motivation or capabilities may end up feeling frustrated.
Dr. Pathik Wadhwa, Report of a new research that are examining a theory that when a pregnant woman is subjected to the steady assault of social stresses, things such as poor housing, too little money, and lack of social support and discrimination. The woman body unleashes a cascade of biochemical responses that may, in the end, result in premature birth. The study was based on 2, 300 women studied at Thomas Jefferson University. The study found that eleven percent of the babies are born prematurely, before the 37th week of a typical 40 weeks period. With unknown reasons African - American regardless of income are more likely to give birth prematurely than white. Babies born prematurely are at risk for death and a host of medical attentions if they survive - mental retardation, developmental delays, learning difficulties, respiratory infections, asthma, cerebral palsy.
The research is still going on to find out why African- American women are at risk for premature birth which was associated with stress related syndrome.
If you want to stay stressed! The following provides you with a few reasons why.
Stress is expensive. We all pay a stress tax whether we know it or not. Currently, health care costs account for approximately 12 percent of the gross domestic product, escalating yearly. In terms of lost wages due to absenteeism, reduced productivity, and workers' compensation benefits, stress costs American industry more than 300 billion dollars annually, or $7,500 per worker per year.
- 1. Stress helps you seem important. Anyone as stressed as you must be working very hard and, therefore, is probably doing something very crucial.
- 2. It helps you to maintain personal distance and avoid intimacy. Anyone as busy as you are certainly can't be expected to form emotional attachments to anyone. And let's face it, you are not much fun to be around.
- 3. It helps you avoid responsibilities. Obviously you are too stressed to be given any more work. This gets you off the hook for all the mundane chores; let someone take of it.
- 4. It helps you avoid success. Why risk being successful when by simply staying stressed you can avoid all of that? Stress can keep your performance level low enough that success won't ever be a threat.
While stress plays havoc with our health, productivity, pocketbooks, and lives, stress is necessary, even desirable. Exciting or challenging events such as the birth of a child, competition of a major project at work, or moving to a new city generate as much stress as does disaster.
What are your suggestions and opinion relating to the case?
- 2. A person who is nervous about taking in from of a group is suffering what kind of stress?
- 3. Why do some people view stressful events as challenges while others fear stressful?
- 4. Why is improving one's lifestyle important for stress management?
- 5. What are some come symptoms of heath?
Although on the surface everything seemed fine, she felt that, "the wheels on my tricycle are about to fall off. I'm a mess. "Over the past several months she had attacks of shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest pains, dizziness, and tingling sensations in her fingers and toes. Filled with a sense of impending doom, she would become anxious to the point of panic. Every reason day she awoke with dreaded feeling that an attack strikes without reason or warning.
On two occasions, she rushed to a nearby hospital emergency room fearing she was having a heart attack. The first episode followed an argument with her boyfriend about the future of their relationship. After studying her electrocardiogram, the emergency room doctor told her she was "just hyperventilating" and showed her how to breathe into a paper bag to handle the situation in the future. She felt foolish and went home embarrassed, angry and confused. She remained convinced that she almost had a heart attack.
Her next severe attack occurred after a fight at work with her boss over a new marketing campaign. This time she insisted that she be hospitalized overnight for extensive diagnostic tests and that her internist be consulted. The results were the same -no heart attack. Her internist prescribes a tranquilizer to calm her down.
Convinced now that her own doctor was wrong, she sought the advice of a cardiologist, who conducted another battery tests, again with no physical findings. The doctor concluded that stress was the primary cause of the panic attacks and "heart attack" symptoms. The doctor referred her to psychologist specializing in stress.
During her first visit, professionals administered stress tests and explained how stress could cause physical symptoms. At her next visit, utilizing the tests results, they described to her the sources and nature of her health problems. The test revealed that she was highly susceptible to stress, that she was enduring enormous stress from her family, her personal life, and her job, and that she was experiencing a number of stress related symptoms in her emotional, sympathetic nervous, muscular and endocrine systems. She wasn't sleeping well, didn't exercise, abused caffeine and alcohol, and lived on the edge financially.
The stress testing crystallized how susceptible she was to stress, what was causing her stress, and how stress was expressing itself in her "heart attack" and other symptoms. This newly found eliminated a lot of her problems.
She realized that she was feeling tremendous from her boyfriend, as well as her mother to settle down and get married; yet, she didn't feel ready. At the same time, work was overwhelming her as a new marketing campaign began. Any serious emotional incident- a quarrel with her boyfriend or her boss- sent her over the edge. Her body's response was hyperventilation, palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, anxiety, and dreadful sense of doom."
2. Journal of Nervous Mental Disease. 90. (1939). (Pp. 455-463). US: Lippincott Williams Wilkins http:/www.fww.com
3. New York , N.Y. US: Ballantine Books Inc, viii, 375 PP
4. Stress Medicine, Vol.13 (1), Jan (1997).
6. Sleep Hygiene Test-www.queendom.com
8. To order the Tapes-www.DeepSoundSleep.com
9. Sleep disorders clinic-www.azaleasleepcenter.com
10. Beating Stress (pamphlet), Va.: American Diabetes Association, 1996.
11. Caring for the Diabetes Soul. Alexandria, Va.: American Diabetes Association, 1998.
12. Youngs, B.B. Stress and Your Child: Helping Kids Cope with the Strains and Pressures of Life. New York: Fawcett/Columbine, 1995.
13. Young, J.E., and J.S. Klosko Reinventing Your Life: How to break Free from Negative Life Patterns. New York: Dutton, 1993.
14. Adapted from The Stress Solution by Lyle H. Miller, Ph. D., and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.
15. Stress Management: www.cdc.gov/niosh/nasdhome.html
16. Sleepmedic: www.sleepmedic.com
17. Link Between stress, premature birth studied- New Haven Register, Page B4, May 24, 2001
Contents of 2001 Volume VI | Directory of Volumes | Index | Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute