Effect of Sleep Quality on IQ Experiment

Effect of Sleep Quality on IQ Experiment Project Report Title: Do sleeping qualities affect IQ? Abstract As sleep is so important that we cannot live without, there must be some reasons. Research has proven that it is associated with many other aspects of our lives such as IQ and mood. It is a process to maintain the wellbeing of our internal functioning and an activity that we necessitate, not an option. The present research examined the effects of the quality of sleep people have on IQ. 100 individuals participated in the research and were asked to complete a sleep scale made by the researchers and an IQ test. The results signify that there was a significant positive correlation between one’s quality of sleep and how intelligent they are. There was also a surprise finding of a significant difference between genders, where the results for females was significant but not for males. Introduction Why do we sleep? Every single creature on earth needs to spend time sleeping every day as a natural part of our lives; we spend on average a third of our lives sleeping. Many people decide however to spend less than the recommended time to accomplish certain tasks, there are many theories as to the exact reason why humans spend time sleeping although none of them ultimately conclusive. Investigation carried out by the National Science Foundation (1999-2004) showed that nearly 12% out of the 320 million American population suffer from different sleeping disorders. Moreover, 69% of children have reported having sleeping difficulties once or twice a week. In many cases when these symptoms occur, they are often being ignored and untreated (F. Dinges et al. 2005). In light of this we can see the ways in which sleep has an effect in many people’s lives, as well as the effects it can have on our external and internal environment. It is essential that we have good understanding of the importance of sleep, as factors such as having a higher IQ score is reflective variables such as better mood states, having the recommended hours of sleep and having a good sleeping quality. Recent research by Blackwell et al. (2014) has found that older men have developed an cognitive decline as they have an appalling quality of sleep. However, they have found no association between sleep duration and decline of the cognitive system. Even though it has no link between sleep duration and cognitive functioning, humans still need a certain amount of sleep everyday in order to have a good sleep quality. The following are some factors that will affect sleeping quality or being affected by the lack of sleep. 1. Using phones Using phone or any other electronic appliances before sleep might associate with bad sleeping quality as it can causes cognitive stimulation.(Adams et al. 2013) Just before you sleep, your brain’s electrical activity should start to decrease and neurons begin to slow down. However with the use of an electronic device, the opposite effect takes place; the light from electronic appliances such as your phone can prevent your body from resting. The light will essentially pass through the retina into the hypothalamus, making your body become tense thus causing a production of the stress hormone cortisol. As a result the body’s â€Å"fight or flight† response would occur. Thus delaying the secretion of the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin, ultimately leading to a bad sleeping quality. 2.Mood Throughout the day many of us experience events or situations that can ultimately affect our mood. However if someone is experiencing a bad or low mood it can be found there is an association between this variable and sleeping quality. Some researchers have found relationships between the mood of an individual and the quality of sleep they receive. (Zawadzki et al. 2013) They found that people who have certain emotion disorders such as depression or anxiety are at a higher risk of developing certain disorder such as insomnia, which ultimately decreases one’s sleeping quality. Research by Meltzer, L. J., Mindell, J. A. (2007) has also proved that people with sleeping disorders are likely to have mood disorders and stress related illnesses too; it is found that having difficulty in and lack of sleeping are normally the first symptoms and a great risk factor when a mood disorder first develops. 3. Hours of sleep The amount of sleep one receives ultimately varies among different age groups. There was a study in 2005 by Ursin et al. that showed how the amount of sleep people received varied across populations. There were 3531 males and 5329 females, a total of 8860 participants, age ranged from 40 to 45. Participants were from Bergen and other four communities. They found that people with different work shifts, place of living education and marital status have variations in sleep duration. It was genuinely suggested that an adult should have at least 7 to 8 hours sleep a day. If taken from a biological perspective, it was also proposed that there were certain traits to indentify within genes that provide a predictor of on average how much sleep one is likely to engage in. With regards to previous research the goal of our study was to investigate whether sleep quality has an effect on IQ. This was a correlation study using 100 participants and our predictive hypothesis would be that the quality of sleep people receive does in fact have an association with IQ levels. Method Participants For this research, a sample of 100 participants (57 