1 States of Consciousness Chapter 5

2 Consciousness Awareness or state which a person is awake Could be to: Sensory awareness Inner awareness Sense of self that each person experiences

3 Selective Attention Focusing on a particular stimulus –What you pay attention to

4 Levels of Consciousness Preconscious level –Not in your awareness at the moment but able to recall them Example: what did you eat for lunch yesterday Unconscious level (Subconscious) –Unavailable to awareness Example: Being mad at a parent but not really knowing why –Turns out that parent was not there for you when you were sick and you are still upset about it Nonconscious level –Things that you will not be aware of Example: your finger nails growing (feeling them grow) Example: your pupils getting smaller

Altered States of Consciousness Where a persons sense of self or sense of the world changes –Examples include: When you doze off and no longer conscious of what is going on around you When you are asleep If an individual is under the influence of drugs During meditation, hypnosis, sensory deprivation or starvation 5

6 Sleep & Dreams Circadian rhythms are: Your natural biological rhythms Your natural 24 hour clock Circadian rhythms include: body temperature, blood pressure, sleepiness and wakefulness

7 Measuring sleep: About every 90 minutes, we pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages. Sleep Stages Hank Morgan/ Rainbow

8 Awake & Alert During strong mental engagement, the brain exhibits low amplitude and fast, irregular beta waves (15-30 cps). An awake person involved in a conversation shows beta activity. Beta Waves

9 Stage 1 Lightest stage of sleep Kind of awake and kind of asleep Alpha waves Produces mild hallucinations, like a feeling of falling or floating. Click dude for alpha Waves. Click to see an awake brain.

10 Stage 2 Fully asleep Begin to show sleep spindles…short bursts of rapid brain waves.

11 Stage 3 & Stage 4 Slow wave sleep Deep sleep You produce Delta waves. If awoken you will be very groggy. Vital for restoring body’s growth hormones and good overall health.

12 REM Sleep Dream sleep Often called paradoxical sleep. Brain is very active. Body is essentially paralyzed.

13 Stages of Sleep Stage 1 –lightest stage of sleep Stage 2 –We spend the most time in stage 2 sleep Stage 3 –Deep sleep Stage 4 –Deep Sleep (Deepest stage of sleep) REM sleep –Dream sleep

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15 Why do we sleep? We spend one-third of our lives sleeping. We sleep to help the immune system, to help our bodies function normally, and to help with concentration Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./ Corbis

16 Sleep Deprivation 1.Fatigue and subsequent death. 2.Impaired concentration. 3.Emotional irritability. 4.Depressed immune system. 5.Greater vulnerability.

17 Sleep Theories 1.Sleep Protects: Sleeping in the darkness when predators loomed about kept our ancestors out of harm’s way. 2.Sleep Recuperates: Sleep helps restore and repair brain tissue. 3.Sleep Helps Remembering: Sleep restores and rebuilds our fading memories. 4.Sleep and Growth: During sleep, the pituitary gland releases growth hormone. Older people release less of this hormone and sleep less.

18 Dreams

19 Freud’s Theory of Dreams Dreams are a roadway into our unconscious. Manifest Content (storyline) Latent Content (underlying meaning)

20 Activation-Synthesis Theory Our Cerebral Cortex is trying to interpret random electrical activity we have while sleeping. That is why dreams sometimes make no sense. Biological Theory.

21 Information-Processing Theory Dreams are a way to deal with the stresses of everyday life. We tend to dream more when we are more stressed.

22 Physiological Function theory: Dreams provide the sleeping brain with periodic stimulation to develop and preserve neural pathways. Neural networks of newborns are quickly developing; therefore, they need more sleep.

23 4.Cognitive Development theory: Some researchers argue that we dream as a part of brain maturation and cognitive development. All dream researchers believe we need REM sleep. When deprived of REM sleep and then allowed to sleep, we show increased REM sleep called REM Rebound.

24 Dream Theories Summary

25 Sleep Disorders

26 Insomnia Persistent problems falling asleep Inability to fall asleep or stay asleep

27 Night Terrors Wake up with from a deep sleep. May feel panic May wake up screaming and have no idea why. Not a nightmare.

28 Somnambulism Sleep Walking Most often occurs during the first few hours of sleeping and in stage 4 (deep sleep). If you have had night terrors, you are more likely to sleep walk when older.

29 Sleep Apnea A person stops breathing during their sleep. Wake up momentarily, gasps for air, then falls back asleep. Very common, especially in heavy males. Can be fatal.

30 Narcolepsy Suffer from sleeplessness and may fall asleep at unpredictable or inappropriate times. Directly into REM sleep Video –Narcoleptic dog

Meditation A method some people use to try to narrow their consciousness so to get rid of stress 31

Biofeedback Training the body to calm itself down and slow down the heart rate using machines 32

33 Hypnosis

Altered state of consciousness where people respond to suggestions and behave as though they are in a trance 34 Franz Anton Mesmer

35 Posthypnotic suggestion

36 Strength, stamina, and perceptual and memory abilities similarly affect those who are hypnotized Hypnotic Feats

37 Hypnotic Theories Social influence/Role Theory Hypnosis is NOT an altered state of consciousness. Different people have various state of hypnotic suggestibility. A social phenomenon where people want to believe. Work better on people with richer fantasy lives. Divided consciousness/ State Theory Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness. Dramatic health benefits It works for pain best.

38 Facts and Falsehood Those who practice hypnosis agree that its power resides in the subject’s openness to suggestion. Can anyone experience hypnosis? Yes, to some extent. Can hypnosis enhance recall of forgotten events? No.

39 Facts and Falsehood Can hypnosis be therapeutic? Yes. Can hypnosis alleviate pain? Yes. Can hypnosis force people to act against their will? No.