The brain and circadian rhythm work together to control sleep and wake cycles. Within the brain, the hypothalamus and brainstem are responsible for controlling sleep maintenance and transitions between wakefulness and sleep stages. The circadian rhythm is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), situated in the hypothalamus. The SCN is responsible for responding to external cues such as light and darkness and the release of melatonin promoting sleep. If this interconnected system is disrupted, it can have a negative effect on an individual’s weekly average of sleep.

THE BRAIN:
The brain is an intricate organ that controls all functions of the body. These functions include thoughts, memories, emotion, touch, motor skills, ,vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and everything that synchronizes our bodies.Altogether, the brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system (CNS). The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is composed of spinal nerves and cranial nerves branching out from the spinal cord and brain.In an average adult body, the brain weighs 3 pounds and contains 60% fat. The remaining 40% is made up of a combination of water, protein, carbohydrates and salts.The brain is not considered a muscle, as it contains blood vessels and nerves, such as neurons and glial cells.

PARTS OF THE BRAIN
CEREBRUM:
The cerebrum is considered the largest part of the brain and is situated at the front. It is composed of the left and right hemispheres, each having specific controls. The cerebrum is responsible for interpreting higher functions and coordinate movements such as touch, vision, hearing, speech, emotions, learning and fine motor skills. 

BRAINSTEM:
Located in the middle of the brain, a brainstem is in charge of connecting both the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord. The brainstem controls autonomic functions such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, wake and sleep cycles, digestion, and swallowing.

CEREBELLUM:
The cerebellum takes up a fist sized portion of the brain, and is located at the back, under the cerebrum. Like the cerebrum, the cerebellum occupies two hemispheres.  It is able to conduct functions such as coordinating muscle movements, maintaining balance and posture. 

BRAIN WAVE:
A brain wave is the electrical activity generated by your brain.Electrical activity occurs when a group of neurons sends an amount of electrical pulses to a second group of neurons, creating a wave-like pattern. These waves are measured using speed cycles per-second, also known as Hertz (Hz). According to how awake and alert you are, the waves tend to be very high in speed or very slow. The fastest brain waves are known as gamma waves.

CIRCADIAN RHYTHM:
The circadian rhythm is the physical, mental and behavioral changes an individual or organism experiences over a 24-hour cycle. It is one of four biological rhythms in our bodies.  Most living things, such as plants, animals, and microorganisms have circadian rhythms. A circadian rhythm is impacted by light and darkness, food intake, stress, physical activity, social environment, and temperature. These rhythms influence important human functions such as sleep patterns, hormone release, appetite,  digestion, and temperature regulation. 

CIRCADIAN RHYTHM IN ADULTS:
Many adults are considered to have a consistent circadian rhythm if they follow healthy habits. Healthy habits include having a stable sleep schedule, meaning they should obtain 7-9 proper hours of sleep each night. People over the age of 60 typically notice changes in their sleep. Older adults tend to sleep and wake up earlier as it is a part of aging. 

SLEEP DISORDERS:
Sleep disorders are conditions which disrupt the quality and amount of sleep you get each night. Common sleep disorders are insomnia, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy,  and sleep apnea. These conditions can greatly affect your mental and physical health.
Symptoms: 

-  Difficulty falling asleep

- Takes more than 30 minutes to fall asleep regularly 

- Waking up often during the night

- Snoring, gasping and choking

- Feeling the need to move when you are relaxed 

- Daytime sleepiness

- Behavioral/mood changes

- Frequent accidents/falls

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:
In this experiment, the amount of hours each participant slept for changed depending on the day of the experiment

DEPENDENT VARIABLE:
In this experiment, participants total hours of  sleep, deep sleep, light sleep and REM sleep were observed  in the span of two weeks. Drastic increases in sleep, deep sleep and light sleep and a decrease in REM sleep were observed in week two.

CONTROLLED VARIABLE:
Throughout the experiment, both participants and their curated sleep routines were kept the same throughout the experiment. 

1. Out of the two participants, chose which participant will have a consistent sleep schedule and which participant will have an inconsistent sleep schedule.
2. Each participant will wear their personal fitness trackers before sleeping to measure the time they spent in each sleeping stage (deep, light, awake) and the total hours of sleep.
3. In the first week of the experiment, each participant will go to sleep without any interventions before going to bed.
4. After each night, calculate the average amount of deep sleep, light sleep, total awake time, and total minutes asleep using a calculator and the formula below:
Time in hours and minutes * (60 minutes/hour)
5. Once the first week is done, calculate the total minutes and hours of sleep each participant got that week with the following formulas:
Total minutes asleep = Time day 1 + Time day 2 + Time day 3 + Time day 4 + Time day 5 + Time day 6 + Time day 7
Week average = Total hours asleep / number of days slept
6. After a week of regular sleep, each participant will have the same intervention before going to sleep. These interventions include:
- Light exercise
- Eating a light snack
- Meditation
- Watching phone/screen
7.  After the second week, reuse the same formulas to calculate the total minutes and hours of sleep each participant got that second week
8. Once each week’s data has been collected, create a table listing the day of the experiment, total hours of sleep and total minutes of sleep. 

