39 Chapter 12: Discussion Questions / Chapter Assignments

Chapter 12 questions

1. Describe the 4 phases of sleep. In your descriptions, include the phase name, the frequency in Hz of the brain waves associated with the phase, and either one other name the phase is called or one fact about the phase. In which phase do we spend more time at the beginning of the night? At the end of the night?
2. Name, and then compare and contrast, the 3 popular theories of why we sleep that were covered in class.
3. How might the recuperation theory and the evolutionary adaptation theory be combined to explain more about why we sleep?
4. Compare and contrast 2 of the 3 theories of why we sleep (the evolutionary adaptation theory, the brain plasticity theory, and/or the recuperation theory).
5. What is one possible mechanism by which screens/phones might disrupt our circadian rhythms, and how would that disruption impact our sleep?
6. Compare and contrast how melatonin and adenosine levels change throughout the day.
7. Be able to identify the stages of sleep, the frequency bands, a K-complex, and a sleep spindle from an unlabeled version of Figure 12.3.
8. A student drinks a cup of coffee before class. Explain how the coffee is impacting adenosine. What would happen if the student did not drink the coffee?
9. Explain the negative feedback loop that allows genetics to entrain the brain to the light-dark cycle.
10. Explain how von Economo’s findings of the roles of the anterior and posterior hypothalamus contradicted the view of sleep at the time.

Note: All these questions were developed by, or with the assistance of, students in the PSYC 232 class of Winter 2025.