SLEEP AND DREAMS

Consciousness

• Consciousness refers to an organism’s awareness of itself and its surroundings.

• Levels of awareness:– TOP: Controlled processes require attention

(and interfere with other functions)– MIDDLE: Automatic processes require minimal

attention (such as riding your bike)– LOWEST: Minimal or no awareness of the

environment

Different States of Consciousness

• Consciousness covers the many different levels of awareness of one’s thoughts and feelings. It might include creating images in one’s mind, following one's thought processes , or having unusual emotional occurrences.

• [You can tell if your conscious, if you are aware of your existence and your own thoughts.]

• Continuum of Consciousness refers to a broad range of experiences , from being sharply alert to being completely unaware and unresponsive.

Controlled Processes

• Controlled Processes are actions that require full awareness ,attention, and focus in order to complete your task. The focused attention required in completing controlled processes usually interferes with the execution of activities in action.

Automatic Processes

• Automatic processes are activities that only need minimal focus, and do not distract you from the other activity that’s occurring.

Daydreaming

• Daydreaming is when you fantasize or dream while you are awake. This state requires minimal alertness .

Altered States

• Altered states of consciousness are achieved when using psychoactive drugs, meditation, hypnosis or lack of sleep. These all create a state that is different from the usual consciousness.

Sleep and Dreams

• Sleep has five important stages that involve the many types of consciousness and awareness ,etc.

• Dreaming occurs when we are asleep and is a type of consciousness. In our dreams, we witness a a handful of surprising visual and auditory detailed images. These dreams can be related in odd ways and are usually in color.

Unconscious and Implicit Memory

• Unconsciousness is the lack of sensory awareness and alertness, that can be induced by

disease, trauma, anesthesia and or a blow to the head.

• Implied and unspoken, implicit memory involves mental and emotional processes that we are not conscious of. These processes affect feelings, actions and thoughts in a bias way.

Circadian Rhythms

• Many of our behaviors display rhythmic variation.– Circadian rhythms

• One cycle lasts about 24 hours (e.g. sleep-waking cycle).

• Light is an external cue that can set the circadian rhythm.

• Some circadian rhythms are endogenous suggesting the existence of an internal (biological) clock.

Hypnosis

• Hypnosis is an altered state of heightened suggestibility.

• The hypnotic state is characterized by:– Narrow and focused attention– Imagination– Passive receptive attitude– Reduced reaction to pain– Heightened suggestibility

Myths of Hypnosis

• People can be hypnotized against their will.

• People will do immoral things while hypnotized.

• Hypnosis improves memory recall.

• Hypnotized persons have special strength.

• Hypnosis is fake.

Altered States

• Meditation refers to a set of techniques that promote a heightened sense of awareness.– can involve body movements and posture,

focusing of attention on a focal point, or control of breathing

– can induce relaxation, lower blood pressure, and can be associated with a sense of euphoria

Why do people alter consciousness?

• Sacred rituals

• Social interactions

• Individual rewards

Biological Clocks & its their location

• Biological clocks are a timing system embedded in our genetics that control and regulate physiological responses for different periods of time.

• Biological Clocks are located in suprachiasmatic nucleus , which makes up the hypothalamus in the brain.

Circadian Problems and Treatments

• The most common circadian problems are accidents, jet lag, and resetting the clock

• melatonin ( a hormone given by the pineal gland), has proved to help those with disrupted circadian clocks, sleep better.

• Light therapy is used to reset the circadian clocks and to treat those who suffer from sleeping disorders.

Sleep• Sleep is a behavior AND an altered state of

consciousness.

• We spend about a third of our lives in sleep.

– A basic issue is to understand the function of sleep.

Myths of Sleep• Everyone needs 8 hrs of sleep per night to maintain

good health.

• Learning of complicated subjects such as calculus can be done during sleep.

• Some people never dream.• Dreams last only a few seconds.• Genital arousal during sleep reflects dream content.

• May be a useful index of physical versus psychological causes of impotence in males

EEG Changes During Sleep

• Electrophysiological instruments can be used in the sleep laboratory to assess the physiological changes that occur during an episode of sleep.

Stages of Sleep

• The stages of sleep are when the electrical activity and physiological responses ,in the brain ,changes through the many periods of sleep.

Stages of Sleep• Hypnagogic state: “pre-sleep” stage marked by

visual, auditory and kinesthetic sensations.• Non-REM

Stage oneStage twoStage threeStage four

• REM: rapid eyes movements, high frequency brain waves, paralysis of large muscles and dreaming

Sleep Stages During a Night

Functions of Sleep

• REM Sleep:– Consolidation of new memories– Role in learning– Absent in lower mammals

• Non-REM sleep– People deprived of all sleep show greater

time spent in non-REM sleep the next night.

REM Sleep

• Rapid eye movement, [REM], is when your eyes move from side to side, under your lids.

• It makes up the remaining 20% of sleep time.

• Dreaming takes place in this state.

