States of Consciousness

Consciousness

Awareness of yourself and the environment.

The immediate awareness of mental activities and internal sensations, and of the external environment

Medical Awakenings – Levels of Consciousness

How do we adjust from a state of conscious awareness into various

states of unawareness and unconsciousness?

Some things occur naturally in the world that make us either more or less aware

Some things we do purposefully that makes us either more or less aware

Biological Rhythms - natural life cycles that help to guide our levels of awareness and our behaviors

Examples of Biological Rhythms Annual Cycles – Seasonal changes affecting

moods, appetite, sleep patters Twenty-Eight Day Cycle – Female Menstrual

Cycle Twenty-Four Hour Cycle – Daily cycle of

levels of alertness, hormones, body temperature, etc.

Ninety-Minute Cycle – Sleep Cycle

Examples of Things We Do

Diet Psychoactive Drugs Exercise and Health Stress Lifestyles Travel Work Schedules

Levels of Consciousness

Sleep !!

Why Do We Sleep? Strengthening Memory

The Science of Sleep Part I The Science of Sleep Part II

Why do we sleep? Adaptive Theory of Sleep (Evolutionary Perspective)

Unique sleep patterns of different animals evolved over time to promote survival and environmental adaptation.

When and where we sleep, and for how long, is determined by your status in the hierarchy

Lions sleep anytime, anywhere. Mice, short bursts of sleep in well protected nests.

Why do we sleep? Restorative Theory of Sleep (Biological

Perspective)Sleep promotes physiological processes that

restore and rejuvenate the body and the mindIt works on a biological clock schedule to ensure

that we have the opportunity to sleepNREM (typically dreamless) = bodily restoration

and REM (dream) = mind restoration

Circadian Rhythms A cycle or rhythm that is roughly 24

hours long. Our biological clock is synchronized

with the 24-hour cycle of day and night, producing a general pattern of wakefulness and sleep.

Circadian rhythms are hardwired and a natural part of the body’s daily routine.

Circadian RhythmsThe circadian rhythms related

to wakefulness and sleep are controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is a cluster of neurons in the hypothalamus

The Sleep-Wake Cycle

The SCN is connected to the visual system of the body.

When there are decreased levels of light, the SCN triggers the pineal gland to release melatonin, which causes sleepiness and reduced activity level

When there are increased levels of light, melatonin levels decrease and conscious awareness level increase

Free-Running Circadian Rhythms Experiments in which all environmental

time cues are removed – no clocks, and light is artificially controlledThe body creates its own sleep-

wake cycle that is roughly one-hour off of normal sleep and wake times – it works on a 25 hour day schedule

SleepThere are two different types of sleep:

NREM Sleep: quiet, typically dreamless sleep in which rapid eye movements are absent

REM Sleep: type of sleep during which rapid eye movements and dreaming occur and voluntary muscle activity is suppressed

Stages of SleepThe Stages of Sleep

When you are awake and alert, brain waves known as Beta Waves are generated in the brain

After your head hits the pillow, you close your eyes, and your muscles begin to relax, the brain begins to generate Alpha Waves as you prepare for sleep

After you begin to sleep, the brain generates Theta Waves

The deepest parts of sleep are characterized by Delta Waves

Stage 1 NREM (Alpha to Theta):About 5 minutesAs you transition from wakefulness to

early sleep (drowsy stage), you may experience some type of hypnagogic hallucinations and/or myoclonic jerks

You may hear a loud crash, hear someone call your name, feel a sensation of floating, smell something burning, see a variety of colors

Involuntary muscle spasms

Stage 2 (Theta):The next 20 minutesBreathing becomes rhythmicalSome small muscle twitchesBrain activity begins to slow down, sleep

talking may occur, and the appearances of sleep spindlesQuick bursts of brain activity that last for a second or two – creation of memories?

Stages of Sleep

Stages 3 and 4 (Delta):Next 35 MinutesHeart rate, blood pressure, and

breathing drop to their lowest levelsReplenishing chemical supplies,

growth hormones released, fortifying the immune system

Stage 4 has more than 50% delta waves

Stages of SleepBy the time a sleeper has reached

Stage 4, they have been asleep for about 60 minutes total. After Stage 4 has been reached, the sleeper cycles back from Stage 3, through Stage 2, and close to Stage 1 in a matter of minutes and enters REM Sleep.

REM Sleep (Paradoxical Sleep):The brain becomes more active and generates

small, fast brain wavesVisual and motor neurons fire during this stage,

but voluntary muscle movements are suppressed (paralysis)

Heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration increase, muscles twitches, heightened sexual arousal

The first REM stage lasts about 30 minutes – the first sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes total

REM Rebound SleepThe less time we spend in REM sleep one night, the longer amount of time we will spend in REM sleep the next night

Beyond the first 90 minutes

Sleepers cycle between NREM and REM sleep throughout the night

Each cycle lasts about 90 minutes Just before and after REM sleep, you typically

change body positions As the night progresses, Stages 3 and 4 get

shorter and REM sleep increases, up to 40 minutes at a time

Sleep Disorders

Sleep Disorders Insomnia Apnea Narcolepsy

InsomniaA condition in which a person regularly experiences an inability to fall asleep, to stay asleep, or to feel adequately rested by sleep.

