States of Consciousness

Levels of Consciousness

• Conscious Level• Nonconscious Level• Preconscious Level• Subconscious Level• Unconscious Level

Sleep• Sleep is a state of

consciousness.• We are less aware

of our surroundings.

• Circadian Rhythm

Sleep*• Why do we need sleep?

Sleep protects us

• How much sleep do we need? (according to the National Institutes of Health-

2007)

Sleep helps us recuperate (repair tissue & build-up our immune system / fight infection)

Sleep improves cognitive functioning (accidents are more likely when one is sleep deprived)

Sleep helps us grow

teens adultskids elderly

Sleep helps us cope emotionally

Sleep improves memory (consolidation and recovery)

As our body prepares for sleep,our body temperature changes

Goes down as we go to sleep

Goes up as we wake up

Measuring sleep: About every 90 minutes, we pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages.

Sleep Stages

Hank Morgan/ Rainbow

Sleep Cycle

• Use an EEG machine to measure stages of sleep.

• When you are the onset of sleep you experience alpha waves.

• “Wakeful relaxation”

Click dude for alphaWaves.

Click to see an awake brain.

Stage 1

• Kind of awake and kind of asleep.

• Hypnagogic hallucinations/jerks

• Only lasts a few minutes

• Your brain produces Theta Waves.

Stage 2

• More Theta Waves that get progressively slower.

• Begin to show sleep spindles…short bursts of rapid brain waves.

Stages 3 and 4Deep Sleep

• Slow wave sleep Delta waves.

• If awoken you will be very groggy.

• Vital for restoring body’s growth hormones and good overall health.

• Sleep talking, walking, night terrors, etc.

From stage 4, your brain begins to speed up and you go to stage 3, then 2….then ……

REM Sleep

• Rapid Eye Movement

• Often called paradoxical sleep.

• Brain is very active.• Dreams usually

occur in REM.• Body is essentially

paralyzed.• REM Rebound

90-Minute Cycles During Sleep

With each 90-minute cycle, stage 4 sleep decreases and the duration of REM sleep

increases.

1. Insomnia: A persistent inability to fall asleep.

2. Narcolepsy*: Overpowering urge to fall asleep that may occur while talking or standing up.

3. Sleep apnea: Failure to breathe when asleep.

Sleep Disorders*

Children are most prone to:

Night terrors: Wake up screaming, have no idea; most common in young boys

Sleepwalking: A Stage 4 disorder which is usually harmless and unrecalled the next day.

Sleeptalking: A condition that runs in families, like sleepwalking.

Sleep Disorders

What We Dream

1. Negative Emotional Content: 8 out of 10 dreams have negative emotional content.

2. Failure Dreams: People commonly dream about failure, being attacked, pursued, rejected, or struck with misfortune.

3. Sexual Dreams: Contrary to our thinking, sexual dreams are sparse. Sexual dreams in men are 1 in 10; and in women 1 in 30.

Manifest Content: A Freudian term meaning the story line of dreams.

Freud’s Theory of Dreams

• Dreams are a roadway into our unconscious.

• Manifest Content (storyline)

• Latent Content (underlying meaning)

Activation-Synthesis Theory

• Our Cerebral Cortex is trying to interpret random electrical activity we have while sleeping.

• That is why dreams sometimes make no sense.

• Biological Theory.

Information-Processing Theory

• Dreams are a way to deal with the stresses of everyday life.

• We tend to dream more when we are more stressed.

REM Rebound• The tendency for REM sleep to increase

following REM sleep deprivation.

• What will happen if you don’t get a good nights sleep for a week, and then sleep for 10 hours?

You will dream a lot.

Why do we daydream?

• They can help us prepare for future events.

•They can nourish our social development.

•Can substitute for impulsive behavior.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis

• Altered state of consciousness?

• Posthypnotic suggestion

• Posthypnotic amnesia

Hypnotic Theories

Role Theory• Hypnosis is NOT an altered

state of consciousness.• Hypnotic suggestibility.• A social phenomenon

where people want to believe.

• Work better on people with richer fantasy lives.

• Possibly a shift in selective attention

State Theory• Hypnosis is an altered

state of consciousness.

• Dramatic health benefits

• It works for pain best.

Dissociation Theory

• Theory by Ernest Hilgard.

• Combines state & role theory

• We voluntarily divide our consciousness up.

• Ice Water Experiment.• We have a hidden

observer, a level of us that is always aware.

• Pain relief studies

Hilgard’s “Hidden Observer” Research Supports Dissociation

Theory

• Hidden Observer: describes hypnotized subject’s awareness of experiences, such as pain, that go unreported during hypnosis. The “hidden observer” feels the pain so is associated with normal consciousness.

– Ex: Part of person feels the pain during ice water experiments.

Perspectives On Dissociation

Hypnosis Concepts: Can Hypnosis Have an Effect After

The Session?• Posthypnotic Amnesia: supposed

inability to recall what one experienced during hypnosis; induced by the hypnotist’s suggestion. “You will no longer remember anything you experienced today.”

• Posthypnotic Suggestion: a suggestion made during a hypnosis session that will be carried out after hypnosis session is over. “You will no longer feel the need to smoke after this session is over.”

Drugs

Drugs• Our brain is

protected by a layer of capillaries called the blood-brain barrier.

• The drugs that are small enough to pass through are called psychoactive drugs.

Drugs are either….

• Agonists• Antagonists• Reuptake inhibitorsIf a drug is used often, a

tolerance is created for the drug.

Thus you need more of the drug to feel the same effect.

If you stop using a drug you can develop withdrawal symptoms.

Drugs and Social Expectations

• Drug experiences vary depending on the culture you are in.

• Often people act how they think they should act when on a certain drug.

• Ex: Alcohol belief studies.

Depressants• Alcohol: suppresses parts

of the brain that control judgment, inhibitions, and can seriously alter physical functioning in high doses (balance, memory, consciousness, death).

• Anxiolytics depress CNS, reduce anxiety (xanax, etc.)

• Opiates: heroin, opium; mimic endorphins (agonist)

Stimulants• Speed up body

processes.• More powerful ones

(like cocaine) give people feelings of invincibility.

• Caffeine, nicotine, meth, cocaine

Hallucinogens

• Psychedelics• Causes changes in

perceptions of reality

• LSD, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana (THC).

• Reverse tolerance or synergistic effect