Females and43 Males) aged 18 or above were selected(M=23.56,SD=6.08) and obtained through opportunity sampling which included Psychology Undergraduates from University of Warwick as well as their families and friends. Their participation in the study was voluntary and they were not paid for their participation. Design This was a correlation study. This was a within subject design under self-report condition. The independent variable for this research would be the sleeping quality (mood, hours of sleep and use of electronic devices) of the participants which was being measured through a sleep scale. The dependent variable was the participants’ IQ , that they would scored on in IQ test given after completing their sleeping scale. Material A Sleeping Quality Scale which was developed by the researchers, driven by the formed hypothesis and literature reviewed. The scale consisted of 7 questions and an IQ test of 30 questions which was found on (www.iqtest.com). Please refer to Figure 1 for the sleeping quality scale used. The questions in the IQ test were generated through the following aspects: General knowledge, solving problems through mathematics, logic and analogy. The Brief Mood Introspection Scale by John D. Mayer was also used in the research, using these symbols ‘ XX,X,V,VV’ to indicate their mood state. Procedure Firstly, participants were informed of the procedure, were given a consent form and asked to sign and write their require contact details. They were then given a short semi-structured questionnaire (the sleeping quality scale) which stated â€Å"Please put a tick in the box which suits you the most† at the beginning of the page. The questionnaire consisted of seven questions about their sleeping quality such as the amount of sleep they have every night and the amount of time they took to fall asleep. They were also asked about their use of electronic devices, the number of electronic devices they own, hours spent on electronic devices as well as the hours spent each week using one at their place of employment. A Brief Mood Introspection Scale was given afterwards, there were two groups of adjectives about mood which were in positive and negative aspects, XX, X, V, and VV were used to indicate their mood. If they definitely did not feel that particular mood at that mo ment they would select â€Å"XX† and select â€Å"X† if they do not feel in that mood. Similarly, if they feel that particular mood slightly, they would select â€Å"V† and they would select ‘VV’ if they were definitely in that specific mood. After completing both of the scales, they were given an IQ test which contained 30 questions. In each question there was a statement, the participants had to indicate whether it was true or false. They were asked to complete the scales and the IQ test in silence and were given as much time as they needed to complete both. The participant’s identity was left as anonymous. The Sleeping quality Scale was marked out of 142 (M=110.75,SD=13.75) and the IQ test was marked out of 150 (M=91.08,SD=12.64). If a participant was to score (142) on the sleep quality questionnaire, the sleep scale would determine that they have high sleep quality and therefore a score of 0 would determine a low sleep quality as 142 is t he maximum score that can be obtained. Correspondingly, if a participant was to score (150) in the IQ test would determine they are highly intelligent. The higher they got in the IQ test, the higher their level of intelligence. After the study was completed, participants were debriefed of the aims of the study and thanked for their time. Results Please refer to Table 1 for all the means and standard deviations of the sleeping scale and the IQ test. Our hypothesis was that the score of the sleeping quality scale participants would positively correlate with their IQ test score and was successfully proved by our results. There was nothing major went wrong in the conduct of the study. When examining the effects of sleeping quality on IQ, researchers created a sleep questionnaire and an IQ test found online. The dependent variable was the score participants gained in the IQ test. In the IQ test, participants will be awarded 5 marks for each question that they have answered correctly. There were 30 questions, so the highest they could get was 150. We used the scores they got from the IQ test to determine how intelligent they were. The Sleep Scale consisted of 7 questions and was marked out of 142. The higher they scored on the Sleep Scale, the better sleep quality they have. Referring to results Table 1, participants’ mean IQ score was above national average (M=110.75, SD=13.75) and their scores from the sleeping scale was rel atively high (M=91.08,SD=12.65). However, when looking at the genders separately from Table 3 Table 4, females (M=109.91, SD=13.61) was slightly less intelligent than males (M=111.86, SD=14.02) based on their performance on this IQ test; males also show slightly better quality of sleep (M=92.42,SD=11.67) than females (M=90.07,SD=13.35). Pearson Correlation test had surprisingly shown that females had a significant result r(57)=.306,p.05. This corresponded to sleep quality does have an effect on females’ IQ score while for male, the two factors do not associate with each other. Overall, it was found that sleep quality was positively correlated with IQ score gained, r(100)=.269, p Descriptive Statistics Table 1 Means and standard deviations of measures taken. Table 2 Zero-order correlations among measures taken. Note – N = 