Unit 3 - CONSCIOUSNESS & SLEEP CYCLE

Consciousness (Awareness): 

A person’s awareness of everything that is going on around him or her at any given moment, which is used to organize behavior 
All the ideas in your immediate awareness, such as your thoughts, feelings, senses

• Most people’s time is spent in waking consciousness. 

• Our thoughts, feelings,  and sensations are clear/organized,  and we feel alert.

Subconscious

Hidden memories that influence behavior despite no clear memory of them (Backpack of Life)

Unconscious

(Psychoanalytic Perspective) Hidden memories that influence behavior but need intensive therapy to be recovered.

Altered State of Consciousness

State in which there is a shift in the pattern of mental activity as compared to waking consciousness. The person is not aware of their surroundings.

Sleep

The human body’s biological rhythms, natural cycles of activity that the body must go through 

• Sleep is a unique state of consciousness; it lacks full awareness but the brain is still active

• Sleep serves many functions, one of which is to give us a period of mental and physical restoration

The National Sleep Foundation has come up with recommendations

• Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours 

• School age children (6-13): 9-11 hours

• Teenagers (14-17): 8-10 hours

• Young adults (18-25): 7-9 hours 

• Adults (26-64): 7-9 hours

Older adults (65+): 6-7 hours

Circadian Rhythm

A cycle of bodily rhythm that occurs over a 24-hour period.

• Can be influenced by the amount of daylight to which you are exposed as well as your work and activity schedule

• Melatonin- sleep-inducing hormone secreted from the pineal gland. Engages when it’s dark. 

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Measures electrical currents of brain wave activity

• During a sleep study, electrodes are attached to the scalp to measure the brain’s electrical currents during sleep.

• This is how Dr.’s can determine if someone has a sleep disorder and is used for research. 

The Wake/Sleep Cycle

Sleep has a biological rhythm, cycle every 90 minutes, four distinct stages 

The pattern occurs three the five times per night 

Beta Waves

Awake; Full Conscious Awareness

Our brain produces certain “waves” of activity during sleep  

Sleep Stages

Sleep is divided into five stages: wake, N1, N2, N3, and REM. The first four stages are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and the fifth stage is REM sleep. 

• Wake

  The first stage of sleep, which depends on whether your eyes are open or closed.

• N1

  The lightest stage of sleep, also known as N1, when you first fall asleep. This stage lasts only a few minutes, and it's easy to wake someone up.

• N2

  A light sleep stage where your brain slows down, your breathing and heart rate slow, and your body temperature drops.

• N3

  A deep sleep stage where you're less likely to be disturbed by noise.

• REM

  A stage where you dream, your eyes move rapidly, and your brain waves are similar to when you're awake. Your body also temporarily becomes paralyzed during REM sleep.

As the night goes on, you spend more time in REM sleep and less time in deep sleep. A typical night's sleep consists of 4–5 sleep cycles, each lasting about 90–120 minutes. During deep sleep and REM sleep, your body repairs and rebuilds cells, secretes hormones for growth, and strengthens your immunity. 

“Light Sleep” non-REM Stage 1

Alpha Waves occurs

Transition period between wakefulness and sleep. Hallucinations and body jerks (twitching)occur.

“Medium Sleep” non-REM Stage 2

Theta Waves occurs

Breathing is shallower and irregular. Sleep Talking and Sleep Spindles (Brief spurts of activity)

“Deep Sleep” non-REM Stage 3

Delta Waves Occurs

The most restorative stage of sleep (difficult to be awaken) Hormones released for children to grow, immune system refreshes itself, cells repair and multiply.

“Dream Sleep” REM Sleep

Beta Waves occurs

Rapid eye movements and your muscles become almost paralyzed. Brain waves are active as if we are awake. Your breathing becomes rapid & irregular

Sleep Deprivation

The condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute

• REM Sleep Rebound -phenomenon in which there is an increase in REM sleep after a night of little REM sleep.

• This helps reset our internal clocks to treat disruption in circadian rhythms, such as insomnia and depression.

Microsleep

When our need for sleep is so great that we are exhausted, a brief shift in brain activity from waking to sleeping brain waves may occur.

• This can cause someone to be considered intoxicated.

Circadian Rhythm Disruption

An out-of-sync sleep/wake cycle 

• Jetlag: Travel across time zones, adjusting to the time change mentally and physically may take you more than a week. 

Insomnia

The inability to get to sleep, stay asleep, or get a good quality of sleep

• It must be persistent problems in falling or staying asleep

• Roughly 10 to 20% of the population suffer from insomnia from time to time or chronically 

Relying on sleeping pills—sales of which soared, the person may need increasing doses to get an effect. Then, when the drug is discontinued, the insomnia can worsen. Can cause dependence, sleep walking, sleep driving and sleep eating.

Sleep Apnea

Disorder in which the person stops breathing then gasps for breath

• They always feel exhausted and may have high blood pressure

• People who are overweight are susceptible because excess fat presses on the airway and cuts off oxygen

Apnea can be treated with a breathing device that helps force air into the lungs through a mask. While the mask may be uncomfortable at first, they are eager to get a good night’s sleep and avoid exhaustion.

Narcolepsy

Sleep disorder in which a person falls immediately into REM sleep during the day without warning 

• Attacks usually last less than 5 minutes but sometimes occur at the most inopportune times

• People diagnosed with narcolepsy can not get a driver's license, unless are are getting treatment

Sleepwalking

Occurring during deep sleep, an episode of moving around or walking around in one’s sleep  

Nightmares

Negative dreams occurring during REM sleep (the person usually remembers the nightmare when they wake up.)

Night Terrors

Relatively rare disorder in which the person experiences extreme fear and screams or runs around during deep sleep without waking fully (combined with sleepwalking)
Most common in young children. The person usually does not remember the experience in the morning; Is not the same as nightmare

Dreams

“Hallucinations of the sleeping mind” Include all images, events, sounds, and other sensations experiencing during sleep 

• We all dream, even if we cannot recall our dreams 

• The dreams of REM sleep are so vivid we may confuse them with reality

Freud’s Wish Fulfillment:

We dream to...satisfy our own wishes

• Book: Interpretation of Dreams

• Freud saw dreams as a method for reaching into the unconscious mind and the key to understanding our inner conflicts

Cognitive Development

We dream to...reflect cognitive development

• Some dream researchers see dreams as part of brain maturation and cognitive development, their knowledge and understanding

Information-Processing Theory

We dream to...file away memories. Dreams help us sort out the day’s events and consolidate our memories

• Brains are active to process new data, consolidate memories, and rewire connections between brain cells

Physiological Function

We dream to...develop & preserve neural pathways 

• Regular brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways

• If you don’t use it you lose it!

Activation-Synthesis Theory

We dream to...make sense of neural static

• Mind’s attempt to make sense of random neural firings in the brain as we sleep

• Dreams are meaningless