Unit 5 : States of Consciousness

1. Unit 5:States of Consciousness Module 18: Sleep

2. Key Ideas: • Levels of consciousness • Sleep and dreaming • Sleep disorders • Hypnosis • Meditation • Psychoactive drugs – depressants, narcotics, stimulants, hallucinogens

3. States of Consciousness • Consciousness – our awareness of ourselves and our environment. • This includes: thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. (waking) • Altered states of consciousness include sleep, dreaming, meditation, etc. • Do not confuse with unconsciousness which is loss of responsiveness from disease, trauma, drugs, etc.

4. Levels of Consciousness • Preconscious – Outside of your normal awareness. • You can recall information if needed (what you had for dinner) • Nonconscious – Not aware of at all. • Blood flow, heartbeat, etc. • Unconscious – Unacceptable feelings, wishes, desires that you “choose” not to share. • Toe fetish, dressing in drag, homoeroticism, intuition, etc.

5. The Unconscious • Unconscious aka subconscious. • It operates with or without you being aware of what’s influencing you, whether it’s current situation or from your past. Sigmund Freud – Father of Psychoanalysis •“The Unconscious” •Dreams •Psychosexual Development (Oedipus Complex)

6. States of Consciousness States of Consciousness

7. Sleep and Dreams • Biological rhythms – controlled by “biological clock” are periodic physiological fluctuations. • There are 4 types: • Annual cycles • 28 day cycles • 24 hour cycles • 90 minute cycles

8. Biological Rhythms • Annual cycles – things that are affected seasonally. • Ex. We may sleep longer and eat more in the winter. Happier in summer. • 28 Day Cycles – Monthly • Ex. Female menstrual cycles = moods? • 24 Hour Cycles – Bodily changes during the day. • 90 Minute Cycles – Sleep stages

9. Sleep and Dreams • Circadian Rhythm – cycles of change that recur approximately every 24 hours. “Biological Clock” • Ex. Sleep, wakefulness, body temp, etc. • Light effects melatonin (sleep hormone) production.

10. Sleep and Dreams • Sleep Cycle – About every 90 – 100 minutes we pass through a cycle of 5 distinct sleep stages. • Sleep onset occurs when we begin to lie down. • Alpha waves are produced and we enter a stage between wakefulness and sleep. • Beta waves are awake brain waves. • Our minds wander and we relax.

11. Hypnagogic Sleep • Hypnagogic Sleep - This is the very relaxed and drowsy state that you pass through before entering sleep. • This is that feeling you get when you are watching a movie and your eyelids start to get heavy and you have trouble keeping your eyes open.

12. Sleep Stages

13. Sleep and Dreams – Stage 1 • Stage 1 Sleep – quick sleep stage with gradual loss of responsiveness to outside, drifting thoughts, and images. • Lasts about 5 – 10 minutes. • We lose perception of time. • We can experience hallucinations or a sensation of falling or floating.

14. Sleep and Dreams – Stage 2 • Stage 2 Sleep – About 40 – 50% of your sleep time. • Can be awakened without difficulty. • Lasts about 20 minutes. • Brain waves are characterized by sleep spindles. • We can talk in our sleep in this stage.

15. Sleep and Dreams – Stage 3 • Stage 3 Sleep – Beginning of deep sleep. • Only lasts a few minutes. • “Delta Sleep” begins (Stage 3 & 4) • Delta brain waves are emitted.

16. Sleep and Dreams – Stage 4 • Stage 4 Sleep – deepest sleep stage. • Lasts about 30 minutes. • Slowed heart rate and respiration, lowered temperature and lowered blood flow to the brain. • Growth hormone is secreted. • The slower the brain wave, the deeper the sleep. • Hard to awaken, become disoriented and groggy.

17. Sleep and Dreams – Stage 4 • If you are awaken during this stage, you will be physically tired. • Increasing amount of exercise will increase time in stage 3 & 4 leading to better health. • Bedwetting and sleepwalking occurs in this stage. • After stage 4, you return to stages 3 & 2, before entering stage 5.

18. Sleep and Dreams – REM Stage • REM Stage – REM sleep • REM – Rapid Eye Movement – your eyes move rapidly back and forth behind closed lids. • About 20 – 25% of your sleep time. • Occurs 5 – 6 times during night. • Hard to awaken. • Dreams and nightmares occur.

