Sleep, Consciousness, and Stress

REM sleep

Rapid eye movements, vivid dreams, body paralyzed

NREM sleep

Non‑REM stages 1-3, less vivid dreams

Stage 1 (NREM)

Very light sleep, drifting off

Stage 2 (NREM)

Light sleep, sleep spindles, harder to wake

Stage 3 (NREM)

Deep slow‑wave sleep, hardest to wake

Dreaming in REM

Most clear, story‑like dreams

Dreaming in NREM

Fewer, less vivid dreams

Body in REM

Brain active, muscles mostly paralyzed

Body in NREM

Muscles can move, tossing and turning

REM rebound

Extra REM after you've been low on REM

Sleep deprivation - effect 1

Worse attention and focus

Sleep deprivation - effect 2

Worse memory and problem‑solving

Sleep deprivation - effect 3

Mood gets more negative

Insomnia

Trouble falling or staying asleep

Narcolepsy

Sudden sleep attacks during the day

Sleep apnea

Breathing stops over and over in sleep

Sleepwalking (somnambulism)

Walking while in deep NREM sleep

REM behavior disorder

Acting out dreams because paralysis fails

Circadian rhythm

24‑hour body clock (sleep-wake)

SCN (clock in brain)

Part of hypothalamus that runs the body clock

Melatonin

Sleep hormone from pineal gland

Psychoactive drug

Drug that changes mood, thoughts, or behavior

Narcotics / opiates

Pain‑relief drugs from opium (e.g., morphine)

Sedatives

"Downers" - make you sleepy, slow you down

Stimulants

"Uppers" - make you more awake and active

Hallucinogens

Cause seeing/hearing things differently

Alcohol

Depressant; slows brain and body

Tolerance

Need more of a drug to feel the same effect

Physical dependence

Need drug to avoid feeling sick (withdrawal)

Psychological dependence

Strong mental/emotional craving for the drug

Consciousness

Awareness of yourself and your surroundings

William James view

Consciousness is like a flowing stream

Id

Unconscious wants and urges; "I want it now"

Ego

The realist; balances id, superego, and reality

Superego

Inner voice of rules and morals; "should/shouldn't"

Hypnosis

State of high suggestibility

Hypnosis - role theory

Person is playing a role they expect

Hypnosis - altered state

Real change in awareness

Dissociation

Split awareness (part aware, part not)

Meditation / mindfulness

Training attention and awareness

Focused‑attention meditation

Focus on one thing (like breath)

Open‑monitoring meditation

Notice whatever comes up, without judging

Day residue

Pieces of your day in your dreams

Wish‑fulfillment (Freud)

Dreams = hidden wishes

Problem‑solving theory

Dreams help work through problems

Activation‑synthesis

Dreams = brain's story from random firing

Threat‑simulation

Dreams practice dealing with danger

EEG

Measures brain waves (electrical activity)

EMG

Measures muscle tension

EOG

Measures eye movements

ECG

Measures heart activity

Sleep architecture

Your personal pattern of cycling through sleep stages

Biological rhythm

Regular body cycle (e.g., sleep-wake)

Biopsychosocial model

Health is shaped by body, mind, and social factors

Stress

When demands feel bigger than your resources

Stress is subjective

What feels stressful depends on how you see it

Primary appraisal

First question: "Is this event stressful?"

Secondary appraisal

Second question: "Can I cope with this?"

Frustration

Blocked from reaching a goal

Internal conflict

Competing choices or motives

Change

Big life changes needing readjustment

Pressure

Expectations or demands to act a certain way

Approach-approach conflict

Choose between two good options

Avoidance-avoidance conflict

Choose between two bad options

Approach-avoidance conflict

One option has good and bad parts

Emotional response to stress

Feelings like anger, anxiety, sadness

Physiological response to stress

Body arousal: heart rate, hormones

Behavioral response to stress

Actions you take to cope

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Some arousal helps performance; too much hurts it

GAS - Alarm stage

First reaction: body on high alert

GAS - Resistance stage

Body tries to cope and stay aroused

GAS - Exhaustion stage

Resources run down; illness risk rises

Coping

Efforts to manage or tolerate stress

Constructive coping

Facing the problem and caring for yourself

Maladaptive coping

Feels good short‑term, harms you long‑term

Giving up / helplessness

"I can't do anything" response to stress

Aggression (striking out)

Taking stress out on other people

Indulging oneself

Overeating, shopping, gaming, drinking, etc.

Defensive coping

Unconscious mental tricks to avoid bad feelings

Common health risks

Smoking/vaping, heavy drinking, no exercise

Stress and heart disease

Stress and anger/hostility raise heart risk

Stress and immune system

Stress can weaken immune defenses

Moderator of stress

Factor that changes how strongly stress hits you

Social support

Having people who care and can help

Optimism

Expect good outcomes; cope more positively

Conscientiousness

Organized, careful, goal‑directed; better health habits

Delay in seeking treatment

Waiting too long to go to a doctor

Reasons for delay

Misread symptoms, don't want to bother doctor, don't want to change plans

Medication adherence

Taking meds as prescribed

Medication non‑adherence

Not taking meds as directed

Reasons for non‑adherence

Don't understand, side effects, negative views of treatment