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Levels of Consciousness

Levels of Consciousness . Unit 5. Consciousness: A state of awareness of ourselves and of the world around us. Levels of Consciousness Focused Awareness State of heightened awareness of the task at hand Typically you will shut out all of the other “stuff” going on around you

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Levels of Consciousness

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  1. Levels of Consciousness Unit 5

  2. Consciousness: A state of awareness of ourselves and of the world around us • Levels of Consciousness • Focused Awareness • State of heightened awareness of the task at hand • Typically you will shut out all of the other “stuff” going on around you • Drifting Consciousness • Your mind will begin to wander to other things outside of what it is that you were focusing on • Daydreaming: A wakeful state where your mind wanders to dreamy thoughts or fantasies

  3. Divided Consciousness “Multi-tasking” • You can perform two or more tasks at the same time. As if your mind has been divided • “How did I get here” when you’re driving and talking at the same time • Unconsciousness: Lack of ones awareness of what is going on around you • Examples: Sleep, dreams, coma, head trauma, anesthesia, death

  4. Altered Levels of Consciousness • Awake, but not fully awake, somewhere in between • Daydreaming • Drugs • Meditation • Hypnosis • Repetitive activity

  5. Stages of SleepImportance of getting your zzzzsss…. • Stage 1 (about 2-5 minutes) • Brain waves become small and irregular • Easily awakened • Stage 2 (about 20 minutes) • Bursts of brain activity: sleep spindles • Deeper sleep but still easily awakened • Spend about half of your time in each sleep cycle in this stage

  6. Stages of SleepImportance of getting your zzzzsss…. • Stage 3 & 4 (about 30 minutes) • “Delta Sleep” deepest stage of sleep • Brain waves very slow. Difficult to awaken • REM (30-45 minutes) • Eyes dart about under closed eyelids • When we typically dream • Brain activity increases • Also called Paradoxical sleep: increased brain activity but muscle activity is nearly gone • Amount of time spent in REM sleep increases with each sleep cycle • Sleep Cycles typically are 90 minutes long

  7. Drugs and Consciousness Influence of Drugs Drug dependence: A sever drug-related problem, sense that you need the drugs in your body to function Physiological dependence: Repeated use changes the chemical make-up of the body Withdrawal: Symptoms associated with abrupt end of drug usage Tolerance: Repeated use requires increased amount of drugs to achieve the same results Drug Addiction: Dependence on a drug – physical and psychological

  8. Drugs and Consciousness • Stimulants: heighten action of central nervous system (CNS) • Amphetamines • Cocaine • MDMA (Ecstasy) • Nicotine • Caffeine – Most addictive drug • Depressants: slows the central nervous system (CNS) • Alcohol • Barbiturates • Tranquilizers • Opiates

  9. Drugs and Consciousness • Hallucinogens – alter your sensory perceptions and distort your visual, auditory and sensory abilities • -LSD “acid” • -PCP • -Marijuana

  10. The Theories of Dreaming • Cognitive Theory of Dreaming • Apply logic to analyze meaning of dreams • Proposes that we think, create memories in the same manor as we would if we were awake • Problem is that dream brain activity isn’t the same as wakeful brain activity…that’s ignored • Activation-Synthesis Theory • Dreaming is the result of your brain trying to make sense of the random firings of neurons as you sleep • It creates a story to connect the memories

  11. - In ancient times, dreams were believed to be messages sent from the Gods -Why do we dream? No one really knows for sure -Possibly to sort out issues and find solutions -Attempt to make sense of the random firing of neurons while we sleep: activation-synthesis hypothesis -Way to deal with the socially unacceptable urges and desires we have 1. Manifest content: Events that occur in your dreams 2. Latent content: Underlying messages in your dreams, what the manifest content represents - Lucid Dreams: dreamer is aware that they are dreaming

  12. Sleep Issues -Insomnia: difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep -slows reaction time - impairs memory and concentration - health issues: more apt to become ill - Most common sleep disorder Narcolepsy: “Sleep attacks”: sudden unexplainable sleeping Sleep Apnea: Temporarily stop breathing while sleeping - Can be life threatening - Commonly snore loudly - Most common in middle-aged overweight men

  13. Nightmare disorder: Pattern of frequent disturbing nightmares - Nightmares usually happen in REM sleep; stressed, high fevers, or sleep deprived Sleep Terror disorder: Repeated episodes of intense fear during sleep causing physical reactions: talking, sudden sitting up or yelling, sweating, crying, thrashing ect… - Usually happen during stages 3 and 4 of sleep, not REM

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