States of Consciousness

  • Consciousness: A person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind involves:

    • Awareness of external events and internal sensations that occur under conditions of

      • Arousal: psysiological state of being engaged with the environment

  • Consciousness could also be a continuum that ranges from full awareness to a deep sleep.

  • Sleep, substances, and stress can all affect sleep.

  • Altered state of consciousness: forms of experience that depart from the normal subjective experience of the world and the mind

Circadian Rhythm

  • A daily behavioral or physiological cycle, regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus. It controls the brain’s synchronization with the daily cycle of light and dusk information from the retina

Downsides to Circadian Rhythms

  • Sleep regulation

  • desynchronizing the clock

  • jet lag. Symptoms include: fatigue, sluggishness, irritability, insomnia, rotating shift work

Why Do We Sleep?

  • Protective role in human evolution

  • Brain restoration and repair of damaged neurons

  • Store and rebuild memories of the day’s experiences

  • Promotes creative problem-solving

  • Encourages growth through the pituitary gland secretion of growth hormone

Stages of Sleep

  1. Falling asleep/light sleep

  2. Heart rate slows, and body temperature drops

  3. Deep sleep, muscles, and tissues repair

  4. R.E.M. Body is paralyzed, and dreams begin

Dreams

  • 5 things differentiate dreams from an awake state of consciousness

    1. Intense emotion

    2. Illogical thought

    3. Meaningful sensation

    4. Uncritical acceptance

    5. Difficulty remembering

  • We remember our dreams for 5 minutes. After this time, we forget 50%, and after 10 minutes, we forget 90%

Sleep Disorders

  • Insomnia: experiencing disruptions in feelings or function due to lack of sleep or poor quality of sleep

  • Narcolepsy: a condition that makes people very sleepy during the day and can cause them to fall asleep suddenly.

  • Sleep Apnea: causes breathing to stop and start several times during sleep

  • Night Terrors: times of screaming or crying, intense fear, and sometimes waving arms and legs when not fully awake.

  • Sleepwalking: when people get up and walk around while asleep

  • SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome): the death of a seemingly healthy baby in its sleep, due to an apparent spontaneous cessation of breathing.

What happens when we don’t get enough sleep?

  • Fatigue

  • Impaired concentration

  • Impaired performance

  • Irritable

  • Other health issues

Psychoactive Drugs

  • Chemicals that influence consciousness or behavior by altering the brain’s chemical message system.

Types of Psychoactive Drugs

  • Depressants: reduce arousal and stimulation. affects the central nervous system, slowing down the messages between the brain and body

  • Stimulants: substances that raise levels of physiological or nervous activity in the body

  • Hallucinogens: drugs that cause hallucinations

Other States of Consciousness

  • Hypnosis

    • Cooperative social interaction in which participants respond to suggestions made by the hypnotist

    • Extreme self-focus, ignoring external stimuli

  • Meditation

    • The act of focusing on a single target to increase awareness of the moment