Sleep ApneaA sleep disorder in which the person repeatedly stops breathing during sleepCarbon-dioxide builds up in the blood, causing a momentary awakening, during which the sleeper snorts or gulps for air

NarcolepsyA sleep disorder characterized by

excessive daytime sleepiness and brief lapses into sleep throughout the dayThough narcoleptics can fall asleep at any

time, often times arousals trigger sleep – laughter, anger, surprise, sex

Narcoleptics instantly lose muscular control, and enter REM sleep. The dreams are often terrifying.

Sleepwalking (somnambulism)Usually within the first three hours of

sleep, in Stage 4The sleeper typically has the ability to

navigate around objects, albeit poorly coordinated and in a stiff, automatic manner

Night Terrors (in Stages 3/4)Night terrors are usually accompanied by a

single, terrifying sensation that awaken the sleeper. Sleepers will usually fall back to sleep without memory of the night terror.

Night terrors may also invoke waking hallucinations

Dreams

What Are Dreams?

Dreams are a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind. Notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and delusions

A lucid dream is the act of consciously perceiving and recognizing that one is dreaming, enabling a more cogent ("lucid") control over the content and quality of the experience.

Dreams are the result of random neural impulses put into a story format by the cortex in order to try and make sense of it.

(Activation Synthesis Model)

Dreams are a purposeful way for the brain to try to organize and interpret the overwhelming amount of stimulation that it receives during the day.

(Information Processing Theory)

Dreams are manifestations of “unfulfilled desires". Dreams reflect our real passions, aggressions, emotions, etc. They are stored in the unconscious part of the brain and not dealt with in real life.Psychoanalytical Perspective

The manifest content of a dream is the literal storyline and events that occurred

The latent content of a dream is the interpretation of the unconscious drives, wishes, and desires that created the dream

Hypnosis

Altered States of Consciousness

Hypnosis

A social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Posthypnotic Suggestion

A suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized

Posthypnotic Amnesia

A temporary memory loss; supposed inability to recall what one experienced during hypnosis

A Few Clarifications About Hypnosis

Hypnosis is not a state of unconsciousness, nor is it complete mind control

Most everyone can be hypnotized, unless you are resistant to the idea

Hypnosis is a heightened state of awareness and relaxation, combined with a large degree of openness to suggestion

A Few Clarifications About Hypnosis

Age regression therapy (the ability to re-live childhood memories) is very limited in its effectiveness

25% of Americans believe in reincarnation, though hypnosis does not seem to accurately bring any “past lives” to the surface

Can hypnosis force people to act against their will? The person who is hypnotized is aware of

everything the hypnotist says at all times while they are experiencing hypnosis.

An authoritative person in a legitimate context can induce people, hypnotized or not, to perform some unlikely acts

Directly proposed hypnotic suggestions cannot make you do anything against your morals, religion, or self-preservation.

Can hypnosis alleviate pain? Dissociation is a split in consciousness,

which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with othersIE. An unhypnotized patient will feel the

pain of an ice bath in less than 25 seconds. A hypnotized patient will feel the cold, but not the pain, though their sensory systems will register the activity is present

Hypnotic Dissociation

Meditation

Altered States of Consciousness

Meditation" in the modern sense may involve

focusing the mind on a single object (such as a religious statue, or one's breath, or a mantra)

a mental "opening up" to the divine, invoking the guidance of a higher power

attempting to clear the mind of discursive or conceptual thought

reasoned analysis of religious teachings simple relaxation

Drugs and Consciousness

Altered States of Consciousness

Teen Drug Abuse Alcohol Abuse Treating Drug Addiction TLC Addiction Series

Define Psychoactive Drugs

Chemical substances that change moods, perceptions, behaviors, and consciousness

Addiction refers to

The ongoing abuse of drugs that leads to compulsive use of the substance.

Tolerance refers to

Higher doses of a drug are required to produce the original effects.

Withdrawal refers to

The unpleasant physical or psychological effects following discontinued used of a substance

Drug Rebound Effect

Withdrawal symptoms are often the opposite of the drug’s action

Do I Have A Drug Problem?

Dependence is defined by exhibiting three of the following seven symptoms over a 12-month period of time

Developing tolerance Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when

attempting to stop Using a substance for a longer period, or in

greater quantities, than originally intended Making repeated attempts to stop or cut-

back on drug usage

Devoting a great deal of time attempting to obtain or use a substance

Giving up or reducing social, occupational, or recreational activities as a result of drug use

Continuing to use a substance even after negative physical or psychological effects have occurred, or will continue to occur with usage

Depressants Chemicals that slow down behavior or cognitive

processes; inhibit central nervous system activity; relieve anxiety, lower inhibitions, lowers pain; affects the brain areas responsible for arousal, wakefulness and alertness, coordination

Including: Alcohol, Barbiturates, Tranquilizers, Opiates (painkillers such as Heroin)

Depressants and the Brain Alcohol Addiction Treating Drug Addiction

Stimulants Drugs that stimulate the nervous system

and produce feelings of optimism and boundless energy, arouse behavior, and increase mental awareness;

Including: Caffeine, Nicotine, Amphetamines (Speed, Ecstasy), Cocaine

IE. CocaineCocaine blocks the reuptake of

dopamine (pleasure), norepinepherine (energy), and serotonin (arousal), so the feelings generated by those neurotransmitters intensifies as they linger in the synapse longer

Psychedelics/Hallucinogens

Drugs that distort visual and auditory perception

Including: LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, Marijuana

Why is marijuana considered a hallucinogen?It relaxes, disinhibits, and may

cause a euphoric high like alcohol, but it may also amplify sensitivity to colors, sounds, tastes, and smells