November 6th, 2024 By: Megan McDonough
Enchanted City Sleep Study
About the Lab
This week we did a lab on the stages of sleep. Before partaking in the lab, Mrs. McCleery taught us about the different stages of sleep. In total, there are four stages of sleep. Stages one through three are considered NREW Sleep (No Rapid Eye Movement), while Stage four is REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement).
The first 10 minutes of sleep is considered the first stage. This is when you begin to drift between being awake and asleep. Your pulse and breathing will decrease, your muscles will begin to twitch, and theta waves begin to appear. The second stage of sleep is between the first 10 to 25 minutes of sleep. This stage is where your eyes begin to roll from side to side and you begin to experience Sleep Spindles. Sleep spindles are rapid brainwave pulses, or transient EEG waves with a frequency of approximately 12–15 Hz that occur during NREM sleep. The end of the second stage marks the beginning of your transition into deep sleep. The third stage of sleep is within the 20 to 40-minute span. This is considered your deepest stage of sleep. This stage is when most people will experience sleepwalking, sleeptalking, and dreaming. During this stage, your brain experiences the most restorative sleep, therefore it is very difficult to awaken someone who is in the third stage of sleep. Nearing the end of the third stage of sleep, the Sleep Spindles will transfer into delta waves,
which are slow and deep brainwaves. The last stage of sleep is called the REM Sleep. This stands for
rapid eye movement. Within the span of 5 to 60 minutes, your eyes will slowly begin to move side to side. This will awaken your brain and slowly increase your pulse and respiratory cycles. Here is when most people experience dreaming since your brain is the most awake. One really interesting fact is that your brain will paralyze your arms and legs to prevent acting out during your dreams.
What We Did
During this lab, we were tasked to fill out a pre-sleeping survey, which included observations of how we felt physically and mentally. Then, we got to spend the whole class period taking a nap while Mrs. McCleery read a story to us. This was amazing, I brought my favorite blanket and pillow and my classmate, Arianna, even brought a stuffed animal! This lab has taken the number one spot in my favorite labs so far, I love a nap more than anything in the world! Before we began our nap we took down some pre-sleep observations. What changed after my nap was my heart rate and my body's physical state.
After our nap, we were tasked to try to remember aspects of the story to the best of our ability and describe our sleep. After we slept, I was tested to recall what I remembered from the story. We started off on a cloud floating in space, which took me to an empty city. It was full of nobody and no pets or people. It was made just for me. We went into a blue building that was full of windows that were full of my memories. It was around this point that I faded out into sleep. The next thing I remember was being inside a building with a TV. On the TV was a video full of my fears and memories. I began to think about my fear and watched the TV. Then I faded into sleep again. The next part I remember was inside a room with a VR set. Here I watched the perfect vision of my future. Then I was slowly brought back to my cloud, which floated me back to the earth and back into my classroom.
Due to my lack of memory, I believe I experienced Stages 1 and 2 of sleep. I was able to fade into sleep and I felt my muscles relax and then tense up when I awoke. It surprised me how much I was able to remember and focus. I enjoyed this lab so much! It was super interesting to see how much my classmates remembered compared to me. I loved learning about my sleep cycle and I can’t wait for next week's lab!
My Mentor Interview
This week I had my first interview with Dr. Allison Henry. Dr. Henry is an instructor in the Biomedical Science department. She has three classes that she teaches, Anatomy and Physiology, Food Science, and Medical Microbiology. Unlike some of her colleagues, she is solely an instructor, which means she is not actively participating in any research. Food Science is one of her most popular courses, it is mostly lab-based and is considered a “fun” course. She has always known that she wanted to be an upper-level instructor. She has a passion for understanding the multitude of complex questions of daily life.
“I really enjoy trying to take things that might be complicated and make them applicable.”
She has a master's degree in food science, went back to school, and received her doctorate in education. She has previously taught at the University of Mobile where she was an adjunct instructor teaching nutrition and food science. She also was a quality assurance director at a snack plant in San Antonio, Texas before moving on to research compliance in Mobile. She stated that food science is one of her favorite classes to teach because she can teach extreme-level chemistry and make it fun and easy to grasp. One of the unique aspects of her Food Science lab is that it is built in a kitchen-like environment.
“If you were to go into my microbiology lab, which is a BSL 2 facility, you can't bring food, you have to be super cautious and go through specific safety procedures. Inside this lab, you have to be cautious of the expensive equipment and be very aware of what is going on, since we grow things like bacteria. However, in food science that is a kitchen so it is more laid back.”
For example, this week her class is studying pH. So they are making pickles! (Which I think is super awesome) She loves this lab because not only is it super fun, but it is educational. This lab allows the students to figure out the “why” behind the importance of pH. She loves how this aspect makes learning more fun and exciting since it is so unusual. Most of the labs seem like something that a child would do, but actually they are very complex and educational.
What I Gained From This
I have been looking into where I am going to be going to college and since I plan on majoring in food science, I have been mostly looking at their labs. This was why it was so interesting for me to be able to see firsthand what South Alabama's lab looks like. Being in that lab just filled me with so much joy that I can’t even describe it! Thankfully, Dr. Henry has offered me a spot in her upcoming labs to sit in and experience a real college lab. I am beyond excited to sit in and I am so blessed for the opportunity she has given me. She has also proposed a meeting for me with the head of South Alabama Health Education and Leisure Studies. This class has a specific nutrition-based class and human experience and physiology lab that I would love to learn more about.
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