Understanding States of Consciousness: The Science of Awareness and Sleep Patterns

1. Chapter 5 States of Consciousness

2. Consciousness • Awareness of Internal and External Stimuli including: • External events • Internal sensations • Yourself as the unique being having these experiences • Your thoughts about these experiences • All the sensations, perceptions, memories, and feelings you are aware of in any instant • Waking Consciousness: • Normal, clear, organized, alertness • Altered State of Consciousness (ASC): • Changes that occur in quality and pattern of mental activity • May be due to sensory overload, unusual physical conditions, and restricted sensory input • EXAMPLES: • Sleep: Innate, biological rhythm • Microsleep: Brief shift in brain-wave patterns similar to those during sleep • Daydreams

3. Rhythms of Consciousness • Biological Rhythm: Any repeating cycle of biological activity • Sleep Patterns: • Daily rhythms of sleep and waking • Short sleepers: • People averaging 5 hours of sleep per night • Long sleepers: • People who sleep 9 hours or more per night • Circadian Rhythms: • Bodily changes that occur every 24 hours

4. Circadian Rhythms • 24 hr biological cycles of physiological functions found in humans and other species • Regulate sleep/other body functions • Melatonin – hormone closely associated with the regulation of circadian rhythms may be used as a treatment for the following • Jet lag – disruption of normal sleep/wake patterns due to crossing time zones may lead to fatigue, irritability, and poor performance • Shift Rotation – continuous changes on the sleep/wake pattern may lead to a type of jet lag

5. Instruments used to study patterns of sleep: • Electroencephalograph (EEG): Amplifies and records electrical activity in the brain • Electromyograph – measures muscle activity • Electrooculograph – measures eye movements • Observation of other bodily functions

6. Measuring Sleep Patterns • Beta Waves (13-24 cps): • Small fast brainwaves associated with being alert and awake • Alpha Waves (8-12 cps): • deep relaxation, meditation • Theta Waves (4-7 cps): • light sleep • Delta Waves (<4 cps): • deep sleep Samples of EEG readings for each stage of sleep.

7. Stages of Sleep • There are 4 stages of sleep • Stage 1: • Alpha waves - Small, irregular brainwaves produced in light sleep (people may or may not say they were asleep) • Hypnic Jerk: • Reflex muscle contraction • Stage 2: • Theta Waves • Deeper sleep • Sleep spindles • (bursts of distinctive brain-wave activity) appear • Stage 3: • Theta Waves (may have some delta waves) • Deeper sleep • Delta waves (very large and slow) appear • Stage 4: • Almost purely Delta waves • Deepest level of normal sleep

8. Two Basic Kinds of Sleep • Rapid Eye Movements (REM): • Fast, irregular EEG patterns • Associated with dreaming • Sleep is very light (usually stage 1) • Body is very still during REM sleep (sleep “paralysis”) • Lack of muscle paralysis during REM sleep is called REM Behavioral Disorder • Non-REM Sleep • Occurs during stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 • No rapid eye movement occurs • Seems to help us recover from daily fatigue • Dream free almost 90% of the time • EEG patterns return to Stage 1 at the end of each non-REM segment

9. Section 2: Common Sleep Problems • Sleep Deprivation: • Sleep loss • Being deprived of needed amounts of sleep • Affects attention, mood, and health • Sleep-Deprivation Psychosis: • Confusion, disorientation, delusions, and hallucinations that occur because of sleep loss • Complete deprivation • 3 or 4 days max before sleep, unconsciousness, or death may occur • Partial deprivation or sleep restriction • impaired attention, reaction time, coordination, and decision making • accidents: Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez • Selective deprivation • When deprived REM and slow-wave sleep few effects are seen while awake however a rebound effect causing us to spend more time in REM sleep is seen

10. Section 2: Sleep Disturbances • Insomnia: • Difficulty in getting to sleep or staying asleep • Sleeping pills exacerbate insomnia • Cause decrease in REM and Stage 4 sleep and may cause dependency • Temporary Insomnia: • Brief period of sleeplessness caused by worry, stress, and excitement • Avoid fighting it and read a book, for example, until you’re struggling to stay awake • Chronic Insomnia: • Exists if sleeping troubles last for more than three weeks • Behavioral treatments work best, however more often drugs are prescribed • Drug-Dependency Insomnia: • Sleeplessness that follows withdrawal from sleeping pills • Therefore drugs are not the best treatment for chronic insomnia

11. Treatment of Insomnia • Sedative drugs are often used • May be used to often and cause dependence • May actually increase the problem in the long run • Ironically sedatives may disrupt the normal sleep cycle by reducing slow-wave and REM sleep • Newer drugs have fewer of these side effects • Relaxation/Behavioral techniques • Just as effective as medications in the short term • Produce longer lasting effects • Problematic Cycles • Use of sedatives develops dependence on the drug to fall asleep • Anxiety caused by the inability to sleep causes the person to be unable to sleep

12. Behavioral Treatments for Insomnia • Stimulus Control: • Establish regular schedule by linking a response with specific stimuli • Sleep Restriction: • Do not sleep late, nap more than one hour, sleep during evening or go to bed early • Paradoxical Intention: • Remove pressures of trying to go to sleep • Relaxation: • Use a physical or mental strategy for relaxing • Exercise: • Strenuous exercise during the day promotes sleep • Food Intake: • Try eating a starchy snack before sleep to increase amount of tryptophan in brain • Stimulants: • Avoid caffeine and cigarettes

13. More Types of Sleep Disturbances • Sleepwalking (Somnambulism): • Occurs in NREM sleep during Stages 3 and 4 • Gently guide person back to bed • Sleeptalking: • Speaking while asleep • Occurs in NREM sleep • Sexsomnia: • Attempting to have sex with someone while sleeping

14. Nightmares: • Bad dreams that occur during REM sleep • May occur once or twice a month • Brief and easily remembered • Imagery Rehearsal: • Mentally rehearse the changed dream before you go to sleep again • May help to eliminate nightmares • Night Terrors: • Total panic and often hallucinations of frightening dream images may occur • Occurs during Stage 4 sleep • Most common in childhood; may occur in adults • Not remembered

15. Narcolepsy • Sudden, irresistible sleep attacks • Last from a few minutes to half an hour • Triggered by emotional excitement • Narcoleptics may also suffer from cataplexy • Sudden temporary paralysis of muscles • May be treated with sodium oxybate

16. Physiological Sleep Problems • Sleep Apnea: • Repeated interrupted breathing during sleep • Cause of very loud snoring • Associated with many heath problems including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and death • Apnea can be treated by • Surgery • Weight loss • Breathing mask • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome – related to sleep apnea • Sudden, unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant (healthy infants should sleep on back or on side to try to prevent) • May be due to weak arousal reflex • Also known as Crib Death

17. Practical Sleep Issues • Amount of sleep needed varies with age, on average adults need 7.5 hours of sleep to function normally. • Naps can be beneficial if they do not interfere with nighttime sleep. • The internal alarm clock (that can be set for any time, not to be confused with circadian rhythms) is a myth. • Yawning is not caused by a need for oxygen but rather a signal of sleepiness and boredom. • Snoring disrupts the sleep of oneself and others and may be aggravated by colds, allergies, smoking. Snoring is associated with sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease. • For a better night’s sleep: • Avoid naps if you have trouble sleeping at night • Exercise • Minimize consumption of stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine • Avoid consumption of alcohol • Establish a routine bedtime and ritual • Don’t overreact to the occasional poor night’s sleep

18. Section 2: Dreams • Mental experiences during sleep, typically associated with REM sleep but not limited to this stage • Content usually familiar, although we are more likely to remember a dream the is unusual or frightening • Common themes are prevalent in many dreams (ex. food, falling, sex) • Usually self-centered • The daily residue (events or issues) of our lives spills over into our dreams • Those issues we try to forget may show up more often in dreams • Most people dream four or five times a night • Not everyone remembers dreams • Most dreams reflect everyday events • Most people report more unpleasant dreams, but these may be easier to remember

19. Dream Theories • Psychodynamic (Freudian) Theory: • Emphasizes internal conflicts, motives, and unconscious forces • Wish Fulfillment: • Freudian belief that many dreams are expressions of unconscious desires • Much evidence to refute this • Dream Symbols - Images that have a deeper symbolic meaning • Manifest content – plot of the dream at the surface level • Latent content – hidden meaning of the dream • Cognitive, Problem Solving (Cartwright) – we use dreams to work out daily problems • Activation-synthesis (Hobson & McCarley) – dreams are the by-product of bursts of activity from the brain (“wide-awake” waves periodically produced during sleep) • Dream content may be affected by motor commands in the brain during sleep that are not carried out

