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PsychologyDiscussion postSleep and consciousness

PSY 102 Week 2 DQ 1: Sleep Disorder Guide

The prompt says considering the possible causes, which means the treatment section has to follow from the cause section. Generic sleep hygiene advice fails that test for three of the four options.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 16, 2026

01

Causes first, then treatments that follow from them

Choose the disorder for the fit between cause and treatment, because the prompt links them explicitly and the four options behave very differently. Insomnia is largely maintained by behaviour and cognition — conditioned arousal in the bedroom, compensatory napping and time in bed, and catastrophic thinking about the consequences of not sleeping — so the first-line treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, and the causal story leads directly to it. Obstructive sleep apnoea is anatomical and physiological, involving upper airway collapse during sleep, so the treatments are mechanical rather than psychological. Narcolepsy involves loss of orexin-producing neurons and is managed pharmacologically. Sleepwalking is a disorder of arousal from deep non-REM sleep with a strong familial component. Pick one and stay with it. Say which one you chose in your first sentence, because the rest of the post only makes sense relative to it, and a reader should not have to infer it from the treatments.

Then make the causal and treatment sections genuinely connect. If you chose insomnia, explain why sleep hygiene advice alone performs poorly against structured cognitive behavioural therapy: hygiene addresses none of the conditioned arousal and often increases the time spent lying awake in bed, which is the behaviour that maintains the problem. If you chose apnoea, say why weight and airway anatomy point to positive airway pressure and why sedatives are the wrong direction. This is where a marker can see whether the two halves are joined. Add one point about the mechanism most people miss: the daytime consequences — impaired attention, mood change, accident risk — are usually what brings someone in, and they are also why the disorder is under-recognised, since the complaint presents as tiredness or irritability rather than as a sleep problem. Give the prevalence figure too, since it tells a reader whether they are reading about a common problem or an uncommon one.

Likely learning objectives

Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.

  • 01
    Describe a sleep disorder in terms of its mechanism.
  • 02
    Derive treatment from an identified cause rather than from general advice.
  • 03
    Distinguish behavioural, anatomical and neurological sleep disorders.
  • 04
    Explain why sleep disorders are commonly under-recognised.
Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

PSY 102 Week 2 DQ 1 DQ 1 :Describe the sleep disorder and possible causes that may lead to the sleep disorder Select a sleep disorder – insomnia, sleep apnea, sleepwalking narcolepsy. Describe the sleep disorder and possible causes that may lead to the sleep disorder. Considering the possible causes and the information you read about the disorder, what are some possible treatments? PSY 102 Week 2 DQ 1
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours. Grading Rubric Guidelines Performance Category 10 9 8 4 0 Scholarliness Demonstrates achievement of scholarly inquiry for professional and academic decisions. Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry clearly stating how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions Evaluates literature resources to develop a comprehensive analysis or synthesis. Uses valid, relevant, and reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry but does not clearly state how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Evaluates information from source(s) to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Uses some valid, relevant, reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion. Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Information is taken from source(s) with some interpretation/evaluation, but not enough to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Little valid, relevant, or reliable outside sources are used to contribute to the threaded discussion. Demonstrates little or no understanding of the topic. Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Information is taken from source(s) without any interpretation/evaluation. The posting uses information that is not valid, relevant, or reliable No evidence of the use of scholarly inquiry to inform or change professional or academic decisions. Information is not valid, relevant, or reliable Performance Category 10 9 8 4 0 Application of Course Knowledge – Demonstrate the ability to analyze, synthesize, and/or apply principles and concepts learned in the course lesson and outside readings and relate them to real-life professional situations Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources; Applies concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life. Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources. Applies concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Interactions with classmates are relevant to the discussion topic but do not make direct reference to lesson content Posts are generally on topic but do not build knowledge by incorporating concepts and principles from the lesson. Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Does not demonstrate a solid understanding of the principles and concepts presented in the lesson Posts do not adequately address the question posed either by the discussion prompt or the instructor’s launch post. Posts are superficial and do not reflect an understanding of the lesson content Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Posts are not related to the topics provided by the discussion prompt or by the instructor; attempts by the instructor to redirect the student are ignored No discussion of lesson concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life Performance Category 5 4 3 2 0 Interactive Dialogue Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days. (5 points possible per graded thread) Exceeds minimum post requirements Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts three or more times in each graded thread, over three separate days. Replies to a post posed by faculty and to a peer Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week. Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days Replies to a question posed by a peer Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week. Meets expectations of 2 posts on 2 different days. The main post is not made by the Wednesday deadline Does not reply to a question posed by a peer or faculty Has only one post for the week Discussion posts contain few, if any, new ideas or applications; often are a rehashing or summary of other students’ comments Does not post to the thread No connections are made to the topic Minus 1 Point Minus 2 Point Minus 3 Point Minus 4 Point Minus 5 Point Grammar, Syntax, APA Note: if there are only a few errors in these criteria, please note this for the student in as an area for improvement. If the student does not make the needed corrections in upcoming weeks, then points should be deducted. Points deducted for improper grammar, syntax and APA style of writing. The source of information is the APA Manual 6th Edition 2-3 errors in APA format. Written responses have 2-3 grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Writing style is generally clear, focused, and facilitates communication. 4-5 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 4-5 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is somewhat focused. 6-7 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 6-7 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is slightly focused making discussion difficult to understand. 8-10 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 8-10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is not focused, making discussion difficult to understand. Post contains greater than 10 errors in APA format. Written responses have more than 10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style does not facilitate communication. The student continues to make repeated mistakes in any of the above areas after written correction by the instructor 0 points lost -5 points lost Total Participation Requirements per discussion thread The student answers the threaded discussion question or topic on one day and posts a second response on another day. The student does not meet the minimum requirement of two postings on two different days Early Participation Requirement per discussion thread The student must provide a substantive answer to the graded discussion question(s) or topic(s), posted by the course instructor (not a response to a peer), by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT of each week. The student does not meet the requirement of a substantive response to the stated question or topic by Wednesday at 11:59 pm MT.

