Module 7 Sleep and Dreams

CONTINUUM OF CONCIOUSNESS Different states Consciousness ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Continuum of consciousness ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CONTINUUM OF CONCIOUSNESS (CONT’D) Different states Controlled processes require _________, alertness, and concentration to reach some goal; usually interfere with execution of other ongoing activities Automatic processes require little awareness, take minimal attention, and don’t interfere with other ongoing activities Daydreaming requires low level of awareness, often occurs during automatic processes, and involves fantasizing or dreaming while awake

CONTINUUM OF CONCIOUSNESS (CONT’D) Different states Altered states Result from using any number of procedures, such as meditation, psychoactive drugs, hypnosis, or sleep deprivation, to produce an awareness that differs from normal consciousness ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CONTINUUM OF CONCIOUSNESS (CONT’D) Sleep and dreams Sleep consists of __________ stages that involve different levels of awareness, consciousness, and responsiveness as well as different levels of physiological arousal ________________________________________________________________________________ Dreaming ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CONTINUUM OF CONCIOUSNESS (CONT’D) Unconscious and implicit memory Freud’s theory, when we’re faced with very threatening wishes or desires, especially if they’re sexual or aggressive Defend self-esteem by placing these thoughts in the unconscious Can’t voluntarily recall unconscious thoughts Implicit or nondeclarative memory Learning without awareness Occurs in emotional situations or in acquiring habits

CONTINUUM OF CONCIOUSNESS (CONT’D) Unconscious Can result from ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Results in total lack of ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RHYTHMS OF SLEEPING & WAKING Biological clocks ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Circadian rhythm Refers to a biological clock that’s genetically programmed to regulate ________________________ responses within a time period of 24 hours

RHYTHMS OF SLEEPING & WAKING (CONT’D) Location of biological clocks Suprachiasmatic nucleus part of hypothalamus lies in the lower middle of the brain regulates a number of circadian rhythms regulates sleep-wake cycle highly responsive to change in light

RHYTHMS OF SLEEPING & WAKING (CONT’D)

RHYTHMS OF SLEEPING & WAKING (CONT’D) Interval timing clock can be ____________________ like a stopwatch gauges the passage of seconds, minutes, or hours helps creatures time their movements, such as knowing when to start or stop doing some activity located in the ___________________________ Food-entrainable circadian clock “midnight snack” clock regulates ________________ in people and animals obese people might have an abnormality in their clock (located in hypothalamus)

RHYTHMS OF SLEEPING & WAKING (CONT’D) Circadian problems and treatments Shift workers can result in decreased performance in cognitive and motor skills sleep-wake clocks have prepared bodies for sleep (means workers feel sleepy, are less attentive and alert, and are often in a lousy mood) Jet lag experience of fatigue, lack of concentration, and reduced cognitive skills occurs when travelers’ biological circadian clocks are out of step or synchrony with the external clock times at their new location

RHYTHMS OF SLEEPING & WAKING (CONT’D) Circadian problems and treatments Resetting clock light therapy: use of bright artificial light to reset circadian clocks and combat the insomnia and drowsiness that plague shift workers and jet lag sufferers helps people with sleeping disorders in which the body fails to stay in time with the external environment

RHYTHMS OF SLEEPING & WAKING (CONT’D) Circadian problems and treatments Melatonin hormone secreted by the ________ (oval-shaped group of cells in the center of the brain) melatonin secretion __________ with darkness and decreases with light suprachiasmatic nucleus; regulates the secretion of melatonin plays role in the regulation of circadian rhythms and in promoting sleep

WORLD OF SLEEP Stages of sleep Distinctive changes in the _________________ of the brain and accompanying physiological responses of the body that occur as you pass through different phases of sleep Alpha stage ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WORLD OF SLEEP (CONT’D) Non-REM sleep Where you spend approximately _______ of your sleep time Divided into ______ stages, identified by particular pattern of brain waves and physiological responses Begin with stage 1 and gradually enter stages 2, 3, and 4

WORLD OF SLEEP (CONT’D) Non-REM sleep Stage 1 sleep transition from _______________ that lasts one to seven minutes gradually lose _______________ to stimuli and experience drifting thoughts and images presence of _________________________

WORLD OF SLEEP (CONT’D) Non-REM sleep Stage 2 sleep beginning of ______________________________ high-frequency bursts of brain activity called ___________________________________________________ muscle tension, body temperature, and heart rate gradually ________________________________ more difficult to be ________________________

WORLD OF SLEEP (CONT’D) Non-REM sleep Stages 3 and 4 also called _____________ or ___________ sleep waves of very high amplitude and very low frequency (delta waves) stage 4 is often considered the _________ stage of sleep; most ___________ to be awakened from heart rate, respiration, temperature, and blood flow to the brain are _____________________ marked secretion of ______________ (GH), which controls levels of metabolism, physical growth, and brain development

WORLD OF SLEEP (CONT’D) REM sleep Makes up the remaining ________ of your sleep time Stands for “_____________________________” Eyes move rapidly back and forth behind closed lids Pass into REM sleep about ______________ times throughout the night with about 30 to 90 minutes between periods REM sleep remains for about 15 to 45 minutes then passes into non-REM sleep

