2. Specification 1. Primary Insomnia: Predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors Primary insomnia – No medical (or psychiatric or environmental) reason for a lack of sleep. Secondary insomnia – The disruption of sleep is a consequence of another problem, i.e. depression, anxiety, medication, caffeine, alcohol etc. 2. Sleep walking: Diathesis-stress model 3. Narcolepsy: The role of hypocretin

3. Sleep disorders research and presentation activity Your group will have 2 lessons to research evidence and evaluation points for the sleep disorder you have been given. The first lesson will involve research and preparation, and in the second lesson you will conduct your presentations. Your presentation must be on a powerpoint and it must include a quiz to test the knowledge of the rest of the class.

4. narcolepsy What is narcolepsy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7mhqvJZMIA Note down any issues that this individual experiences as a result of having this disorder.

5. A03 The research consistently shows a link between hypocretin and narcolepsy therefore it can be seen as reliable evidence for the theory. Also, much of the research uses scientific methods therefore they are free from bias from the researcher which could improve the overall validity of the research into hypocretin explanation. The use of animal studies can’t always be generalised to humans, however in relation to Mignot’s study the hypocretin receptor 2 gene is found in both humans and dogs. This means that the same gene may underpin the condition in both species, though further testing would be needed to confirm Although Broughton’s study gives us useful information about how environmental factors may influence narcoleptic episodes, it doesn’t give us any information about the actual cause of the disorder.

6. Overall evaluation This explanation focuses on narcolepsy being down to nature rather than nurture which has led to practical applications in terms of treatments. Most treatments which have been developed are biological in nature such as drug therapy (e.g. Modafinil,) to combat sleep onset during the day. Many studies into narcolepsy are derived from animal studies, the impact of this is that the results cannot be generalised to a human population. This is because of the differences between the neurological makeup of humans and mice for example. A reduction in generalizability reduces the extent to which the theory can be applicable and useful to a human population. However the biological research into narcolepsy is generally correlational. This is an issue because correlational studies cannot show distinctive cause and effect relationships due to the uncontrolled nature of the studies which allows unaccounted for confounding variables to reduce the validity of the results. However when used in accordance with animal studies they can provide a useful insight into seemingly interlinked aspects of the brain.

7. Sleep walking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0pCLU72Bc0 Sleep walking - sleep walking is a disorder that is most common in childhood, affecting about 20% of children and less than 3% of adults (Hublin et al). In severe cases, it may have a considerable effect on someone’s life and there may be a risk of injury

8. IDA The diathesis-stress model suggests sleepwalking has a biological basis whilst still taking into account environmental factors that may influence this behaviour. This can be considered useful as it leads to a less reductionist explanation of sleepwalking which could have important implications for the way we treat people who have the disorder. It suggests that although there may be a genetic predisposition, there may be ways in which we can help those affected manage the impact of their biology. Therefore it is a more positive outlook for the individual than if we concentrated on the impact of biology alone

9. A03 Ohayon and Hublin both used a large sample which increases the population validity enabling the results on the sleepwalking to be generalised to the wider population increasing the extent to which we can use the diathesis-stress model to explain why people within the wider population sleep walk. Research conducted in sleep labs are low in ecological validity as the environment is atypical to the one in which the participant would normally sleep. This means the findings may be difficult to generalise to real life situations of sleep walking. This could potentially lower the extent to which we can explain sleepwalking using the diathesis-stress model.

10. Overall evaluation This explanation doesn’t tell us why incomplete arousal occurs, and why it only occurs in some people but not others, therefore it is more of a description of what happens during sleepwalking, rather than an explanation of why it occurs. This could be the reason as to why no specific treatment (at the time) is given for sleepwalking, it is mainly recommended that sufferers try to establish a regular bed time routine in order for them to relax and get enough sleep. People who suffer from sleepwalking could also be advised to reduce their alcohol consumption, and go to bed earlier, since alcohol digestion and sleep deprivation have been shown to contribute to sleepwalking.

11. Primary insomnia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgYpYlSRWSE

12. IDA The theory follows the nature nurture debate on insomnia, as the predisposing part of the theory emphasises the nature argument towards a genetic predisposition to having insomnia, while the precipitating part focuses on environmental factors such as stress which lead to insomnia. An advantage of the nature side to the theory is it can easily be tested in an experimental and scientific manner. If insomnia is due to genetic and physiological factors it is likely treatments can be produced to prevent insomnia or reduce its symptoms. However the nurture side means we can inform people of environments that lead to stress thus increasing likelihood of insomnia.

13. A03 The use of experimental research allows for more objective results to be gathered. Specifically, Nofzinger used scientific equipment (PET scans) to make comparisons between people with insomnia and people who do not have insomnia. This increases the validity of the research and provides the explanation with strong scientific support. However, the research into precipitating and perpetuating factors often use non-experimental, self-report techniques to gather data which means the validity of this research can be questioned due to issues such as social desirability bias. This means that the environmental aspects of the explanation can be criticised as firm conclusions about how these are linked to insomnia are difficult to confirm.

14. Wider evaluation The explanation for insomnia states there can be multiple factors which lead to insomnia; this is useful as it takes into account many factors (holistic explanation rather than reductionist). However it could be argued that due to this, it is very difficult to study these factors separately and to determine which factors are the most prevalent in causing insomnia thus making it more problematic to know what precise treatment to offer.