Consciousness Awareness of yourself and

the environment. The experience of conscious

behaviors can include thoughts, sensations, and memories

“Stream of Consciousness”

Conscious experience is continuous and constantly changing, without

pause and without breaks. Thoughts, emotions, actions,

sensations, memories, etc. blend seamlessly together. All the while, though, we are aware that this is

happening.

Levels of Consciousness

Levels of Consciousness Consciousness – current

level of awareness Nonconscious – body

processes that we are not aware of, but are active

Levels of Consciousness Preconscious – information

out of awareness, but memories are easily accessible

Subconscious – information out of awareness, memories aren’t easily accessible

Levels of Consciousness Unconscious – information out of awareness, no actual memories may even exist, though behavior is still affected

Biological Rhythms - natural life cycles that help to guide our levels of awareness and our behaviors

Biological Rhythms Annual Cycles – Seasonal

changes affecting moods, appetite, sleep patters

Twenty-Eight Day Cycle – Female Menstrual Cycle

Biological Rhythms Ninety-Minute Cycle – Sleep

Cycle Twenty-Four Hour Cycle –

Daily cycle of levels of alertness, hormones, body temperature, etc. also known as…

Circadian Rhythms

A cycle or rhythm that is roughly 24 hours long. The cyclical daily fluctuations in biological and psychological processes.

Circadian Rhythms IE.

Peak Mental Alertness at 9:00 AM and 9:00 PM

Low Mental Alertness at 3:00 AM and 3:00 PM

Peak Physical Strength at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM

Peak Sensations at 3:00 AM and 6:00 PM

Peak Sensitivity to Pain at 3:00 AM and 5:00 PM

Peak Degrees of Sleepiness at 3:00 AM and 3:00 PM

…so why does school start at 7:30???

The Sleep-Wake Cycle At night, the pineal gland releases melatonin,

Causes sleepiness and reduced activity level

During the day, melatonin levels decrease and conscious awareness level increase

When there are increased levels When there are increased levels of light, melatonin levels of light, melatonin levels decrease and conscious decrease and conscious awareness level increasesawareness level increases

Free-Running Circadian Rhythms• Experiments in which all environmental

time cues are removed – no clocks, and light is artificially controlled

• Two important findings:– The body creates its own sleep-wake

cycle that is roughly one-hour off of normal sleep and wake times

– Systems that are normally synchronized lose their connectedness

Jet Lag SymptomsJet Lag SymptomsCrossing time zones, disrupt circadian Crossing time zones, disrupt circadian

rhythms, and produce:rhythms, and produce:

Sleep disturbancesSleep disturbances Initiating and maintaining sleepInitiating and maintaining sleep

Daytime fatigue and sleepinessDaytime fatigue and sleepiness

Physical complaintsPhysical complaints Gastrointestinal distressGastrointestinal distress HeadachesHeadaches General malaiseGeneral malaise

Jet Lag Symptoms – cont.

•Cognitive difficulties– Reduced decision making, concentration, forgetful, slowed reaction time

• Poor psychomotor coordination

• Mood disturbance– Depression, apathy, lethargy

•Recovery?

Jet LagJet LagVariablesVariables

• 25-30% of people are minimally affected25-30% of people are minimally affected

• Equal number highly susceptibleEqual number highly susceptible

• Morning types (larks) more affected Morning types (larks) more affected than night types (owls)than night types (owls)

Shift Work“Blue Collar Jet Lag”

55% night shift workers report nodding off or falling asleep at work at least 1 time/week

>30% report such incidents occur more than 3 times/week

SLEEP !!!!!SLEEP !!!!!• On average, humans On average, humans sleep 22 years of their sleep 22 years of their

lifetime.lifetime.

Why do we sleep? Restorative Theory of Sleep

Sleep promotes physiological processes that restore and rejuvenate the body and the mind

NREM = bodily restoration and REM = mind restoration

Why do we sleep?Adaptive Theory of SleepSleep patterns evolved over time to promote survival and adaptation.

Adaptive Theory of Sleep

IE. The fiercest and strongest sleep the most, and at their convenience

The weakest and most vulnerable sleep in shorter bursts and for the least amount of time.

2 different types of sleep:

REM Sleep: rapid eye movement & dreaming occur; voluntary muscle activity is suppressed

NREM Sleep: quiet, typically dreamless sleep in which rapid eye movements are absent

Stages of Sleep Pre-Sleep:

As you go from wakefulness to sleep you may experience hypnagogic hallucinations and/or myoclonic jerks

Hear a loud crash, hear someone call your name, feel a sensation of floating, smell something burning, see a variety of colors

Involuntary muscle spasms

4 Stages of NREM Sleep

STAGE 1: ALPHA Transition stage: awake to sleep First 5-10 minutes of sleep Disengage from surrounding world

Able to easily regain consciousness

Some hypnagogic experiences continue here

4 Stages of NREM SleepStage 2: THETA

15-20 minutes Breathing becomes rhythmical Small muscle twitches Brain activity slows down Sleep Spindles - Quick bursts of brain activity that last for a second or two

4 Stages of NREM SleepStages 3 and 4: DELTA

Replenishing chemicals, growth hormones released, fortifying the immune system

Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing drop to their lowest levels

4 Stages of NREM Sleep

… by Stage 4: the sleeper is oblivious to the outside world

May take 15 minutes or more to regain consciousness

4 Stages of NREM Sleep

Stage 4: It is possible to carry conversations, answer the phone, walk in this stage and never remember it

Most sleeping disorders occur during this time

Stages of Sleep – back again

When a sleeper reaches Stage 4, they have been asleep for about 60 minutes

After Stage 4, the sleeper cycles back from Stage 3 to Stage 2 in a matter of minutes and enters REM Sleep.

