Consciousness

The varying levels of awareness - PY100

Consciousness

An individual’s awareness of external events and internal sensations under conditions of arousal

Awareness

Attentiveness to oneself (thoughts, emotions, experiences, etc.)

Arousal

physiological state of being engaged

Circadian rhythms

“Internal Sleep Clocks” - Daily behavioral or physiological cycles, sleep/wake cycles, regulated body temperature, blood pressure, and hormones levels

What puts our internal clocks out of sync?

Jet lag, shift work, blue light from phones

Restoritive Theory

• Sleep allows the body/brain to repair itself - you may want to sleep when you’re sick

• Growth hormone is released during sleep

• Replenish energy and strengthen immune system

Circadian Rhythm Theory

• Sleep evolved to protect animals from harm

• Being quiet and inactive keeps us safe when environment is the most dangerous (humans don’t have night vision!)

Consolidation Theory

• Neural connections that are formed when we’re awake are strengthened when we sleep

• Sleep can boost focus and attention, and is necessary for memory consolidation

All-Nighters

Impairs your cognitive function, some researchers say there could be a 40% change in learning capacity w/o enough sleep

Sleep Deprivation

~40% of adults, and ~70% of adolescents are sleep deprived

Stage 1 of Sleep

Light/drowsy sleep - may experience hypnic jerks, lasts ~10 minutes

Stage 2 of Sleep

Deeper sleep - environmental consciousness and muscle activity decreases, lasts ~20 minutes

Stages 3 and 4 of Sleep

Deepest sleep - Hard to wake up from, bed wetting (in children), sleep walking, and sleep talking

REM Sleep

“Rapid Eye Movement” - most dreaming occurs in this stage, brain is active and body is paralyzed, duration changes throughout the night

Power naps

20-30 minutes, stage 2 sleep

Full cycle naps

90 minutes, 1 complete sleep cycle

Freud’s analysis on Dreams

Manifest content - surface level content of dream

Latent content - what the dream really means

Cognitive Theory of Dreams

Dreams are dramatizations of general life concerns, mental simulation of our everyday lives

Activation-Synthesis Theory of Dreams

Dreams are side effects of mental processes produced by random neural firing (sights, sounds, feelings)

Psychoactive Drugs

Alter consciousness, modify perceptions, and change moods - may result in tolerance, physical/psychological dependence (addiction), or withdrawls

Depressants

Slows down the CNS - Alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers, opiates/narcotics

Stimulants

Increase CNS activity - Caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine

Hallucinogens

Alters our perceptions - marijuana, LSD, mushrooms