Unconscious Mind & Sleep

Freudian Unconscious: Dynamic Unconscious

Active system comprised of hidden memories/urges/desires and one’s inner struggle to control these forces

Freudian Unconscious: Oedipus Complex

A son’s sexual attitude toward his mother and subsequent aggression toward his father

Freudian Unconscious: Repression

Removes unacceptable thoughts and memories from the conscious mind and moves them to the unconscious

Modern View: The Cognitive Unconscious

All the mental processes that give rise to a person’s thoughts, choices, emotions, and behaviours without being aware of it

Dual Process Theory

Information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious (explicit) and unconscious (implicit) tracks

System One

Fast, automatic, efficient, parallel processing, unconscious

System Two

Slow, effortful, methodical, sequential, processing, conscious

Sleep

Periodic, natural loss of consciousness

Dreaming

Altered state of consciousness that departs significantly from the normal subjective experience of the mind

Circadian Rhythm

Internal biological clock of 24-hours, can be altered, regulated by melatonin

Measuring Sleep: Physiologically

Eye movements and muscle tension

Measuring Sleep: Electrophysiologically

Brain waves & patterns of electrical transmission

EEG Waves & Stages of Sleep: Awake

Beta Waves - Faster & less synchronized than alpha waves

EEG Waves & Stages of Sleep: Drowsy

Alpha Waves - Slower & more syncronized than beta waves

EEG Waves & Stages of Sleep: Stage 1 Sleep

Light sleep, transition between awake & asleep

Theta Waves - Slower & more irregular than aplha or beta waves

EEG Waves & Stages of Sleep: Stage 2 Sleep

Deeper sleep than Stage 1

Sleep Spindles - short bursts of high-frequency, low-amplitude waves

K-Complexes - large waves with a sharp negative peak followed by a slower, positive wave

EEG Waves & Stages of Sleep: Stage 3/4 Sleep

Deep sleep

Delta Waves - Slowest and most synchronized brain waves

EEG Waves & Stages of Sleep: REM

Sawtooth Waves - Distinctive sawtooth shape with relatively high frequency

Biological Influencers of Sleep

Light. When light hits the retina, the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus signals for the pineal gland to release melatonin

Sociocultural Influencers of Sleep

Social Jet Lag: sleep routine disrupted from social activities

Jet Lag: Circadian rhythm disrupted by shift of time zones

48 Hours W/O Sleep

• Eyes lose focus

• Couldn’t identify objects by touch

72 Hours W/O Sleep

• Moody

• Uncoordinated

120 Hours W/O Sleep

• Hallucinations

264 Hours W/O Sleep

• Paranoia

• Short-term memory loss

Why is sleep important?

• Restoration of neurons and neuronal connections

• Learning & memory

• Creativity and problem solving

• Growth hormones