Human Ethology As Anthropology: a

holistic understanding
(to understand we use four lines of
evidence):

(1)Developmental(socialization)

Crosscultural
(rangeof
variability,roleof
socialvalaues)

human

Sleep

abuseand
neglect
Onethirdofourlivesspent
doingit!

(2)
Evolutionary
Origins,
Function,
Reconstruction

(3)Crossspecies

Sleep

What is it? What Does It Look Like?

Do other animals sleep?
How does it function? Why did it evolve?
What happens when we sleep? Measurement?
How does it change with age and with each
culture?
What contributions does culture make to how we
think about it, interpret and evaluate sleep? How
does sleep develop? Infant sleep vs. adult sleep?

Human Ethology Lines

of Evidence

What causes sleep?

How does it develop?
How does it function?
How did it evolve?

What is sleep?

A state of (1) sustained immobility or quiescence

in a (2) characteristic posture accompanied by
(3) reduced responsivity to external stimuli;
Immobility need not be absolute as dolphins,
seals and whales may float or swim while
asleepmost sleep with eyes closed but not all;
Cattle may sleep with eyes open..horses and
elephants sleep while standing

Recognizing sleep:
behavioral criteria

Behavioral inactivity;
A characteristic sleep posture
Decreased responsiveness to
stimulation
A rapid return to waking with moderate
stimulation

Why Do We Sleep?

Proximate
Explanation:

Because we begin to feel

tired..melatonin
Need to consolidate energy
and experiences;
Need to avoid predators;
Need to restore body cells
and promote protein
anabolism;
Maintain hormonal
secretions, immune function

Ultimate Explanation
sustains our
ability to
reproduce
successfully, by
maintaining good
health

What happens when falling

asleep--transition to
Stage 1
Body temperature drops;
Slow rolling eye movements;
Alpha rhythm ((8-13 cycles per second)
Heart rate slows;
Relatively low voltage, mixed frequencies.
(vertex sharp waves)
Myoclonus jerk?

Sensitive to external stimuli--dreamlike thoughts

Circadian rhythm
Refers to circa=approximately and
dias=day

Whats the Endocrine System?

A collection of glands that secrete hormones in

order to regulate functions within the body.

Environmental cues: activity and

rest =growth, maintenance, hormonal
fluctuations.too

Earths rotation--light-dark cycle, on 24hour circadian system. Activity-nonactivity (circadian rhythms) can be further
subdivided up into smaller time activityrest units,called, ultradian cycles
As wakefulness (alert), stage 1 sleep,
stage 2, stage 3 and stage 4 (Non-Rem)
and Rem (rapid eye movement sleep),
also called active of paradoxical sleep.

About life, students.

Its about circles..i.e. cyclesall the way
downwe live inside of circular space..
cycles within cycles within cycles
as in life cycle..sleep cycles, menstrual cycles,
hormonal cycles..time cycles..midnight

(when and where morning and night are

simultaneously one, a beginning and an end at the
same instant.. Where beginning and ending is the
same, is it Friday or Saturday

Light cues
24 hours
Active vs. Rest
What is sleep architecture
(Awake/sleep)
drowsy, stage 1,stage 2, stage 3.
Stage 4, REM, drowsy
Awake/sleep

Nighttime Behavior of
Breastfeeding Human MotherInfant Pairs
Conversing with data
across discipline
cultures:
polysomnography
Why was the
first ever
physiological
study of
mothers and
infants cosleeping
completed by a
biological
anthropologist
?

Polysomnography
(tracings)

Sometimes babies sleep in mother-baby sleep laboratories

Sleep Laboratory
Lounge

Nighttime Sleep Studied From a New Biocultural Perspective

Solitary infant turns

prone-face down;
Educated nurse
wraps up baby;
Clinically depressed
teen;
Breastfeeding moms
Increased sensitivity

Environmental cues (zeitgebers) and

selective pressures determine how
and when animals sleep

Dolphins, whales, porpoises need brain

awake to monitor breathing and to
detect danger. Experience
unihemispheric synchronization--one
half of brain exhibits synchronous EEG,
the other dysynchronous--that is, one
half of the brain is awake the other,
asleep.

Reptile Species

Crocodiles an alligators rest-activity brain

waves are temperature dependent
Lizards and snakes--eye tissues reflect some
REM-like movement but it remains
questionable;
Turtles and tortoises--somewhat likely as EEG
spikes correlate with arousal from sleep in
some species

Reptiles? Crocodiles, Alligators,

Lizards, Snakes, Turtles and
Tortoises

Meet behavioral criteria

Different electroencephalographic (EEG)
patterns during behavioral sleep
High amplitude spike potential --but,
recall, reptiles lack human neocortex that
generates slow- wave sleep..(but is
present in mammals in certain subcortical
areas)

Sleep Position?
Locale?

Bats and sloths sleep upside down, hanging

by their feet;
Belly, side, haunches, or back-all
positions?..depending on anatomy and
environmental pressures,
Type of predator can determine sleep locale
cave, crevice, tree, nest, or whether animals
sleep together for protection in herds
(giraffe,antelope, wildebeast, many primates)

What Co-sleeping Looks

Like
Koala

Maori, New Zealand

napping desert Aborigine

recliner co-sleeping (unsafe)

(requires taxonomic
distinctions)

Co-bedding twins

(within sensory range)

partial, mixed

bedsharing with Dad

Oh, But lets not forget the

Dads.

Ventral-Ventral mother-infant
contact: is not an example of
unsafe sleep

Courtesy of Dr. Helen Ball

Solitary Sleep

What is REM sleep?

Rapid eye movement..during a sleep period

(eyes dart from right to left) stimulates occular
muscles;
Called active sleep or paradoxical sleep;
Respiration is irregular, heart rate is generally
faster, blood pressure is higherbrain waves
fast and shorter;
Dreaming occurs;

REM (not just a rock

group)
REM contributes (makes possible)
metabolic homeostasis;
Deprivation experiments on rats reveal:
Deprivation of REM leads to eating
more, but losing weight, loss of
control of body temperature
Death ensued in 30 days

Function of REM?
Exercise brain cells (neurons) for
memory consolidation, cognition
Oxygenate and distribute nutrients to
body organs and muscles;
Metabolic homeostasis: temperature,
cortisol, prolactin, melatonin release,
human growth hormone?

During REM, atonia

occurs

During REM

Inhibitory neurons release glycine on surface of

motoneurons;

Creates a form of electrical polarization,

preventing the discharge of large muscle sets
involved in locomotion, prevents them from
discharging;
Prevents acting out dreams..this is called
atonia

Across Cultures the meaning and function of dreams vary:

Dreams

Real acts performed elsewhere in time and spacedeja vu- ?considered channels of
communication; shamans learn how to control
events and disease; in some cultures both
spaces..real an imaginary are distinct but both
considered..real..:

Dreams.

A dream takes place in a subjective space,

different from the space of walking life;
The relationship between these two spaces is
not the same from one culture to another
For Ojibwa Indians..dreams are another way
of acting in life space..having visited a spot
in ones dream
BUT..no culture confuses dreams with waking
reality, or fails to make a distinction..

Culturally
specific..
Content?
Direct?
Indirect?
Creativity:
Dr.Jeckll and
Mr. Hyde
(Robert
Louis
Stevenson)

Samuel
Taylor
Cooleridge:
Fell asleep in
1797-dreamed 200
lines of one
of his finest
poems:
Kubla Khan

Dreams

Dreams discussed by Greek philosophers

Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle..sleeping in
certain temples provided access to
dreams..special cures ..special knowledge..
Aristotle: attributed dreams to residual
sensory impressions..to a persons
past..presented without controlling emotional
senses..in present..but not access to power

trait underlies human

sleep?
Polygenetic--gene complexes?
Facultative?
Obligative?
How labile is our need for sleep?

Daily Sleep Quotas of

Various Mammalian Species
(in Hours)

Opossum (18)
Bat (19)
Mole (8.5)
Baboon (9.5)
Humans (8?)
Rabbit (8)
Hamster (14)
Rat (13)

Giraffe (2)
Horse (3)
Dog (10)
Seal (6)
Dolphin (10)
Cat (12)
Squirrel (16)
*70% of all sleep is
NREM..Rem varies from 30 min. for
Giraffe to 5 hours for opossum

Polyphasic Species

Baboons-3 -4 naps?
Rabbits-evenly
distributed. light/dark
Rodents: Gerbil,
guinea pig (all day,
short sleep periods);
Cat (domestic) 12/15 cats
nocturnal--2 sleep periods
during night, most sleep
periods during day;

Dogs--polyphasic--with
emphasis of sleep at night;
Horses --polyphasic--3-16
sleep bouts per day;
Goats 0-6 sleep episodes
per 12 hour period

(polyphasic);

Thompsons gazelle-mostly night--3-6 during

day;

Most vulnerable
mammals?
Wake up frequently, must remain
vigilant..to predation
Or must be alert to other
environmental dangers (dolphins
and sharp rocks and reefs)

Relevance of Napping
Across Species

Is napping one variant

of polyphasic sleep-an evolutionary
human relic?
What are the different
trade-offs related to
survival-for different
sleep lengths at
different times?

How do naps and sleep

patterns vary according
to:
Activity patterns
(diurnal, nocturnal,
split)?
Carnivores vs
herbivores
Habitats: secure,
insecure, terrestrial,
aquatic, avian?

