Consciousness Chapter 3 Consciousness Everything of which we are aware at any given time thoughts feelings sensations external stimuli Altered State of Consciousness changes in awareness produced by sleep meditation hypnosis drugs ALTERED STATE brain is different when looked at during sleep and consciousness The Influences of Circadian Rhythms Circadian Rhythm regular fluctatuation from high to low points of acertain bodily functons and behaviors Affects functions of Blood pressure Heart rate Appetite Secretion of hormones and digestive enzymes Sensory acuity Elimination Body s response to medication Sleep Understanding of sleep increased by the study of brain waves eye movements chin muscle tension heart rate respiration rate Two types of sleep REM sleep only stage Non REM sleep Non REM Sleep Cycles 4 stages Stage 1 still asleep not awake or drowsy Lightest sleep hyponogogic state mcoclonia startle awake feeling or falling easy to wake up if roommate comes through door you will wake up theta waves occur Stage 2 Somewhat more deeply asleep mid sleep sleep spindles occur K complex occurs alittle harder to wake up but can be woken up obviously MOST of night is in deep sleep stages 3 and 4 Stage 3 deep sleep resting brain is resting evetything slows down heart rate and breathing are slow and regular delta waves 20 slow wave deep sleep begins Stage 4 deepest sleep delta waves reach nearly 100 if alarm goes off crappy morning because you are in this stage and not in REM sleep blood pressure and brain activity at lowest points in 24 hour period REM Sleep Rapid Eye Movement sleep called active sleep or paradoxical sleep 20 25 of a nights sleep also alled dream sleep because most DREAMING occurs here Internally intense brain activity brain temp rises rapidly brain gets really active epinephrine release leads to increases in blood pressure heart rate respiration when woken up in rem sleep will remember dream and can tell you about it Externally body appears calm large muscles become paralyzed eyes dart around dreaming occurs in 80 of people 90 minutes in NON REM and 90 minutes in REM 3 HOURS of sleep gives you 1 REM sleep better performance on a test than staying up and studying all night will take the knowledge and solitify it During REM sleep the brain conducts Consolidation of learning and memory all night studying doesn t help Perceptual or motor skills increase after 8 10 hours of sleep The true function of REM sleep is a mystery Sleep Deprivation Causes Difficulty concentrating General irritability Decreases cognitive functioning Impairs learning Long term health effects immune system impairment Technically could be fatal anaimal studies Causes many accidents and fatalities story like dreams REM sleep sometimes 20 minute naps when extremely tired you go right into REM sleep REM sleep may be most important REM Rebound After a period of sleep deprivation intensity and length of REM sleep increases often associated with unpleasant dreams or nightmares Alcohol amphetamines cocaine and LSD use suppress REM sleep and results in REM rebound Variations in Sleep Infants and young children sleep the most 16hrs a day have the highest amount of REM and slow wave sleep spend most of their time in REM and deep sleeps Ages 6 puberty sleep and awake same time daily most consistent Adolescents us sleep patterns are influenced by schedules need sleep for brain growth poor sleep may contribute to poor school performance Why do we sleep Restorative theory sleep serves the function of restoring the body and mind Survival theory sleep evolved to keep humans out of harms way during thr dark of night We really don t know why we sleep we restore and give body brain a break non rem gives that a purpose brain and body are resting REM sleep allows for brain growth and development but not really restful Dreams REM Dream continually dreaming during REM sleep REM dreams have story like qualities more vivid visual and emotional than NREM dreams NREM Dream less frequent than REM dreams less memorable than REM dreams Lucid Dreams A dream where individual is aware of dreaming and whose content the individual is often able to influence while dreaming Lucid Dreams Next time you wake up during a dream try the following the steps to see if you can engage in lucid dreaming Relax Close your eyes and focus on an imaginary spot in your field of vision Focus on your intention to have a lucid dream Tell yourself that you re going to dream about whatever you want Imagine yourself in a dream of the type you want to have Repeat the steps until you fall asleep Interpreting Dreams 1 Freudian Interpretation believed dreams satisfy unconscious sexual and aggressive desires and so must be disguised everything is symbolic Manifest Content the content of a dream as recalled by the dreamer Ex 1 womean dreams she is enjoying a train ride It s a btuaiful day Suddenly it turns dark and the train enters a tunnel and the woman is scared Latent Content the underlying meaning of the dream Ex 1 the train represents a penis and the tunnel is a vagina She is afraid of sex 2 Problem Focused Interpretation dreams are an expression of current ongoing concerns and can resolve or clarify current problems Example 1 Dream college student dreams that the car she just bought has been stolen and she cant find it She is very upset and afraid Problem focuses car is new found adult responsibilities 3 Activation Synthesis Hypothesis dreams are the brains attempt to make sense of the random firing of brain cells during sleep people impose meaning on the random mental activity even if we impose meaning on a dream does that mean it doesn t mean anything Sleep Phenomena Parasomnias Somnambulism sleepwalking occurs during partial arousal from stage 4 sleep Sleep terror happens during partial arousal from stage 4 sleep usually begins with a piercing scream Nightmares Somniloquy Sleeptalking occurs during any sleep stage is more frequent among children Major Sleep Disorders Narcolepsy an incurable sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and incontrollable attacks of REM sleep Sleep apnea periods during sleep when breathing stops the individual must awaken briefly in order to breathe usually obese not all never feel well rested Insomnia difficulty falling or staying asleep waking too early sleep that is light restless or poor quality Primary have trouble FALLING asleep Secondary have trouble STAYING asleep Psychoactive Drugs any substance that
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