02

Turn the brief into deliverables

  1. 01
    One named disorder, described accurately.
  2. 02
    Its causes at the level of mechanism.
  3. 03
    Treatments that follow from those causes.
  4. 04
    An explanation of why a non-matched treatment underperforms.
  5. 05
    The daytime consequences that bring people to attention.
03

The disorder, its mechanism, then matched treatment

01

The disorder you selected

Describe presentation and diagnostic features.

02

Mechanism and causes

Explain what produces and maintains it.

03

Treatments that follow

Match interventions to the mechanism described.

04

Why the wrong treatment fails

Show what happens when a mismatched intervention is used.

05

Daytime consequences

Explain the functional impact and why recognition is delayed.

04

Clinical guidelines beat general sleep advice

Recommended databases

  • NCBI Bookshelf
  • MedlinePlus
  • PubMed Central
  • American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Search sequence

  1. 1.
    Read a clinical reference for your chosen disorder before writing anything.
  2. 2.
    Find a treatment guideline rather than general advice.
  3. 3.
    Check whether the treatment you propose is first-line for that disorder.
  4. 4.
    Look for the functional consequences, which the clinical sources report.
05

Reference shortlist

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.

  1. 01

    Insomnia

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023

    Insomnia's maintaining factors, which is what makes the behavioural treatment the matched one.

  2. 02

    Narcolepsy

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024

    A neurological rather than behavioural sleep disorder — the contrast that shows why treatments differ.

  3. 03

    Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023

    Airway obstruction as an anatomical cause, with the mechanical treatments that follow from it.

  4. 04

    Sleep Disorders | MedlinePlus

    MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine · 2025

    A plain-language entry point covering all four options, useful for choosing before you commit.

  5. 05

    Combination treatment for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline

    Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine · 2025

    A current guideline, so the treatment section reflects practice rather than a textbook's summary.

06

Review before submission

Common mistakes

  • Recommending sleep hygiene for a disorder it cannot treat.
  • Describing symptoms without any mechanism behind them.
  • Switching between disorders mid-post.
  • Listing treatments with no link back to the causes you gave.

Submission checklist

  • Does each treatment address a cause you actually named?
  • Is the mechanism described, not just the symptoms?
  • Have you stayed with one disorder throughout?
  • Are the daytime consequences included?

Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.

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Aaron Bishop

MA, Education

assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines

Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.

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Dr. Nathan Cole

PhD, Rhetoric & Composition

Argumentation and thesis development

Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.

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