WORLD OF SLEEP (CONT’D) REM sleep REM behavior disorder usually occurs in older people voluntary muscles aren’t paralyzed sleepers can and do act out their dreams such as fighting off attackers in dreams REM rebound refers to individuals spending an increased percentage of time in REM sleep if they were deprived of REM sleep on the previous nights

QUESTIONS ABOUT SLEEP According to a national survey 16% _____________________________________ 24% ____________________________________ 31% ____________________________________ 26% ____________________________________ Average: __________________________________

WORLD OF SLEEP (CONT’D)

QUESTIONS ABOUT SLEEP Why do I sleep? Repair theory activities during the day deplete key factors in brain/body that sleep replenishes or repairs primarily a restorative process Adaptive theory sleep evolved because it prevented early humans and animals from wasting energy and exposing themselves to the dangers of nocturnal predators

QUESTIONS ABOUT SLEEP What causes sleep? Master sleep switch VPN (ventrolateral preoptic nucleus); group of cells in the hypothalamus switched on VNP secretes a neurotransmitter (GABA) that turns off areas that keep the brain awake switched off VNP activates certain brain areas Reticular formation column of cells that stretches the length of the brain stem arouses and alerts the forebrain and prepares it to receive information from all the senses

CULTURAL DIVERSITY Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD Pattern of ___________________, such as loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities; cycles with the seasons Includes _______________________________________ ______________________________ ___________________________________ __________________________________ SAD has become a subtype (Seasonal Pattern Specifier) of major depression (APA 2000)

WORLD OF DREAMS Theories of dream interpretation Freud’s theory of dream interpretation we have a “censor” that protects us from realizing threatening and unconscious desires or wishes, especially those involving sex or aggression “censor” protects us from threatening thoughts by transforming our secret, guilt-ridden, and anxiety-provoking desires into harmless symbols that appear in our dreams and don’t disturb our sleep or conscious thoughts

WORLD OF DREAMS (CONT’D) Extensions of waking life theory dreams reflect the same thoughts, fears, concerns, problems, and emotions that we have when awake Activation-synthesis theory dreaming occurs because brain areas that provide reasoned cognitive control during the waking state are shut down sleeping brain is stimulated by different chemical and neural influences that result in hallucinations, delusions, high emotions, and bizarre thought patterns that we call dreams

WORLD OF SLEEP (CONT’D)

WORLD OF DREAMS (CONT’D) Theories of dream interpretation Threat simulation theory dreaming serves a biological function by repeatedly simulating events that are threatening in our waking lives so our brain can practice how it perceives threats and rehearse our responses to such events

WORLD OF DREAMS (CONT’D) Typical dreams What do people dream about? _________________________________ _____________________________________ ________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ may be _____________ (dreams of being threatened, pursued, or trying to hide)

WORLD OF DREAMS (CONT’D) Typical dreams Involve emotions of anxiety or fear rather than joy or happiness Rarely involve sexual encounters and are almost never about sexual intercourse Rarely can we control or dream about something we intend to dream about Dreams usually have visual imagery and are in color in sighted people Blind people from birth dream in tactile, olfactory, or gustatory (taste), not visual

APPLICATION: SLEEP PROBLEMS & TREATMENTS Insomnia Difficulties in either going to sleep or staying asleep through the night Associated with daytime complaints _____________________________

APPLICATION: SLEEP PROBLEMS & TREATMENTS (CONT’D) Non-drug treatment Go to bed only when sleepy Put light out immediately; don’t read or watch TV If not asleep in 20 minutes, get out of bed and relax in another room until tired again Repeat last step as often as required Set alarm for same time each morning Don’t nap during the day Follow program rigidly for several weeks

APPLICATION: SLEEP PROBLEMS & TREATMENTS (CONT’D) Drug treatment Benzodiazepines (Dalmane, Xanax, Restoril) reduce anxiety, worry, and stress effective in moderate dosages in short term (2 to 4 weeks) treatment; prolonged use in higher dosages may lead to dependence Nonbenzodiazepines (Ambien, Sonata, Lunesta) rapidly becoming popular fast acting reduce daytime drowsiness; fewer cognitive side effects less likely to lead to dependence

APPLICATION: SLEEP PROBLEMS & TREATMENTS (CONT’D) Sleep apnea Repeated periods during sleep when a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or longer; may repeatedly stop breathing, momentarily awaken, and then resume sleep Results in insomnia; exhaustion during the day Narcolepsy Chronic disorder marked by excessive sleepiness Form of sleep attacks or short periods of sleep throughout the day Accompanied by brief periods of REM sleep and loss of muscle control (cataplexy) Triggered by emotional change

APPLICATION: SLEEP PROBLEMS & TREATMENTS (CONT’D) Night terrors Occur in stage 3 or 4 (delta sleep) Frightening experiences that often start with a piercing scream, followed by sudden awakening in a fearful state with rapid breathing and increased heart rate Usually no memory of experience in the morning Nightmares Occur during REM sleep Very frightening and anxiety-producing images occur involving great danger Upon awakening, person can describe nightmare in great detail

APPLICATION: SLEEP PROBLEMS & TREATMENTS (CONT’D) Sleepwalking Occurs in stage 3 or 4 (delta sleep) Sleeper gets up and walks while literally sound asleep Has poor coordination Clumsy but can avoid objects Can engage in limited conversation No memory of sleepwalking