Non- REM Sleep

• Non- REM sleep( 80% of your sleep) is separated into stages 1,2,3, and 4

• 1: the shift from being awake to sleep and lasts 1-7 minutes. You gradually lose alertness to your surroundings and experience drifting thoughts.

• 2: The start of sleep

• 3: You are asleep for 30-45 minutes

• 4: The deepest sleep occurs in this stage. [It is the hardest to be awakened from]

• Heart rate , respiration , temperature, and blood flow to the brain decrease by growth hormone.

Sequence of Stages

• Usually REM occurs after the second stage of sleep.

• You go through the sleeping stages and REM ,approximately 6-7 times a night.

Effects of Sleep Deprivation

• Reduced immunity

• Mood alteration

• Reduced concentration and motivation

• Increased irritability

• Lapses in attention

• Reduced motor skills

Theories of Sleep

• Repair/Restoration – Sleep allows for recuperation from

physical, emotional, and intellectual fatigue.

• Evolutionary/Circadian– Sleep evolved to conserve energy and

protect our ancestors from predators.

Sleep Duration in Mammals

Theories of Dreaming

• Psychoanalytic: Dreams represent disguised symbols of repressed desires and anxieties.– Manifest versus latent content

• Biological: Dreams represent random activation of brain cells during sleep.

• Cognitive: Dreams help to sift and sort the events of the day.

SLEEP DISORDERS

Dysomnias• Insomnia refers to a difficulty in getting to sleep or

remaining asleep and has many causes.– Situational: related to anxiety – Drug-induced: Use of sleeping pills or other drugs can

result in insomnia

• Sleep apnea: person stops breathing and is awakened when blood levels of carbon dioxide stimulate breathing.

• Narcolepsy: Sleep appears at odd times.– Sleep attack: urge to sleep during the day

Parasomnias

• Nightmares: Anxiety-arousing dreams generally occurring during REM sleep.

• Night Terrors: Abrupt awakenings from NREM sleep accompanied by intense physiological arousal and feelings of panic.

• How much sleep do I need?- infants 17 hours, Toddlers 10 hours , Adolescence and Adulthood 10 hours, Old Age 6.h Hours.

• Why do I sleep?- Repair Theory- sleep is mainly the restorative process that helps repair the body. Adaptive theory- sleep is mainly used to protect early humans & animals from nocturnal predators.

• What If I Miss Sleep?- Sleep deprivation weakens the body’s immune system, which produces a risk of contracting viruses and infections. It also causes irritability, unhappiness, hallucinations and problems performing cognitive activates.

• What Causes Sleep??- VPN- Ventrolateral preoptic nucleus ( located in the hypothalamus) releases a neurotransmitter that deactivates the areas of the brain that keep one awake. The Reticular Formation ,that alerts the forebrain and prepares it to absorb the information given by the senses. The reticular formation is very important in making the state of wakefulness. Finally, going to sleep really is based on your circadian clock, VPN, neurotransmitters and chemicals in the brain and the circadian rhythm.

DRUGS

Drugs

• Drugs are chemicals that have biological effects within the body.

• Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that change conscious awareness or perception.– Depressants slow down the nervous system.– Stimulants speed up the nervous system.– Opiates relieve pain.– Hallucinogens alter sensory perception .

Drug Use and Abuse

• Drug abuse: Drug use that causes emotional or physical harm to the user.

• Addiction results from repeated drug use.– Tolerance: more drug is required.– Drug abstinence leads to withdrawal symptoms.

• Drug dependence can be:– Physical: withdrawal reactions are noted when drug

use is terminated.– Psychological: associated with a craving for the

drug

Examples of Drug Types

• Depressants: alcohol, barbiturates

• Stimulants: caffeine, amphetamine

cocaine, nicotine

• Opiates heroin, morphine

• Hallucinogens LSD, mescaline, marijuana

Depressants• Alcohol is particularly dangerous when

combined with barbiturates.– abuse can lead to serious losses in

cognitive functioning– involved in nearly half of all murders,

suicides, spousal abuse and accidental deaths in the united states

– is the third leading cause of birth defects

Stimulants

• Nicotine is considered the single most preventable cause of death and disease

• Cocaine causes physical damage, severe addiction and psychological dependence.– Cocaine can interfere with the electrical

activity of the heart.

Opiates

• Narcotics, such as morphine and heroin, produce their effects by mimicking endorphins.

Hallucinogens

• LSD- associated with “bad trips”

• Marijuana has some properties of depressants, narcotics and hallucinogens at higher doses.

“Club Drugs”

• MDMA- high doses can cause dangerous increases in body temperature and blood pressure leading to seizures, heart attacks and strokes; can produces long lasting damage to the brain.

How Drugs Work

Drug Action on Neurons

Factors that Lead to Drug Abuse

• Positive associations: the drug is portrayed in a positive fashion in the media.

• Biological factors: the drug induces a pleasurable state (usually related to dopamine activity in the brain).

• Prevention of withdrawal: person continues to take the drug to avoid withdrawal effects.

• Conditioning of drug craving: cues associated with drug use can elicit craving for the drug.