Module 7: Consciousness , Sleep and Dreams AE

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Module 7 Consciousness , Sleep and Dreams (A-E)

• Hala Najd
• January 5, 2009

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A. Continuum of Consciousness
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Different States of Consciousness

• Consciousness covers the many different levels
  of awareness of ones thoughts and feelings. It
  might include creating images in ones 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.

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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.

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Automatic Processes

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

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Daydreaming

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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B. Rhythms of Sleeping and Walking
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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.

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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.

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C. World Of Sleep
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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.

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Non- REM 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.

• 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

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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.

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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.

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E. Questions About Sleep
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• 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 bodys 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.

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Citations

•  Plotnik, Rod (2002). Introduction to
  Psychology. Pacific Grove, nnC.A. Wadsworth
  Group.
• Siegel, Jerome M. (2008). Sleep. Retrieved
  December 29, 2008, nnfrom Encarta Online Deluxe
  Web site nnhttp//www.semel.ucla.edu/sleepresearc
  h/encarta/Article.htm