States of Conciousness
Lesson Essential QuestionWhat is consciousness? How do our body’s natural rhythms differ from one another?
Awareness of yourself and the environment.
The experience of conscious behaviors can include thoughts, sensations, and memories
Consciousness
Levels of Consciousness
Consciousness – current level of awareness
Subconscious – information out of awareness, memories aren’t easily accessible
Unconscious – information out of awareness, no actual memories may even exist, though behavior may be affected
Nonconscious – body processes that we are not aware of, but are active
Preconscious – information out of awareness, but memories are easily accessible
Check for understanding
How do preconscious and subconscious differ?
How do subconscious and unconscious differ?
Why would/should we have unconscious desires?
What levels affect behavior?Where do dreams come into play?
Biological Rhythms - natural life cycles that help to guide our levels of awareness and
our behaviorsExamples?Jet lag
Annual Cycles – Seasonal changes affecting moods, appetite, sleep patterns
Twenty-Eight Day Cycle – Female Menstrual Cycle
Ninety-Minute Cycle – Sleep Cycle
Twenty-Four Hour Cycle – Daily cycle of levels of alertness, hormones, body temperature, etc. also known as…
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
Circadian Rhythms
Sleep!What are the stages of sleep?What are some common sleep disorders, and what are their consequences?What are the costs to your body when you don’t get enough sleep?Why do we dream?
◦When decreased levels of light, the pineal gland releases melatonin, which causes sleepiness and reduced activity level
◦When there are increased levels of light, melatonin levels decrease and conscious awareness level increase
The Sleep-Wake Cycle
When there are increased levels of light, melatonin levels decrease and conscious awareness level increases
SLEEP !!!!!
On average, humans sleep 22 years of their lifetime
Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%
body temperature and the brain's sleep-wake cycle are closely linked
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—sleep emerged in evolution to preserve energy and protect during the time of day when there is little value and considerable danger
Theory of Sleep
There are 2 different types of sleep:◦REM Sleep: type of sleep during which rapid eye movements and dreaming occur and voluntary muscle activity is suppressed
◦NREM Sleep: quiet, typically dreamless sleep in which rapid eye movements are absent
Sleep
Pre-Sleep:◦As you transition from wakefulness to sleep (drowsy stage), you may experience some type of hypnagogic hallucinations and/or myoclonic jerks You may 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
Stages of Sleep – Pre-Sleep
STAGE 1:
◦Transitional stage from wakefulness to sleep
◦First 5-10 minutes of sleep◦Gradually disengage from the sensations of the surrounding world
◦Still able to regain consciousness easily at this point
◦Some hypnagogic experiences continue here
four NREM sleep stages
Stage 2: ◦15-20 minutes◦Breathing becomes rhythmical
◦Some small muscle twitches◦Brain activity begins to slow down
◦Sleep Spindles - Quick bursts of brain activity that last for a second or two
four NREM sleep stages
Stages 4:◦Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing drop to their lowest levels
four NREM sleep stages
… by Stage 4:◦Slow delta waves
the sleeper is nearly oblivious to the outside world, and may take 15 minutes or more to regain consciousness from this level
four NREM sleep stages
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
four NREM sleep stages
By the time a sleeper has reached Stage 4, they have been asleep for about 60 minutes total.
After Stage 4 has been reached, the sleeper cycles back from Stage 3 to Stage 2 in a matter of minutes and enters REM Sleep.
Stages of Sleep – back again
REM Sleep:◦The brain becomes more active and generates small, fast brain waves
◦Visual and motor neurons fire during this stage, but voluntary muscle movements are suppressed (paralysis)
Stages of Sleep
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) ◦recurring sleep stage ◦vivid dreams◦“paradoxical sleep” muscles are generally relaxed, but other body systems are active
◦Heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration increase, muscles twitches, heightened sexual arousal
◦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 because…
REM Rebound Sleep◦The less time we spend in REM sleep one night, the longer amount of time we will spend in REM sleep the next night
Sleepers cycle between NREM and REM sleep throughout the night
Each cycle lasts about 90 minutes
Beyond the first 90 minutes
Restoration theory—body wears out during the day and sleep is necessary to put it back in shape
Adaptive theory—sleep emerged in evolution to preserve energy and protect during the time of day when there is little value and considerable danger
Functions of Sleep
Some individuals need more and some less than the typical 8 hours per night
Nonsomniacs—sleep far less than most but do not feel tired during the day
Insomniacs—have a normal desire for sleep but are unable to and feel tired during the day
Individual Differences in Sleep Drive
Insomnia◦A condition in which a person regularly experiences an inability to fall asleep, to stay asleep, or to feel adequately rested by sleep.
Sleep Disorders
Sleepwalking (somnambulism)◦Usually within the first three hours of sleep
◦The sleeper typically has the ability to navigate around objects, albeit poorly coordinated and in a stiff, automatic manner
Sleep Disorders
◦Carbon-dioxide builds up in the blood, causing a momentary awakening, during which the sleeper snorts or gulps for air
A sleep disorder in which the 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–A sleep
disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and brief lapses into sleep throughout the day
Night Terrors◦occur within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep, usually during Stage 4
◦high arousal- appearance of being terrified
◦Right back to sleep – usually no memory of the event
Nightmares◦occur towards morning◦during REM sleep
8 hours is generally suggested for adults, but the typical adult
sleeps less than 7 hours a night.9 hours is generally
suggested for teenager, but the typical teen sleeps only
about 6 hours a night.
Sleep Deprivation
Effects of Sleep Loss◦fatigue◦impaired concentration◦immune suppression◦irritability◦slowed performanceAccidentsplanes autos and trucks
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
Dreams are a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind.
Sleep and Dreams
• Notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and delusions
Dreams and REM Sleep
• True dream—vivid, detailed dreams consisting of sensory and motor sensations experienced during REM
• Sleep thought—lacks vivid sensory and motor sensations, is more similar to daytime thinking, and occurs during slow-wave sleep
• Lucid dreaming
What are true dreams for?
Psychoanalytic interpretationActivation synthesis model
Dreams and REM Sleep
Brain activity during sleep produces dream images (activation) which are combined by the brain into a dream story (synthesis).
Meaning is to be found by analyzing the way the dreamer makes sense of the progression of chaotic dream images.
Activation Synthesis Model
5 Basic Characteristics◦Emotions can be intense◦Content/organization are usually illogical
◦Bizarre sensations◦Even bizarre detail is uncritically accepted
◦Dream images are difficult to remember
Dreams
We dream every night but often don’t remember.
We remember dreams that occur close to waking.
Remembering Dreams
A lucid dream is the act of consciously perceiving and recognizing that one is dreaming, enabling a more cogent ("lucid") control over the content and quality of the experience.
Sleep and Dreams
Sigmund Freud (1900)The Interpretation of Dreams◦wish fulfillment (disguised fulfillment of repressed wishes)
◦discharge otherwise unacceptable feelings
◦Sex and Aggression
Dream Theory