1. States of Consciousness

2. States of Consciousness
Consciousness – the awareness of ourselves and our environment
Sleep
Wake
Altered States

3. Levels of Consciousness
We know that various levels exists beyond the conscious level.
Mere-exposure effect
Priming
Blind sight

4. Biological Rhythms
Annual Cycles: seasonal variations (bears hibernation, seasonal affective disorder)
28 day cycles: menstrual cycle.
24 hour cycle: circadian rhythm (biological clock) – regular bodily rhythms like temperature and wakefulness.
90 minute cycle: sleep cycles.

5. Sleep
Circadian Rhythm – pattern of biological functioning that occurs on a roughly 24-hour cycle.
Sleep
Temperature
Melatonin - sleep hormone released by the pineal gland into the bloodstream.
Suprachiasmatic nucleus – in hypothalamus causes pineal gland to produce melatonin
When light strikes the retina the hypothalamus’ SCN lower production of melatonin by the Pineal Gland
Decreasing light causes the SCN to increase production of melatonin, leading you to sleep

6. Circadian Rhythm

7. Circadian Rhythm
Body Temp – rises in morning, peaks during the day, dips for time in early afternoons (siesta time), drops again before we go to sleep
Thinking sharpest, memory most accurate at peak of arousal
Circadian rhythm is affected by staying up late, sleeping in late, travelling across time zones, shift work, electricity
Artificial light and dark cave delays sleep and makes our 24 hr cycle a 25 hr cycle.

8. Sleep Awake Sleep – periodic natural loss of consciousness
Beta waves - alert state
Alpha waves - the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
Conscious
Sleep – periodic natural loss of consciousness

9. Sleep Cycle 5 Stages of Sleep
Click to see an awake brain.
5 Stages of Sleep
Takes about minutes to pass through the 5 stages.
Brain’s waves will change according to the sleep stage
NREM - The first four stages
REM - The fifth stage

10. Stage 1 Stage 1: Slow breathing, irregular heart beat
hallucinations – sensory experiences that occur without a sensory stimulus
Hypnagogic sensations - strange and extremely vivid sensations
Feeling like you’re falling
Hear someone calling your name
Alpha & Theta waves

11. Stage 2 Begins 20 min. into sleep
Theta Waves that get progressively slower.
sleep spindles…short bursts of rapid brain waves.
Gets longer throughout the night

12. Stages 3 Slow wave sleep. Theta & Delta waves. Lasts about 30 min
Delta waves - large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep
Lasts about 30 min
Difficult to awaken
Vital for restoring body’s growth hormones and good overall health.

13. Stage 4 Delta waves. Lasts about 30 min Difficult to awaken
Bed Wetting and Sleep walking, sleep talking*,
night terrors – sleep disorder, high arousal appear being terrified
Seldom wakeup fully
Not nightmares (REM)
Start to ascend back through stage 3, 2, 1, then…..
*Sleep talking can occur at any stage of sleep

14. REM Sleep Genital arousal
Rapid Eye Movement – fast jerky eye movements
Paradoxical sleep –
internally aroused, externally calm.
Brain waves resemble wakefulness, but body is at rest
Body is essentially paralyzed, relaxed muscles
90 min. - Gets longer throughout the night
Dreams occur during REM
emotional, story-like, richly hallucinatory, including visual, auditory, and other sensory details
Genital arousal
REM Rebound

15. Typical Nights Sleep

16. Stages of Sleep

17. Sleep Stages
Alpha waves
Theta waves

18. Why Do We Sleep? Variations in sleeping patterns Cultural influences
may be genetically influenced
Infants and older adults have similar sleep patters
2/3 of the day
Adults – 1/3 of the day
Cultural influences
US 8 hrs, but sleeping less than a century ago (lightbulb)
Unhindered would sleep 9 hrs
People in countries without electric lights generally sleep longer.
Sleep debt – can’t be paid off

19. The Effects of Sleep Loss
US Navy and NIH studies
hrs /night felt energized and happier
Age and sleep loss
Teens need 8-9 hrs if not, function below peak
Older adults and new borns have very similar sleep patterns
Chronic sleep loss
Makes you fatter - Increases ghrelin (hunger arousing hormone) and decreases leptin (hunger-suppressing hormone
Suppresses immune cells that fight off infection
Alters metabolic and hormonal functioning that mimics aging, causes hypertension and memory impairment
Irritability, slow performance impaired, creativity, concentration and communication

20. The Effects of Sleep Loss
Spring and fall time changes – higher accidents and traffic fatalities

21. Sleep Theories Sleep theories Sleep protects Sleep helps recuperation
Memory storage
Sleep and creative thinking
Sleep and growth

22. Sleep Disorders

23. Insomnia Persistent problems falling asleep
Effects 10% of the population
Primary versus Secondary Insomnia

24. Narcolepsy
Suffer from sleeplessness and may fall asleep at unpredictable or inappropriate times.
Directly into REM sleep
Less than .001 % of population.
Click above to see Skeeter the narcoleptic dog.

25. 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.

26. Night Terrors Wake up screaming and have no idea why. Not a nightmare.
Most common in children (boys) between ages 2-8.

27. 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.

28. Dreams Theories Freud’s Theory of Dreams
2. Activation Synthesis Theory
3. Information Process Theory
4. Physiological Function
5. Cognitive Development

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

30. Activation-Synthesis Theory
Cerebral Cortex is trying to interpret random electrical activity we have while sleeping.
Why dreams sometimes make no sense.
Biological Theory
Areas that process visual images (not in visual cortex) and limbic system are active, but not the frontal lobe

31. 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.

32. Physiological Function Theory
Brain stimulation from REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural networks
Newborns neural networks develop rapidly & newborns spend much of sleep time in REM

33. A Lifetime of Sleep

34. Cognitive Development Theory
Dreams are part of brain maturation and cognitive development
Dreams draw on our concepts and knowledge
Dreams get more complex as we age
Before age 9 dreams like a slide show and less like an active story

35. Critical Considerations: Does not address the neuroscience of dreams.

36. REM Rebound
REM Rebound - REM sleep increases following REM sleep deprivation
Dreaming serves a biological function
YOU need your REM SLEEP!

37. Hypnosis
A heightened openness to suggestion

38. Hypnosis
Posthypnotic suggestion – a suggestion made under hypnosis to be carried out later
Relieved Headaches, asthma skin stress related skin disorders,
Useful in treating obesity

39. Research on Hypnosis
Hypnotically age-regressed people act as they believe children would, but outperform real children.
Memories retrieved from hypnosis are combination of fact and fiction
Authoritative people can induce people to perform unlikely acts

40. Hypnotic Theories 1. Role Theory 2. State Theory
Hypnosis is NOT an altered state of consciousness.
Different people have various state of hypnotic suggestibility.
Social influence theory - A social phenomenon where people want to believe
Good hypnotic subject
Work better on people with richer fantasy lives.
Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness.
Dramatic health benefits
It works for pain best.

41. Divided Consciousness Theory
3. Divided Consciousness Theory/Dissociation Theory (Ernest Hilgard) - A split between different levels of consciousness
Ice Water Experiment.
Participant dissociates pain from emotional suffering people expect….or
Social Influence theory Participant just playing “good hypnotic” subject and ignored pain