100. Correlations are controlling for other variable. Figure 1. The correlation between the scores participants gets in the sleeping scale and their IQ. Figure 2. The correlation between the scores females gets in the sleeping scale and their IQ. Table 3. Means and standard deviations of measures taken (female). Table 5. Zero-order correlation among measures taken (female). Figure 3. The correlation between the scores males gets in the sleeping scale and their IQ. Table 4. Means and standard deviations of measures taken (male). Table 6. Zero-order correlation among measures taken (male). Discussion Our hypothesis was that sleeping quality does have an association with IQ test performance. The predicted hypothesis was supported by the results obtained. However there is divergence exists in the gender. It has always been suggested that there is a link between sleep quality and cognitive functioning and IQ. Not only does the outside elements that might affect our quality of sleep but also the inside elements that we cannot ignore. The time participants took the test also has an impact on the score they gained, besides, it has been purposed that IQ does change over life span. Barter, E. A. (1997). Recent research from Gruber et al. (2013) has found out that sleep quality does have an effect on children’s IQ measures, however the underlying mechanism stay unidentified. They found that when the frequency of the sleep spindle was lower, it was associated with better performance on WISC-IV scales (a working memory scale) So, when considering the environment that affects our sleep quality, we should also consider the biological aspects (e.g. the sleep spindle). Gruber et al. (2013) conducted a research to investigate whether sleep quality does have an effect on children’s IQ performances. They hypothesised that sleep spindles frequencies, amplitude and duration would be associate with the performance on perceptual reasoning, verbal comprehension and working memory. However, after completing the study, they found that although there was an association between sleep spindle frequency and better performance on the perceptual reason and working memory but not with the per formance of the IQ test. Also, as sleep is such an essential part of our lives, government and companies should purpose more policies that encourage and ensure their citizens to have more sleep. Research from Kyle Stanyar (2012) has proved that high workload, lengthy shift work and work weeks has an association with poor sleep quality. Therefore, government should not just place emphasize on school children but also working adults. The research stresses the importance of the quality of sleep to IQ. Significance difference were indicated in the results, the quality of sleep does affect IQ in Females. This might be because of the biological difference in genders that researchers might consider when replicating this research. Reference Adams et al. adolescent Sleep and cellular Phone Use: recent trends and implications for research. Health Services Insights 2013:6 99–103 American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (2014, March 31). Poor sleep quality linked to cognitive decline in older men. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 5, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140331170557.htm Barter, E. A. (1997). Stability and change in IQ scores: An eleven-year study in children ages 6-17. (Order No. 1384630, California State University, Fullerton). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 77-77 p. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/docview/304428718?accountid=14888. (304428718). Dewald, J. F., Meijer, A. M., Oort, F. J., Kerkhof, G. A., Bà ¶gels, S. M. (2010). The influence of sleep quality, sleep duration and sleepiness on school performance in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 14, 179-189. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2009.10.004 Epstein, L. J. (2008) Sleep and mood. Retrieved on 4/5/14 from http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/need-sleep/whats-in-it-for-you/mood. Gruber, R., Wise, M. S., Frenette, S., Knà ¤auper, B., Boom, A., Fontil, L., Carrier, J. (2013). The association between sleep spindles and IQ in healthy school-age children. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 89, 229-240. Gruber, R., Laviolette, R., Deluca, P., Monson, E., Cornish, K., Carrier, J. (2010). Short sleep duration is associated with poor performance on IQ measures in healthy school-age children. Sleep Medicine, 11, 289-294. Hatfield,H. (2008). Power down for better sleep. Retrieved on 4/5/14 from http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/power-down-better-sleep. Kong, F., Li, Q., Liu, S. (2011). Poor sleep quality predicts decreased cognitive function independently of chronic mountain sickness score in young soldiers with polycythemia stationed in tibet. High Altitude Medicine Biology, 12, 237-242. Meltzer, L. J., Mindell, J. A. (2007). Relationship between child sleep disturbances and maternal sleep, mood, and parenting stress: A pilot study. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 67-73. Ursin R; Bjorvatn B; Holsten F et al. Sleep duration, subjective sleep need, and sleep habits of 40- to 45-year-olds in the Hordaland health study. SLEEP 2005;28: 1260-1269. Zawadzki, M. J., Graham, J. E., Gerin, W. (2013). Rumination and anxiety mediate the effect of loneliness on depressed mood and sleep quality in college students. Health Psychology, 32, 212-222.

