State of Consciousness

Consciousness
Awareness of thoughts, feelings, external environment at any given time
Altered States of Consciousness
Sleep, meditation, hypnosis, drugs
Universal goal of many cultures and societies
Circadian rhythm = cyclical changes in arousal approximating a 24-hour day (body
temp. and alertness)
There is a correlation between body temperature and sleep
Biological clock is in the SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus)
How does the internal clock get reset?
Environmental cues reset us every day (the best cue is light)
To reduce jet lag:
o Get a 5-hour dose of bright sunlight
o Fly west if possible
For shift changes, it is best to rotate forward
Students: dont cram (not worth sleep loss)
Alzheimers patients have CR disturbances
Larks vs. Owls

Larks have highest body temperature in AM (25%)

Owls have highest body temperature in PM (25%)
Other 50% are in between
Schedule classes when you are at your peak

Why do we need sleep?

Restorative = chemical synthesis and cell repair
Circadian (adaptive, evolutionary) = sleep evolved to keep us quiet at night
Sleepiness is determined by time of day and how long it has been since
youve slept
Sleep
EEGs reveal 2 major types of sleep
NREM = slowing, relaxation
REM = resembles waking state
Brain Waves
Awake and alert beta waves
Quiet resting state alpha waves
Deep sleep delta waves

Stages of sleep:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Slow, low-voltage EEG, relaxing

Further slowing and relaxing
Slow, high-voltage delta waves start
More than 50% delta waves

REM = no delta waves, muscle paralysis (except for sex organs of both sexes)
Cycles once every 90 minutes: 1,2,3,4,3,2, REM, 2,3,4
Age-related changes = stage 3 & 4 decrease
REM is paradoxical sleep
Why we need REM:

Consolidation of memory
Aid learning
Helps divergent thinking (creativity)
Reduces stress
Organizes connections within the brain

REM Sleep
REM only occurs in mammals (&some birds)
REM Rebound = go into REM faster & dream-or have vivid nightmaresmuch
more than normal (caused by drugs and alcohol, sleep deprivation)
Developmental Sleep Changes
Infants/young children have longest sleep time and highest percentage of
REM sleep
Children (6 years-puberty) are most consistent
Quality/quantity of sleep decreases with age
Sleep deprivation effects

Mood
Alertness
Body temperature
Immunity
Cognitive tasks

Sleep Disorders
Parasomnias:
Somnambulism (sleepwalking)
Sleep terrors / Night terrors (stage 4) vivid, frightening experiences; the
sleeper cannot be woken and does not remember the cause
Somniloquy (sleep talking)
Dyssomnias (Major Problems):

 Narcolepsy = fall asleep suddenly

Sleep Apnea = cessation of breathing
Insomnia = problems due to drugs or situation (events)
Dreaming
Dreams are stranger and more emotional than real life because the prefrontal
cortex is inactive, emotional/visual centers are active
Lucid dreaming = we can learn to control the hallucinations we are
experiencing
The Meaning of Dreams
Freuds manifest content = surface/visible content, images as recalled by
dreamer
Latent content = symbolic meaning
Theories
Cognitive = thinking while asleep
Activation-synthesis hypothesis (Hobson and McCarley) = we are prewired to
make sense of misc. info. (provide a theme)
Evolutionary = rehearse survival skills
Meditation = quieting mind and body to benefit mood, cardiovascular health
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique