States of Consciousness: States of Consciousness Things never were “the way they used to be.” Things will never be “the way it’s going to be someday.” Things are always just the way they are for the time being. And the time is always in motion. Alexander Evangeli Xenopouloudakis


What is consciousness?: What is consciousness? Awareness of one’s own mental activity Personal Can be selective Consciousness is continuous and ever-changing Klinger (1978)


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Attentional Processes: Attentional Processes Selective Attention The ability to focus awareness on a single stimulus to the exclusion of other stimuli Cocktail party phenomenon Divided attention The ability to distribute one’s attention and simultaneously engage in two or more activities


Mental Control & Thought Suppression: Mental Control & Thought Suppression Wegner and colleagues (1987) Can we at suppress our thoughts? IV: 2 (order:expression/suppression X suppression/expression) DV: # of rings of bell (to indicate thinking of ‘white bear’) and mentions of ‘white bear’ Rebound effect Stereotypes, dieting Generally good control but sometimes we fail


“Daydream Believer”: “Daydream Believer” Imaginary scenes & events that occur while awake When do they happen? Possible functions: Mental rehearsal Mental arousal when bored Problem solving (practical & creative) Pleasure


Biological Rhythms: Biological Rhythms Periodic fluctuations in physiological functioning Four cycles: Yearly 28-day Circadian (24 hours) 90 minutes


Circadian Rhythm: Circadian Rhythm Influences sleep & wakefulness As well as: Blood pressure Hormones Body temperature Humans drift toward 25-hour cycle because of advances in technology Syprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) Controls our timing device for our circadian rhythm


Sleep IQ Test: Sleep IQ Test 1. During sleep your brain rests. 2. You can not learn to function normally with one or two fewer hours of sleep a night than you need. 3. Boredom makes you feel sleepy, even if you have had enough sleep. 4. Resting in bed with your eyes closed cannot satisfy your body’s need for sleep. 5. Snoring is not harmful, as long as it doesn’t disturb others or wake you up. 6. Everyone dreams at night.


Sleep IQ Test: Sleep IQ Test 7. The older you get, the fewer hours of sleep you need. 8. Most people don’t know when they are sleepy. 9. Raising the volume of your radio will help you stay awake while driving. 10. Sleep disorders are mainly due to worry or psychological problems. 11. The human body never adjusts to night shift work. 12. Most sleep disorders go away, even without treatment.


Sleep IQ Answers: Sleep IQ Answers 1. During sleep your brain rests. False: While your body rests, your brain doesn’t. 2. You can not learn to function normally with one or two fewer hours of sleep a night than you need. True: Sleep need is biological. While children need more sleep than adults, how much sleep any individual needs is genetically determined. 3. Boredom makes you feel sleepy, even if you have had enough sleep. False: Boredom only unmasks sleepiness, but it doesn’t cause it.


Sleep IQ Answers: Sleep IQ Answers 4. Resting in bed with your eyes closed cannot satisfy your body’s need for sleep. True: Sleep is as necessary to health as food and water, and rest is no substitute for sleep. 5. Snoring is not harmful, as long as it doesn’t disturb others or wake you up. False: Snoring may be a signal for sleep apnea (which can be fatal if untreated). 6. Everyone dreams at night. True: Every person dreams every night – it’s just that some of us can’t remember much of our dreams.


Sleep IQ Answers: Sleep IQ Answers 7. The older you get, the fewer hours of sleep you need. False: Although we tend to sleep less, our need for sleep doesn’t decrease as we age. 8. Most people don’t know when they are sleepy. True: We are not very good judges of our biological need for sleep. 9. Raising the volume of your radio will help you stay awake while driving. False: The only short-term solutions are to pull over and take a nap or to have a caffeinated drink.


Sleep IQ Answers: Sleep IQ Answers 10. Sleep disorders are mainly due to worry or psychological problems. False: Sleep apnea is caused by relaxed muscles and narcolepsy appears to be genetic. 11. The human body never adjusts to night shift work. True: No matter how long you work a night shift, sleeping during the day remains a challenge because of our circadian rhythms that operate on the light/dark schedule. 12. Most sleep disorders go away, even without treatment. False: On average, sleep disorders do not disappear without treatment.


The Stages of Sleep: The Stages of Sleep 5 stages First four stages are non-REM Fifth, and final, stage is REM Stage 1 As you start this stage, brain waves go from beta to alpha to theta (by end of stage) Hypnic jerks Lasts about 10 minutes This is the transition from relaxed wakefulness to sleep


The Stages of Sleep: The Stages of Sleep Stage 2 Sleep spindles Lasts about 20 minutes Stages 3 & 4 Delta wave Deep sleep Last about 30 minutes


The Stages of Sleep: The Stages of Sleep REM After reverting back through stages 3 and 2, the brain enters the REM (rapid eye movement) stage Marked by more vivid, detailed, and storylike dreams We dream during all stages but these are more visual Each cycle lasts roughly 90 minutes Approx. 4 to 6 cycles per night The first time through the cycle, you only spend about 10 minutes in REM – which increases to 30 to 60 minutes by the last cycle


Why do we sleep?: Why do we sleep? Restorative theories Sleep rejuvenates us Amount of slow wave sleep depends on how long we’ve been awake Circadian theories Evolutionarily, it has survival value Amount of REM sleep depends on circadian rhythm


What are dreams?: What are dreams? Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives. Charles Fisher What are dreams? Electrochemical events that involve the brainstem, areas of the cortex, and the eyes


What do we dream about?: What do we dream about? Dream content Most common themes: falling, being chased/attacked, repeatedly trying but failing to do something What influences the dreams we have Concerns of your everyday life External stimuli Yourself Lucid dreaming


Why do we dream?: Why do we dream? Wish fulfillment (Freud) Manifest content Latent content Activation-synthesis (Hobson & McCarley) Activation: random neural signals firing in the brainstem that spread up to the cortex Synthesis: the brain then creates images and stories in an effort to make sense out of these random signals So who’s right?


Sleep Disorders: Sleep Disorders Insomnia Chronic problems in getting good sleep Difficulty in falling asleep, staying asleep Causes Stress, depression, health problems Solutions Sedatives aren’t always effective and should never be a long-term solution!!! Don’t take naps during the day Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and cigarettes within 5 hrs before bedtime (avoid exercise within 2 hrs) Keep a rigid schedule – going to bed and waking up at the same time


Sleep Disorders: Sleep Disorders Hypersomnia Being sleepy during the day and sleeping too much at night Narcolepsy Parasomnias Sleep apnea Nightmares Night terrors Sleepwalking


Meditation: Meditation Procedure that uses mental exercises to achieve a highly focused state of consciousness TM Relaxation response Effects include: Increased self esteem & sense of control Overcoming insomnia, preventing smoking


Hypnosis: Hypnosis An induced state of consciousness Highly suggestible state Can influence thinking, feeling & behavior Franz Anton Mesmer Animal magnetism Two stages of hypnosis Induction suggestion


Hypnotic Susceptibility: Hypnotic Susceptibility Hilgard’s Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale Roughly 10% highly hypnotizable Roughly 10% not hypnotizable at all Effects of hypnosis Perceptual effects Altering smells Pain relief Cognitive effects Hypermnesia vs. psuedomemories Behavioral effects Posthypnotic suggestion


Chemically Altered Consciousness: Chemically Altered Consciousness Psychoactive drugs Induce changes in thinking, perception & behavior by affecting neuronal activity in the brain Four general categories Depressants Stimulants Hallucinogens Opiates