Total Minutes Asleep = 2772 mins
Total Hours Asleep = 46.2 h
Week Average = 6.6 h

Total Minutes Asleep = 4149 mins
Total Hours Asleep = 69.15 h
Week Average = 9.88 h

Total minutes of REM sleep = 1060 mins

Total minutes of REM sleep = 910 mins

Total Minutes Asleep = 2710 mins
Total Hours Asleep = 45.16 h
Week Average = 0.75 h

Total Minutes Asleep = 2772 mins
Total Hours Asleep = 46.2 h
Week Average = 6.6h

Total minutes of REM sleep = 1010 mins

^{Total minutes of REM sleep = 892 mins}

APPLICATIONS:

• The given experiment’s results can be used by females of age 30 and up to observe how different factors affect the hours of sleep they recieve.
   
• These results can be used by women in their early 30s that are trying to re-adjust their sleep schedules. With the given information, they will be able to curate their own routine and set a target bedtime each night. They will also be able to choose the interventions that they will incorporate into their nightly routine.

• The experiment supports the hypothesis that both the brain and circadian rhythm play an important role to control wake and sleep cycles. However, the results from this experiment revealed that by adding interventions to your sleep, it has a positive impact on your weekly average of sleep, deep sleep and light sleep. Each participant had an average amount of minutes of sleep during the first week. After adding interventions before sleeping during the second week, there was a drastic increase and change in the minutes of sleep,deep sleep and light sleep each participant received. However, there was a decrease in the minutes of REM sleep the participants received in the second week. These results highlight the impact interventions make in your daily sleep. By adding good habits such as exercise and meditation to your routine before sleeping, you can have a positive effect on the sleep you receive every night.

APPLICATIONS:

• The given experiment’s results can be used by females of age 30 and up to observe how different factors affect the hours of sleep they recieve.
   
• These results can be used by women in their early 30s that are trying to re-adjust their sleep schedules. With the given information, they will be able to curate their own routine and set a target bedtime each night. They will also be able to choose the interventions that they will incorporate into their nightly routine. 

The limitation to this experiment included the amount of participants that contributed. Due to having two participants, the given data is only being compared to each other without any supporting data/results

• https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/HumBio_p075/human-biology-health/sleep-tracking 
• https://mayfieldclinic.com/pe-anatbrain.htm 
• https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-of-the-brain#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20brain%3F,central%20nervous%20system%2C%20or%20CNS 
• https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-education/brain-basics/brain-basics-life-and-death-neuron#:~:text=Neurons%20are%20nerve%20cells%20that,were%20ever%20going%20to%20have 
• https://www.healthline.com/health/gamma-brain-waves 
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/eeg/about/pac-20393875#:~:text=An%20electroencephalogram%20(EEG)%20is%20a,lines%20on%20an%20EEG%20recording 
• https://info.tmsi.com/blog/types-of-brain-waves#:~:text=There%20are%20different%20categories%20of,be%20seen%20in%20Figure%201 
• https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain/brain-anatomy/what-neuron#:~:text=Neurons%20 
• https://www.verywellhealth.com/neurons-5217652#:~:text=The%20main%20types%20of%20neurons,between%20motor%20and%20sensory%20neurons 
• https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm 
• https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/circadian-rhythms.aspx#:~:text=Circadian%20rhythms%20are%20the%20physical,and%20temperature%20also%20affect%20them 
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/circadian-rhythm 
• https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/circadian-rhythm 
• https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm/how-age-affects-your-circadian-rhythm 
• https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-education/brain-basics/brain-basics-understanding-sleep 
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/12148-sleep-basics 
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11429-sleep-disorders 
• https://www.sonoransleep.com/sleep-disorders/circadian-rhythm 

• I would like to acknowledge both participants for helping with the experiment and tracking their sleep for two weeks.
   
• I would also like to thank Ms. Amanda, my science teacher for guiding me through this project and giving feedback whenever it was needed. 
• I will like to thank Ms. Fauzia for giving me the oppurtunity to compete at CYSF!