What Kind of Sleep

Pattern Do Humans
Exhibit?
Monophasic?
Biphasic
Polyphasic?

The concept ofthe

Sleep debt
The brain keeps an exact
accounting of how much sleep it is
owed!
William Dement: The Promise of
Sleep

Sleep Disorders
Restless leg syndrome--about 10%
population:
Insomnia--not sleeping;
Parasomnias--not staying asleep for
desired length
Introduce die model (western
societies)..a problem?

Primary or Secondary Enuresis

(bedwetting)

Surprisingly common:
25% of four year olds,
10% of 8 year olds, 1%
18 year olds;
Not a disease but a
symptom..delayed
maturity, insecurities;
rule out: diabetes,
cerebral palsy, chronic
urinary tract infections;
sleep apneas

occurs in any stage of

sleep;
Behavior modification
(75% cured)
Imipramine and /or
demopressin acetate
(DDAVP)--as a nasal
spray;
patience and tolerance

Sleep disorders

Apneas (without breadth) can be divided into two

types
obstructive and central apneas
Obstructive apneas afflict 50 million Americans,
20% of which have serious disorders--increases
blood pressure and increases coronary buildup--can induce heart attacks..
snoring heavily is one symptom, but
daytime sleepiness is the single most
important clue

Reducing apneas----

CPAP
continuous positive airway
pressure

Sleep Disorders

Somnambulismsleepwalking
40% of children will have an episode,
peaking at between 11-12 years of age;

Can be induced if arouse children during NREM;

associated with complete amnesia,
Occurs within 2 hours of falling asleep..
EEG..reveals both waking and sleep signals.

Considered benign.

Where is the culture-in sleep?

on what do we sleep,in what room?
why we sleep, where we sleep, with
whom we sleep;
When we sleep, what clothing we sleep
in (if anything) .. what we do before we
sleep (rituals--prayers? cleaning,
grooming,making love, reading, speaking
with someone)

Napping and Culture:

Althoughsleepmaybejudgedanecessarypartofsleep,
nappinghasoftenbeenconsidereddeviantandan
unwantedformofsleep,indicativeoflaziness,senility,
Immaturity,andirresponsibility.BroughtonandDinges1989

The siesta is a universal

behavior that is de-valued with
industrialization in some western
countries..associated with
indolence or laziness..i.e. never
get caught napping ?

Development of Sleep;
General trends

Infancy--18 hours a day of sleep; fall right into REM

sleep--little day-night
consolidation/demarcation..Breast feeding vs
Bottle, cosleeping vs. solitary?
Toddlers; naps until about 3 years of age-experiencing 11-14 hours of sleep..stage 4 sleep
within ten minutes
Slow wave sleep for about an hour--then mixed
movement/arousals/ 7-10 REM cycles, about 30-35
% of total sleep..70% non-REM

Birds eye view of developmental

changes through the life cycle
(Ontogeny)

From infantile polyphasic pattern---toward

increasing consolidation of night sleep with
multiple daytime napsto a single daytime nap
(3-4 years of age) to the emergence of the more
common monophasic adult sleep patternto
Adolescent 8-11 hours--with more Stage 3-4
sleep to..young adultto.
Older adult--less stage 3-4, less total sleep, more
naps/and polyphasic pattern (back to infancy)

Does the human fetus

sleep?
6 to 7 month old fetus develops
REM/Non-Rem sleep precursors;
By end of 8th month, patterns
established; mimick post-natal
quiescence and activity;
Active sleep is developmental precursor
to REM--Quiet Sleep in newborns
represents precursors to Stages 1,2 3,4

Human evolutionary origins

of sleep? (Phylogeny)

Consider life style (the paleo-ecology) of

Australopithecines 3-5 million years ago)
Lived in a predator rich habitat (social
carnivores);
fossil evidence of hominids being heavily
preyed on by large cats (leopards and sabertooth cat);

Hominids were slow, weak, without claws, sharp

teeth: What did they have going for them?

The Hominid Dilemma?

Bipedal, free hands, clever brains;
Innovative , using and making tools
Living and communicating in social
groups, perform social roles
dependent on learning;
expensive, slow developing, immature
babies, unable to run or cling to mom

Where Did They Sleep 3-5

million to 300,000 Years Ago
Trees? with grasping adaptations..building
nests,,sleeping in nests like present
chimpanzees...
Caves?
Roosting sites? Cliffs?
What changed things--when could
hominids come to the ground to sleep
safely?

Felididae: Sabertooth
Cats

Felids
(Megantereon)across
three continents

Fire, changed things!

(In evidence by
800,000 years ago)
with Homo erectus
Fire could be used as a weapon
against large cats and other
predators..sleep could be
prolonged..and , on the ground!