Consciousness and Sleep

Consciousness

  • Consciousness Defined: Knowing or being aware of ongoing experiences occurring both internally and in the world around us.

  • Key Aspects of Consciousness:

    • Consciousness as Sensory Awareness:

      • Being aware of your environment helps maximize safety.

    • Consciousness as Direct Inner Awareness:

      • Involves being aware of things inside yourself.

      • Distinction between instinct and choice.

    • Consciousness as Sense of Self:

      • Involves the awareness of ourselves and our existence.

Neurological Basis of Consciousness

  • How do we know neurologically what conscious state we are in?

    • Default Mode Network (DMN):

      • Activates when not performing a task; states include daydreaming, mind-wandering, or thinking about others.

    • Salience Network:

      • Responsible for switching between sensory and limbic inputs.

    • Central Executive Network:

      • Engages your conscious brain to think and maintain attention on prioritized tasks.

Levels of Consciousness

  • Conscious Level:

    • Encompasses perceptions and thoughts.

  • Preconscious Level:

    • Contains memories and stored knowledge that is not currently in consciousness but can be retrieved.

    • Example: recalling what you did last night.

  • Unconscious Level (Subconscious):

    • Houses unacceptable thoughts, memories, and wishes of which we are unaware but which influence our behavior.

    • Contains selfish needs, immoral urges, fears, violent motives, irrational wishes, shameful experiences, unacceptable desires.

Conscious Levels Explained

  • Study of different levels of consciousness:

    • 1. Conscious:

      • Awareness of oneself and one's environment.

    • 2. Preconscious:

      • Information that is not in active consciousness but easily retrievable upon recall.

    • 3. Unconscious:

      • Unacceptable thoughts, memories, and wishes buried from awareness.

      • E.g., influences behavior despite lack of conscious awareness of those thoughts.

    • Nonconscious Processes:

    • Refers to mental processes occurring without awareness (e.g., basic biological functions like heart rate and breathing).

Altered States of Consciousness

  • Definition:

    • Changes in a person’s sense of self or sense of the world.

  • Examples of Altered States:

    • 1. Hypnosis:

      • State of deep relaxation and suggestibility for behavior changes.

    • 2. Biofeedback:

      • Learning to control bodily states using feedback from monitoring machines.

    • 3. Meditation:

      • Focused attention techniques to clear one's mind and achieve relaxation.

    • 4. Sleep and Dreams:

      • Various stages and theories related to sleep and dreaming.

    • 5. Psychoactive drugs:

      • Substances affecting perception and mood.

Hypnosis

  • Understanding Hypnosis:

    • Hypnosis allows a person to focus and become highly suggestible:

      • Hypnotized individuals may lose control and act according to the hypnotist’s suggestions.

      • There are myths about hypnosis affecting only weak-willed individuals.

      • Hypnosis can enhance memory retrieval and re-experience past events.

    • Freud’s Use of Hypnosis:

      • Utilized to treat somatoform disorders and to access hidden memories from the subconscious.

  • Applications of Hypnosis:

    • Pain control in procedures like birth, chemotherapy, or dental work.

    • Treatment therapies for headaches, smoking cessation, weight management, and nail-biting.

Theories of Hypnosis

  • 1. Divided Mind Approach:

    • Dissociation: consciousness is divided into two parts, both aware.

  • 2. Social Influence Theory:

    • Role Theory: individuals may act in line with expectations of behavior as a hypnotized person.

    • Response Expectancy Theory: suggests that hypnotic suggestions alter expectations similar to placebos.

Biofeedback & Meditation

  • Biofeedback:

    • A technique for learning to control bodily functions with the aid of machines.

    • Has proven effective for relieving tension headaches.

  • Meditation:

    • Focuses attention to achieve relaxation.

    • Documented effects include lower blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration.

    • Regular practice leads to increased theta wave activity, correlating with positive emotions in the prefrontal cortex.

    • Supports decreased activity in the DMN, which is linked to mind wandering and unhappiness.

Sleep & Dreams

Biological Rhythms

  • Circadian Rhythm:

    • Biological clock; governs regular bodily functions over a 24-25 hour cycle.

    • Example: body temperature fluctuation during wakefulness.

