Version 7.1 The sleep cycle: a mathematical analysis from a global workspace perspective

Dretske’s invocation of necessary conditions from communication theory in the characterization of mental process serves as a basis for deriving Hobson’s AIM treatment of the sleep/wake cycle from Baars’ Global Workspace model. One implication of the analysis is that certain sleep disorders may be recognizably similar to many other chronic, developmental dysfunctions, including autoimmune and coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, and anxiety disorders, in that these afflictions often have roots in utero or adverse early childhood experiences or exposures to systematic patterns of structured stress. Identification and alteration of such factors might have considerable impact on population-level patterns of sleep disorders. This suggests the possibility of a comprehensive public health approach to sleep disorders rather than current exorbitantly expensive case-by-case medical intervention that does little more than prescribe hypnotic drugs which, in themselves, often carry a substantial health burden.