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Consciousness
A concept with many meanings, including sensory awareness of the world outside, direct inner awareness of one's thoughts and feelings, personal unity, and the waking state
Selective attention: the focus of one's consciousness on a particular stimulus
Direct inner awareness: knowledge of one's own thoughts, feelings, and memories without the use of sensory organs
Preconscious: material is not currently in awareness but is readily available
unconscious: ideas and feelings unavailable to awareness
repression: the automatic ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas, impulses, or images from awareness
Suppression: the deliberate or conscious, placing of certain ideas, impulses, or images out of awareness
Sleep is a state marked by relatively low levels of physical activity and reduced sensory awareness that is distinct from periods of rest that occur during wakefulness.
Wakefulness is characterized by high levels of sensory awareness, thought, and behavior.
States of consciousness or levels of awareness
focused awareness:
focused awareness: A state of heightened alertness in which one is fully absorbed in the task at hand.
drifting consciousness:
drifting consciousness: A state of awareness characterized by drifting thoughts or mental imagery.
daydreaming: A form of consciousness during a waking state in which one’s mind wanders to dreamy thoughts or fantasies.
divided consciousness:
divided consciousness: A state of awareness characterized by divided attention to two or more tasks or activities performed at the same time.
inattentional blindness: The failure to notice something right in front of your eyes because your attention is directed elsewhere.
Changes in the level of ordinary awareness in the waking state are called altered states of consciousness. Altered states of consciousness may occur when we daydream, meditate or undergo hypnosis, or use mind-altering drugs like alcohol and marijuana.
Biological rhythms are internal rhythms of biological activity
Sleep
circadian rhythm: The pattern of fluctuations in bodily processes that occur regularly each day.
A small area of the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is an internal body clock that regulates our sleep–wake cycles
Melatonin:
Stages of Sleep
non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM):the first four stages of sleep
Rapid Eye movement sleep (REM): fifth stage of sleep. The stage of sleep that involves rapid eye movements and that is most closely associated with periods of dreaming.
Awake but relaxed: emits alpha waves
Alpha waves: rapid low-amplitude brain waves that have been linked to feelings of relaxation
Stages 1-4:
Stage 1 sleep: brain waves become small and irregular with varying frequencies. The sleeper can be easily awakened during this stage
Stage 2: sleep begins about 2 minutes after Stage 1 sleep and is characterized by bursts of brain wave activity represented by spindle-shaped waves called sleep spindles. People spend more than half of their sleep time in Stage 2 sleep. the person can still be readily awakened.
Stage 3 and Stage 4: called delta sleep or slow-wave sleep (SWS). Characterized by the appearance of large, slow brain waves called delta waves. This is the period of deep sleep in which it is difficult to awaken the person. In Stage 3, delta waves constitute 50 percent or fewer of the brain wave patterns; in Stage 4, they constitute more than 50 percent.
Sleep cycles generally repeat about every 90 minutes. The average person has about four or five sleep cycles during a night’s sleep
Purposes of Sleep:
rejuvenates the body, recover from stress, consolidate learning, and promotes development of infant's brain
According to the center for disease control, adults require between 7 and 9 hours of sleep to feel fully refreshed and to function at their best
Dreams
Produce imagery in the absence of external stimulation
Activation-synthesis hypothesis: The proposition that dreams represent the brain’s attempt to make sense of the random discharges of electrical activity that occur during REM sleep.
lucid dreams: Dreams in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming.
Theories of dreams:
Sigmund Freud believed dreams represent a form of wish fulfillment. Dreams are expressed in the form of symbols that represent a sleeper’s deeper or underlying wishes, usually of a sexual or aggressive nature. He called dreams the “royal road” to the unconscious mind.
Continuity hypothesis: the view that the content of dreams tends to be consistent with previous cognitive activity. dreams involve memories of activities or problems of the day.
Sleep-wake Disorders
insomnia: Difficulty falling asleep, remaining asleep, or returning to sleep after nighttime awakenings.
narcolepsy: A sleep–wake disorder characterized by sudden unexplained “sleep attacks” during the day.
sleep apnea: Temporary cessation of breathing during sleep.
nightmare disorder: A type of sleep–wake disorder involving a pattern of frequent, disturbing nightmares.
sleep terror disorder: A type of sleep– wake disorder involving repeated episodes of intense fear during sleep, causing the person to awake abruptly in a terrified state.
sleepwalking disorder: A sleep–wake disorder characterized by repeated episodes of sleepwalking.
parasomnia is one of a group of sleep disorders in which unwanted, disruptive motor activity and/ or experiences during sleep play a role
restless leg syndrome has uncomfortable sensations in the legs during periods of inactivity or when trying to fall asleep
Playlist of youtube videos on consciousness from PsychExamReview
All about sleep and dreams from the sleep foundation
Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep
Understand sleep from the National Institute of Neurological disorders and stroke
Information on REM sleep and dreams
Unit 5: States of Consciousness
information on the stages of consciousness from Canon city High school
All about sleep disorders from webmd