Stages of Sleep

  • Pre-Sleep:

    • Beta Waves: Present during wakefulness and alertness.

    • Alpha Waves: Occur during a relaxed waking state.

  • NREM Sleep:

  • Stage 1:

    • Transition from wakefulness to sleep.

    • Characterized by theta waves (falling asleep and light sleep).

  • Stage 2:

    • Duration: approximately 30 minutes.

    • Delta waves begin to emerge, you are hard to wake.

  • Stage 3:

    • Very deep sleep characterized by delta waves, involving muscle paralysis.

  • REM Sleep (Stage 4):

    • Corresponds to rapid eye movement.

    • High-frequency brain waves with increased pulse and breathing rates.

    • Associated with dreaming and consolidation of new memories.

Sleep Cycle

  • A complete sleep cycle lasts roughly 90 minutes, alternating between NREM and REM sleep.

Theories of Sleep

  • 1. Protection Theory:

    • Sleep serves to protect the body from predators.

  • 2. Recuperation Theory:

    • Sleep restores and repairs brain tissues and overall metabolism slows.

  • 3. Memory Consolidation:

    • Sleep aids in the consolidation of memories from short- to long-term storage.

  • 4. Creative Thinking:

    • Sleep encourages problem-solving and allows growth hormone release which contributes to growth.

Dreams

  • Definition:

    • Dreams consist of sequences of images, emotions, and thoughts during sleep.

  • Frequency of Common Dreams:

    • Chased or pursued (78% men, 83% women).

    • Sexual experiences (85% men, 73% women).

    • Falling (73% men, 74% women).

    • School or teachers (57% men, 71% women).

    • Arrival too late (55% men, 62% women).

    • On the verge of falling (53% men, 60% women).

    • Trying to do something repeatedly (55% men, 53% women).

    • Other significant dreams involve themes of being attacked, being frozen with fright, and flying.

Dream Theories

  • 1. Psychodynamic Theory (Freud):

    • Dreams express our unconscious urges and wishes.

    • Differentiates between Manifest Content (the storyline of the dream) and Latent Content (the underlying meaning).

  • 2. Neural Activation Theory:

    • REM sleep triggers neural activity, resulting in random visual hallucinations that the brain weaves into stories.

  • 3. Information-processing Theory:

    • Dreams help sort out the day’s events and consolidate memories.

  • 4. Physiological Function:

    • Brain stimulation during REM helps develop and preserve neural pathways.

Sleep Disorders

  • Insomnia: Persistent sleeping issues affecting 10% of the population.

  • Narcolepsy: Sudden sleep attacks; less than 0.006% of the population.

  • Night Terrors: Episodes of waking up in terror with no memory, mostly affecting children ages 2-8.

  • Sleepwalking (Somnambulism):

    • Occurs mostly in deep sleep (Stage 3); individuals often have no memory of their actions.

  • Sleep Apnea:

    • A condition where a person stops breathing during sleep, causing momentary awakenings and gasping for air.

  • Restless Leg Syndrome:

    • Discomfort and an irresistible urge to move legs, more common with aging.

  • Sleep Paralysis:

    • Occurs when the body remains in REM sleep while the mind is alert; can affect sleep life cycles and identity.

Psychoactive Drugs

  • Definition: Chemical substances that alter perceptions and moods.

  • Addiction Types:

    • Physical Dependence: Physiological need for drug characterized by withdrawal symptoms.

    • Psychological Dependence: Psychological need for drug use often for relief from negative emotions.

Types of Psychoactive Drugs

  • Stimulants: Increase neural activity and speed up body functions.

    • Examples include nicotine, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

    • Stimulants lead to increased heart rates, lowered appetite, and heightened confidence.

  • Depressants: Slow neural activity and body functions.

    • Includes alcohol and barbiturates, both of which suppress REM sleep and can impact memory.

  • Opioids: Mimic endorphins, leading to a halt in the body’s natural endorphin production.

    • Includes morphine and heroin.

  • Hallucinogens: Distort perceptions and evoke sensory images absent of sensory input.

    • Examples include LSD and marijuana.

  • Cultural Influences on Drug Use:

    • Factors such as urban environments, peer influence, a sense of purpose, genetic predispositions, and experiencing significant stress factors contribute to drug use patterns among individuals.