HENRY FORD :: essays research papers

hENRY FORD ---------- He produced an affordable car, paid high wages and helped create a middle class. Not bad for an autocrat.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Henry Ford1863-1947Henry Ford's parents left Ireland during the potato famine and settled in the Detroit area in the 1840s. Ford was born in what is now Dearborn, Michigan. His formal education was limited, but even as a youngster, he was handy with machinery. He worked for the Detroit Edison company, advancing from machine-shop apprentice to chief engineer. In 1893, Ford built a gasoline engine, and within a few years, an automobile, still a novelty item of the rich or do-it-yourself engineers. In 1899 Ford left Edison to help run the Detroit Automobile Company. Cars were still built essentially one at a time. Ford hoped to incorporate ideas from other industries -- standardized parts as Eli Whitney had used with gun manufacturing, or assembly line methods George Eastman tried in photo processing -- to make the process more efficient. This idea struck others in his field as nutty, so before long, Ford quite Detroit Automobile Company and began to build his own ra cing cars. They were good enough to attract backers and even partners, and in 1903, he set up the Ford Motor Company.He still met resistance to his ideas for mass production of a car the average worker could afford. But he stuck to his goal and finally in 1908, began production of the Model T. Ford gradually adapted the production line until in 1913, his plant incorporated the first moving assembly line. Demand for the affordable car soared even as production went up: before Ford stopped making the model T in 1927, 15 million had been sold, and Ford had become the leading auto manufacturer in the country. In addition to the moving assembly line, Ford revolutionized the auto industry by increasing the pay and decreasing the hours of his employees, ensuring he could get enough and the best workers. During the Model T era, Ford bought out his shareholders so he had complete financial control of the now vast corporation. He continued to innovate, but competitors (growing more powerful t hough fewer in number) began to cut into Ford's market share.Ford became interested in politics and as a successful and powerful business leader, was sometimes a participant in political affairs. In 1915, he funded a trip to Europe, where World War I was raging. He and about 170 others went -- without government support or approval -- to seek peace.

Group Observation Essay

I chose to observe a sex offenders group at office of an association of licensed professional counselors in Hinesville, Georgia. The group consisted of 9 sex offenders and the counselor, who was a woman, and myself. The group meet in the evening and everyone was present and on time. We sat in a circle, and I was introduced. I had to sign a confidentiality agreement, and the guys signed something stating they didn’t mind my being there. There were no introductions, as everyone knew each other. Group therapy is seen as the most appropriate form of treatment in the United States. The rationale for this is the argument that sex offenders require group therapy because effective confrontation of manipulative behavior can only be done by other individuals who have been through the same dynamic. Groups are seen as necessary and appropriate for all sexual offenders, regardless of their individual personalities and the factors underlying their abusive behavior (Grossman, Martis, & Fichter, 1999). Psychological treatment of sex offenders showed little success until the advent of cognitive-behavioral techniques which have undergone rapid development over the past two decades. CBT was primarily developed through a merging of behavior therapy with cognitive therapy. While rooted in rather different theories, these two traditions found common ground in focusing on the â€Å"here and now†, and on alleviating symptoms. The goal of these treatments is to change sex offenders’ belief systems, eliminate inappropriate behavior, and increase appropriate behavior by modifying reinforcement contingencies so that offensive behavior is no longer reinforced (What is CBT, 2007). CT intervention methods include helping clients learns to identify the negative, automatic thoughts that occur in upsetting situations, to examine their validity, and to replace them with more useful, reality based thinking. The clients are helped to identify and change the elements of their belief system (world view, self-concept) and the cognitive distortions (errors in reasoning like catastrophic thinking) that lead to negative automatic thoughts. This empowers clients by teaching them to consider a variety of alternative explanations for the cause of an event, by helping them restate problems in behavioral terms that give a client some control over it and to create strategies for dealing with fearful possibilities. BT intervention methods include diversion techniques to diminish negative thinking and emotionality, activity scheduling to increase positive emotion and mastery, homework and graded task assignments, which entail incremental steps of increasing difficulty to reach goals, and role play and rehearsal to try out and practice new behaviors and roles to be used in the real world. lients how to use self-monitoring techniques, where the client records information about a target behavior, and stimulus control, the building, modification, or elimination of a stimulus-response connection so that a target response is increased or eliminated (Fraum, 2011). I observed the counselor using these interventions during the group. One of the goals of the group is prevent reoffenses. When the group started the first thing the counselor asked was if any members had and â€Å"Red Flags† during the week. The Red Flag indicates a form of a self- monitoring technique, when the member knows that he is danger situation and must stop the behavior or leave the area. A few members recounted what had happened to them and how they solved the problem. The group was in the working stage. Up for discussion was why a member had failed a mandatory polygragh test; the member disclosed a reaction to the words child pornography. Seven members gave feedback. According to Corey, Corey, &Corey (2010) during the working stage members trusted other members, goals were clear and specific, people feel free to bring themselves into the work of others, there is a willingness to risk disclosing threatening material, feedback is given freely and accepted without defensiveness, members feel hopeful, there is a an awareness of the group process, communication is clear and direct, and the focus is on the here and now. The group displayed these characteristics and more.

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