Stages of SleepREM Sleep:

Brain becomes more active & makes small, fast brain waves

Visual & motor neurons fire during this stage, but voluntary muscle movements are suppressed (paralysis)

REM (Rapid Eye Movement)

Recurring sleep stage Vivid dreams The first REM stage lasts about 15 minutes – the first sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes total

REM Sleep is often referred to as Paradoxical Sleep

Muscles are relaxed, but other body systems are active

Heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration increase,

muscles twitches, heightened sexual arousal

REM Rebound SleepThe less time we spend in REM sleep one night, the longer amount of time we will spend in REM sleep the next night

Beyond the first 90 minutes Sleepers cycle between

NREM and REM sleep throughout the night

Each cycle lasts about 90 minutes

Just before and after REM sleep, you typically change

body positions

As the night progresses, Stages 3 and 4 get shorter and REM sleep increases, up to 40 minutes at a time

Electroencephalagram (EEG)

Measures electrical activity in the brain Visualized as brain waves

Stages of Sleep: Brain Waves

Awake brain generates Beta Waves

As you prepare for sleep, brain generates Alpha Waves

After you begin to sleep, the brain generates Theta Waves

The deepest parts of sleep are characterized by Delta Waves

When is someone dreaming?

See if you can tell…

Click on the weird dream to enter the experiment! Once you are in the simulation, check

out slides 10 through 14 to figure out what’s going on or just jump right to slide 15 and enter the experiment!

Sleep DYSFUNCTIONS

Sleep Disorders Insomnia

A person is unable to fall asleep, to stay asleep, or to feel adequately rested by sleep.

Sleep Disorders

Sleepwalking (somnambulism) Within the first 3 hours of sleep

The sleeper can move around objects, but poorly coordinated

Sleep Apnea

Carbon-dioxide builds up in the blood,

Causes a momentary awakening, during which the sleeper snorts or gulps for air

Person repeatedly stops breathing during sleep

Though narcoleptics can fall asleep at any time, arousals usually trigger sleep – laughter, anger, surprise, sex

Narcoleptics instantly lose muscular control, and enter REM sleep. The dreams are often terrifying.

Narcolepsy Characteriz

ed by excessive daytime sleepiness and lapses into sleep throughout the day

Night Terrors Occur within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep, usually during Stage 4

Appearance of being terrified Right back to sleep – usually no memory of the event

Nightmares Occur towards morning During REM sleep

More Sleep Disorders

Sleep Bruxism –

Enuresis– Bed Wetting

Sleep Deprivation

8 hours is suggested for adults, but the typical adult sleeps less than 7 hours a night.

9 hours is suggested for teens, but the typical teen sleeps about 6 hours a night.

Effects of Sleep Loss Fatigue Impaired concentration Immune suppression Irritability Slowed performance

Accidentsplanes autos and trucks

Dreams 25% of a night’s sleep spent

dreaming (about 2 hours) (6 yrs of your life)

Sleep Thinking – much more common Vague, uncreative thoughts about real-life events

Dreams A sequence of images,

emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind. Notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and delusions

DreamsDreams are unfolding

episodes of mental images

(story-like)

5 Basic Characteristics

–Intense Emotions

–Content/organization are illogical

–Bizarre sensations

–Bizarre detail is accepted

–Dream images are difficult to remember

Remembering Dreams

We dream every night but often don’t remember.

We remember dreams that occur close to waking.

Sleep and Dreams

Lucid Dream recognizing that one is dreaming, enabling more control over the content and quality of the experience.

Dream TheorySigmund Freud (1900)

The Interpretation of Dreams Wish fulfillment Get rid of unacceptable feelings

Sex and Aggression

When is a cigar just a cigar?

Manifest Content the storyline & events that occurred

Latent Content the interpretation of unconscious drives, wishes, and desires that created the dream (the symbolism)

Activation Activation SynthesisSynthesis

1973- 1973- Allan HobsonAllan Hobson & & Robert McCarleyRobert McCarley created another theorycreated another theory

Dreams are from Dreams are from neural activity that neural activity that spreads upward from spreads upward from the brainstem.the brainstem.

Dreams are the Dreams are the brains attempt to brains attempt to make sense out of make sense out of random neural random neural “static”“static”

Information Processing & Information Processing & Memory ConsolidationMemory Consolidation

Rebuilds neural connectionsRebuilds neural connections

Dreams may help sift, sort, and Dreams may help sift, sort, and fix the day’s experiences in our fix the day’s experiences in our memorymemory IE. It was found that on average, student who IE. It was found that on average, student who

get A’s and B’s sleep 25 minutes more a night get A’s and B’s sleep 25 minutes more a night than lower achieving studentsthan lower achieving students

Dream InterpretationDream Interpretationhttp://www.myjellybean.com/http://www.myjellybean.com/astrology/dream/e_dreams.hastrology/dream/e_dreams.h

tmtm

http://http://www.dreammoods.com/www.dreammoods.com/

dreamdictionary/dreamdictionary/