19. Sleep and Dreams – REM Stage • Brain waves resemble beta waves of being awake. • Body is very aroused, but all of your voluntary muscles are paralyzed. • Also called “paradoxical sleep” because muscles are relaxed but your body is active, similar to being awake.

20. Sleep and Dreams – REM Stage • REM sleep dreams are often emotional, story like, and hallucinatory. • 37% of people report that they rarely or never dream…but everyone dreams. • When REM starts, snoring stops! • REM Rebound – An increased percentage of time spent in REM sleep when we are deprived of REM sleep during previous nights.

21. Brain Waves and Sleep Stages Alpha Waves • Relaxed Delta Waves • Deep sleep Beta Waves • Awake, also found in REM sleep.

22. Awake Sleep stages 1 2 3 REM 4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hours of sleep Stages in a Typical Night’s Sleep

23. Why Do We Sleep? • Not everyone needs 8 hours of sleep. • We sleep less than we did 60 yrs ago. • Sleep Debt – the amount of sleep owed to your body for lack of sleep in previous nights. • Without sleep, your body will not function normally.

24. Sleep Deprivation Sleep Deprivation impacts that body in a number of ways: 1. It suppresses immune cells that fight off infections and cancer. 2. It can alter your metabolism and hormonal functioning to mimic a much “older” person. – obviously contributing to obesity, high blood pressure, and memory problems. 3. It can make us irritable, slow our performance, and concentration.

25. Sleep Deprivation

26. Sleep Deprivation World Record: • Stayed up for 276 hours = 11 days • Played on the computer and read books • Ate Vegan diet • Saw “pixies” on day six • Slept normally afterwards, but showed large increase in REM sleep

27. Sleep Theories Why do we sleep? 1. Protection – kept our ancestors from venturing around at night. 2. Recuperate – Repairs and restores brain tissues. 3. Remembering – Builds and restores our memories. 4. Growth – During deep sleep, growth hormones are released.

28. Sleep Disorders • Insomnia: the inability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep. • Treatments: • Relax before bedtime • Avoid caffeine • Avoid naps • Exercise regularly • Do not check clock

29. Sleep Disorders • Narcolepsy: sudden and uncontrollable lapse into sleep (usually REM and with paralysis). • Rare, occurs in 1 in 2000 people • Sleep apnea: temporary pauses of breathing that awaken the sufferer repeatedly during the night. • Most common in overweight men. • Snoring is a symptom of sleep apnea.

30. Sleep Disorders • Night terrors: in children, characterized by bloodcurdling screams and intense fear during stage 4 sleep. • Not nightmares! • No memory of it. • Sleepwalking: usually in children during stage 4 sleep. • Diminishes as we get older.

31. Nightmares • Nightmares: frightening dreams that occur during REM sleep. • Occur during REM sleep • 5% of population have them • On average of once per week • Usually happens when we miss REM sleep, don’t get enough sleep, drink too much alcohol, eat spicy foods, or see something that is scary.

32. Dreams • Freud – Dreams are “the royal road to the unconscious” • Clues to inner thoughts and forbidden impulses. • He analyzed dreams to uncover patient’s unconscious desires. (Sex, Violence, Fears, etc.)

33. Dreams • Lucid dreaming: awareness that we are dreaming and an ability to control the dream. • Daydreaming:state with focus on inner, private realities, which can generate creative ideas.

34. Dreams • Manifest content: according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream. • What you actually dreamed. • Latent content: according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream. • What your dream meant.

35. Why We Dream? 1. Wish Fulfillment – Dreams reveal our unconscious desires through manifest and latent content. (Freud) 2. Information Processing – dreams sift, sort, and fix the day’s experiences in our memories. 3. Brain Stimulation – dreams help develop/preserve neural pathways during by keeping it active during REM sleep.

36. Why We Dream? 4. Activation-Synthesis Theory – REM sleep triggers neural activity which results in random visual memories. 5. Cognitive Theory – To develop the brain. Dreams represent the dreamer’s level of knowledge and understanding.

37. Common Dream Themes • Most dreams about ordinary events • Involve our worries, fears, feelings, & arguments. • Falling, being chased, flying, losing or finding something, finding yourself naked, teeth falling out are all common dream themes • 50% of us dream in color and 50% in black & white. Researchers don’t know why.