Download Theories for Why We Sleep

Smith 1
Student Smith
CSIS/LIB3
Instructor Sargent
28 Oct. 2013
Final Project
Research Topic: Theories for Why We Sleep
Esherick, Joan, and Mary Ann McDonnell. "The Science of Sleep: How Does Sleep Work and
What Does It Do for Us?" Dead on Their Feet: Teen Sleep Deprivation and Its
Consequences. Philadelphia: Mason Crest, 2004. 28-45. Points of View Reference Center.
Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
This article, regarding sleep and its relation to individuals, highlights the benefits of sleep
including restoration for the physical and mental body by describing the five stages of sleep
involved in sleep cycles. Each stage of sleep is described through its function and purpose for the
human body. The article concludes by giving insight into how sleep may improve our physical
and mental bodies by allowing our immune systems to function properly, by aiding our nervous
systems to practice application in the physical world, and to repair the body through individual
growth.
Hobson, Allan. Sleep. New York: Scientific American Library, 1989. Print.
This book introduces readers to the basic concepts regarding sleep such as sleep patterns,
dreaming and sleep disorders. This book was published in the late twentieth century and
discusses the basic understanding of human consciousness at the time in which it was written and
works to dispel common myths and views regarding sleep at the time.
Smith 2
Hodgson, Linda A. "Why Do We Need Sleep? Relating Theory to Nursing Practice." Journal
of Advanced Nursing 16.12 (1991): 1503-10. Health Source: Nursing/Academic
Edition. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.
This scholarly journal article describes how sleep is essential to individuals especially
those who are ailing from illness and how the benefits of sleep are studied through a deprivation
of sleep or the healing process of sleep. The article describes some basic functions and stages of
sleep such as sleep functioning for good health and the various stages of sleep through sleep
cycles. The study concludes with ideas on how nurses or carers can help the ailing patient when
the patient is not sleeping or in a restful state.
Luyster, Faith S., et al. “Sleep: A Health Imperative.” Sleep 35.6 (2012): 727-34. PubMed
Central. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
This journal article describes the ill health effects that could affect an individual who
does not have proper sleep. The article goes on to describe the science behind sleep and the
necessity of sleep to one’s health alongside the common notions of proper nutrition and exercise
to good health. The article concludes its assertion that sleep is essential to an individual’s
survival by going in-depth into the effects sleep deficiency and sleep deprivation such as a
change in metabolism, a link to cancer, and accidents which are caused by a lack of sleep.
“Why Do We Sleep, Anyway?” Healthy Sleep. Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical
School and WGBH Educational Foundation, 18 Dec. 2007. Web. 30 Sept. 2013.
The article from Healthy Sleep explains the necessity of sleep as a life sustaining activity
for humans which is driven by an internal force comparable to hunger and goes into proposed
theories for why exactly humans sleep due to the fact that the question of why we sleep is still
unknown to the scientific community. Some of the theories which have been proposed by
Smith 3
scientists include the inactivity theory (a theory suggesting that humans evolved to become
inactive at night to avoid danger), the energy conservation theory (a theory suggesting that the
human body sleeps to conserve energy for later use), the restorative theory (a theory suggesting
that the body restores and heals itself as we sleep), and brain plasticity theory (a theory
suggesting that as humans sleep the brain shapes and expands itself as it takes in new
information). Though different, a similarity can be seen in the theories as they try to explain how
sleep originated to benefit humans through our evolution as a species.