Consciousness

McGonigle

Intro to Psychology

Narcolepsy

• Rare sleep disorder- one falls asleep immediately no matter what time it is or where they are.

• Muscles completely relax and they are in REM sleep.

• Drug therapy + frequent naps have been used to treat narcolepsy.

Consciousness- Sensory Awareness

• Sights, sounds, smells (rain, teacher’s voice, pizza in the café, etc.)

• Selective attention- focusing on particular stimulus and blocking out any distractions.

• Unusual stimuli (’99) – Intense stimuli (ys)

Consciousness- Direct Inner Awareness

• Poolside, lakeside, oceanside- we are conscious of water before going in..

• Aware of emotions such as anger, of memories of friends, of abstract concepts such as fairness, justice, love, etc.

Consciousness as sense of self

• As we grow older, we are aware that we are unique individuals , separate from other people and surroundings.

• “Maevie likes playgrounds” – 3rd person

Levels of Consciousness

• Preconscious- What did you wear yesterday? Ideas are not in your awareness now, but you could recall them if you had to.

• You can direct your inner awareness, or attention to them.

Unconscious Level

• Information stored in unconscious/subconscious is unavailable to awareness under most circumstances.(hidden)

• Freud• Defense mechanisms- we use these mental

strategies to push painful memories out of our consciousness. This protects us from feelings of guilt, anxiety & shame.

Nonconscious level

• Basic Biological Functions:

• Fingernails growing

• Eyes adjusting to light

• Blinking

• Breathing- exchanging CO2 w/ O2

Altered States of Consciousness

• Sense of self or sense of the world changes

• Sleeping• Influence of Drugs• Meditation• Hypnosis

Circadian Rhythms

• Latin – “ About/around a day”

• Speaks to bodily changes throughout the day

• Body temp – lowest at 3 am – 5 am

• Late afternoon (4-6) – HC practice- low energy in circadian rhythm.

Stages of Sleep

• EEG – beta waves (short & quick) when awake, alpha waves when drowsy are longer and slower.

• Stage 1: Light sleep, brain waves slow from alpha waves to theta waves, dreamlike images. (powernap)

Stages of Sleep (Cont’d)

• Stage 1 : lasts 30-40 minutes.

• Stage 2: move into deep sleep.

• Stages 3-4: Sleep is deep & the brain produces delta waves- the slowest of the 4 patterns.

• Stage 4: Greatest difficulty waking up in this stage.

Levels of Sleep

• Half an hour of Stage 4 Sleep

• We return to stages 3,2, and 1 ( 90:00)

• Our heartbeat now rises + we go to REM sleep.

REM – “ not the band”

• Rapid Eye Movement – dream state

• Go through 5 stages of REM sleep

• Periods of REM get longer as night progresses

• NREM – Non – REM sleep

Why do we need Sleep?

• Physical – Helps to revive the tired body+ build up resistance to infection.

• Psychologically- It helps us to recover from stress, we need more sleep w/ more stressors.

Gardner Experiment – w/out sleep

• Randy Gardner – stayed awake 11 days- (’64)

• Became irritable, could not focus eyes,memory lapses, & speech difficulties.

• Film – discusses image of a frog boiling as compared to chronic insomnia.

Dreams

• It is during REM sleep that we have the most vivid dreams.

• Can be black & white or color.

• REM dreams- clear images & plots that make sense.

• NREM dreams- plots are vaguer & images more fleeting.

Freudian View on Dreams

• Freud- Dreams reveal what you really want.• Reveal one’s unconscious wishes & urges.• Some unconscious wishes are

unacceptable , perhaps even painful.

• Those most likely would appear in dreams- sometimes as symbols.

Biopsychological Approach

• During sleep- neurons fire in the brain that controls movement & vision.

• These neuron bursts are random & the brain tries to make sense of them.

• It does so by weaving a story – the dream.

Insomnia

• Inability to sleep – “insomnus”

• More likely to worry & have racing thoughts at bedtime.

• Increases during periods of anxiety & tension + decreases during less stressful periods.

Fighting Insomnia

• 1- Tense muscles one at a time- then let the tension go.

• 2- Avoid worrying in bed, if worrying persists, get up for a while.

• 3- Establish a routine, especially for getting up + going to bed.

• 4- Use pleasant images or daydreams to relax.

Nightmares

• Like most other dreams, are products of REM sleep.

• Those keeping diaries generally state that they have 2 nightmares a month.

• Upsetting events can produce nightmares such as an earthquake or 911.

Night Terrors

• More severe than nightmares

• Dreamers- feel hearts racing & gasp for air.

• Unlike nightmares- memories of night terrors are rare.

• Mostly occur with young children.

Sleep Apnea

• Breathing interruption that occurs during sleep.

• Do not start breathing until they sit up and gasp for air.

• Do not wake up completely, not aware of what happened during the night.

• They often feel tired during the day.

Study Guide

• Consciousness• Preconscious• Unconscious/Sub• Nonconscious• Altered states of con.• Circadian Rhythms• EEG• Beta/alpha/theta/delta

waves

• Stage 1/2/3/4 sleep• REM sleep• NREM sleep• Gardner experiment• Dreams• Freudian view on

dreams• Biopsychological view• Sleep disorders