States of Consciousness

States of Conciousness

Lesson Essential QuestionWhat is consciousness? How do our body’s natural rhythms differ from one another?

Write your definition of consciousness.

Get with a partner and share

What do you think?

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 3◦Transitional stage from 2 to 4

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

Sleep dysfunctions

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

Sleep Apnea

◦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 are unfolding

episodes of mental images

(story-like)

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

The manifest content of a dream is the literal storyline and events that occurred

The latent content of a dream is the interpretation of the unconscious drives, wishes, and desires that created the dream (the symbolism)

Sleep and Dreams – When is a cigar just a cigar?