Consciousness

1. Consciousness • Awareness of yourself and the environment. • The experience of conscious behaviors can include thoughts, sensations, and memories

2. “Stream of Consciousness” • Conscious experience is continuous and constantly changing, without pause and without breaks. Thoughts, emotions, actions, sensations, memories, etc. blend seamlessly together. All the while, though, we are aware that this is happening.

3. Levels of Consciousness

4. Levels of Consciousness • Consciousness – current level of awareness • Nonconscious – body processes that we are not aware of, but are active

5. Levels of Consciousness • Preconscious – information out of awareness, but memories are easily accessible • Subconscious – information out of awareness, memories aren’t easily accessible

6. Levels of Consciousness • Unconscious – information out of awareness, no actual memories may even exist, though behavior is still affected

7. Biological Rhythms - natural life cycles that help to guide our levels of awareness and our behaviors

8. Biological Rhythms • Annual Cycles – Seasonal changes affecting moods, appetite, sleep patters • Twenty-Eight Day Cycle – Female Menstrual Cycle

9. Biological Rhythms • Ninety-Minute Cycle – Sleep Cycle • Twenty-Four Hour Cycle – Daily cycle of levels of alertness, hormones, body temperature, etc. also known as…

10. Circadian Rhythms • A cycle or rhythm that is roughly 24 hours long. The cyclical daily fluctuations in biological and psychological processes.

11. 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 …so why does school start at 7:30???

12. The Sleep-Wake Cycle • At night, the pineal gland releases melatonin, • Causes sleepiness and reduced activity level • During the day, melatonin levels decrease and conscious awareness level increase

13. When there are increased levels of light, melatonin levels decrease and conscious awareness level increases

14. Free-Running Circadian Rhythms • Experiments in which all environmental time cues are removed – no clocks, and light is artificially controlled • Two important findings: • The body creates its own sleep-wake cycle that is roughly one-hour off of normal sleep and wake times • Systems that are normally synchronized lose their connectedness

15. Jet Lag Symptoms Crossing time zones, disrupt circadian rhythms, and produce: • Sleep disturbances • Initiating and maintaining sleep • Daytime fatigue and sleepiness • Physical complaints • Gastrointestinal distress • Headaches • General malaise

16. Jet Lag Symptoms – cont. • Cognitive difficulties • Reduced decision making, concentration, forgetful, slowed reaction time • Poor psychomotor coordination • Mood disturbance • Depression, apathy, lethargy • Recovery?

17. Jet LagVariables • 25-30% of people are minimally affected • Equal number highly susceptible • Morning types (larks) more affected than night types (owls)

18. Shift Work“Blue Collar Jet Lag” • 55% night shift workers report nodding off or falling asleep at work at least 1 time/week • >30% report such incidents occur more than 3 times/week

19. SLEEP !!!!! • On average, humans sleep 22 years of their lifetime.

20. Why do we sleep? • Restorative Theory of Sleep • Sleep promotes physiological processes that restore and rejuvenate the body and the mind • NREM = bodily restoration and REM = mind restoration

21. Why do we sleep? • Adaptive Theory of Sleep • Sleep patterns evolved over time to promote survival and adaptation.

22. Adaptive Theory of Sleep • IE. The fiercest and strongest sleep the most, and at their convenience • The weakest and most vulnerable sleep in shorter bursts and for the least amount of time.

23. 2 different types of sleep: • REM Sleep: rapid eye movement & dreaming occur; voluntary muscle activity is suppressed • NREM Sleep: quiet, typically dreamless sleep in which rapid eye movements are absent

24. Stages of Sleep • Pre-Sleep: • As you go from wakefulness to sleep you may experience hypnagogic hallucinationsand/or myoclonic jerks • 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

25. 4 Stages of NREM Sleep STAGE 1: ALPHA • Transition stage: awake to sleep • First 5-10 minutes of sleep • Disengage from surrounding world • Able to easily regain consciousness • Some hypnagogic experiences continue here

26. 4 Stages of NREM Sleep Stage 2: THETA • 15-20 minutes • Breathing becomes rhythmical • Small muscle twitches • Brain activity slows down • Sleep Spindles - Quick bursts of brain activity that last for a second or two

27. 4 Stages of NREM Sleep Stages 3 and 4: DELTA • Replenishing chemicals, growth hormones released, fortifying the immune system • Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing drop to their lowest levels

28. 4 Stages of NREM Sleep … by Stage 4: • the sleeper is oblivious to the outside world • May take 15 minutes or more to regain consciousness

29. 4 Stages of NREM Sleep 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

30. Stages of Sleep – back again • When a sleeper reaches Stage 4, they have been asleep for about 60 minutes • After Stage 4, the sleeper cycles back from Stage 3 to Stage 2 in a matter of minutes and enters REM Sleep.

32. Stages of Sleep REM Sleep: • Brain becomes more active & makes small, fast brain waves • Visual & motor neurons fire during this stage, but voluntary muscle movements are suppressed (paralysis)

33. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) • Recurring sleep stage • Vivid dreams • The first REM stage lasts about 15 minutes – the first sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes total

34. REM Sleep is often referred to as Paradoxical Sleep • Muscles are relaxed, but other body systems are active • Heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration increase, • muscles twitches, heightened sexual arousal

35. 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

36. Beyond the first 90 minutes • Sleepers cycle between NREM and REM sleep throughout the night • Each cycle lasts about 90 minutes

39. Just before and after REM sleep, you typically change body positions

40. As the night progresses, Stages 3 and 4 get shorter and REM sleep increases, up to 40 minutes at a time

43. Electroencephalagram (EEG) • Measures electrical activity in the brain • Visualized as brain waves

45. Stages of Sleep: Brain Waves • Awake brain generates Beta Waves • As you prepare for sleep, brain generates Alpha Waves • After you begin to sleep, the brain generates Theta Waves • The deepest parts of sleep are characterized by Delta Waves

46. Once you are in the simulation, check out slides 10 through 14 to figure out what’s going on or just jump right to slide 15 and enter the experiment! • When is someone dreaming? • See if you can tell… • Click on the weird dream to enter the experiment!

47. SleepDYSFUNCTIONS

48. Sleep Disorders • Insomnia • A person is unable to fall asleep, to stay asleep, or to feel adequately rested by sleep.

49. Sleep Disorders • Sleepwalking (somnambulism) • Within the first 3 hours of sleep • The sleeper can move around objects, but poorly coordinated

50. Sleep Apnea