20. Dream Interpretation • Freud: Four dream processes (mental filters) that hide true meanings of dreams • Condensation: Combining several people, objects, or events into a single dream image • Displacement: Directing emotions or actions toward safe or unimportant dream images • Symbolization: Non-literal expression of dream content • Secondary Elaboration: Making a dream more logical and adding details while remembering it

21. Section 4: Drugs and Altered States of Consciousness • Psychoactive Drug: • Substance capable of altering your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors (Ex. attention, judgment, memory, time sense, self-control, emotion, or perception) • Three major classifications… • Stimulant: • Substance that increases activity in body and nervous system • Depressant: • Substance that decreases activity in body and nervous system • Hallucinogen: • Substance that alters or distorts sensory impressions

22. Stimulants • Amphetamine: • Synthetic stimulants that excite nervous system • Dexedrine and Methamphetamine are two types of stimulants • Amphetamine Psychosis: • Loss of contact with reality because of amphetamine use • User tends to have paranoid delusions

23. Cocaine • Central Nervous System stimulant derived from leaves of coca plant; also used as local anesthetic • From 1886-1906, Coca-Cola did indeed have cocaine in it! • Highly addictive drug • Increases dopamine and noradrenaline • Anhedonia (Inability to Feel Pleasure): • Common after cocaine withdrawal

24. MDMA (Ecstasy) • Methylenedioxymethamphetamine • Chemically similar to amphetamine • Causes brain to release extra serotonin • Created by small variations in a drug’s structure • May cause severe liver damage and fatal heat exhaustion • Repeated use damages serotonergic brain cells, increases anxiety and depression, and leads to memory impairment

25. Caffeine • Most frequently used psychoactive drug in North America • Present in colas, chocolate, coffee, tea • Causes tremors, sweating, talkativeness, tinnitus, suppresses fatigue or sleepiness, increases alertness • May be hazardous to pregnant women if used excessively • May cause birth defects • Abuse of Caffeine • Caffeinism: • Physiological dependence on caffeine • Symptoms include: Insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, chills, racing heart, elevated body temperature • Health Risks: • Breast cysts in women, bladder cancer, heart problems, and high blood pressure

26. Nicotine • Natural stimulant found mainly in tobacco; known carcinogen • In large doses it causes stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, tremors • Addictive • Smoking responsible for 97% of lung cancer deaths in men, 74% in women • Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco lead to many cancers, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and reproductive disorders

27. Sedatives • Barbiturates: • Sedative drugs that depress brain activity • Seconal and Amytal are two types • GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate): • Central Nervous System (CNS) depressant that relaxes and sedates • Combination of degreasing solvent and drain cleaner • Sedative effects may result in nausea, loss of muscle control, and either sleep or a loss of consciousness • Inhibits gag reflex, so some choke to death on their own vomit • Addictive and deadly

28. Tranquilizers: • Lower anxiety and reduce tension • Valium, Xanax, Halcion, and Librium are four types • Rohypnol: • Related to Valium; lowers inhibitions and produces relaxation or intoxication; larger doses can induce short-term amnesia and sleep • Date rape drug because it’s odorless and tasteless (“Roofies”) • Abuse of tranquilizers • May lead to physical dependence and severe emotional depression • Drug Interaction: • One drug increases the effect of another

29. Alcohol (Ethyl Alcohol): • Intoxicating element in fermented and distilled liquors • NOT a stimulant but DOES lower inhibitions • Patterns of Drinking • Binge Drinking: • Consuming five or more drinks in a short time, or four or more for women • Serious sign of alcohol abuse • May lead to up to 10 percent loss of brain power, especially memory • Moderate Drinking: • Drink slowly, eat, limit drinking to first hour of event

30. Treatment for Alcohol Abuse and Dependence • Detoxification: • Withdrawal of the person from alcohol • Occurs in a medical setting and is tightly controlled • Oftentimes necessary before long-term treatment begins • Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) • Worldwide self-help organization composed of recovering alcoholics; emphasizes admitting powerlessness over alcohol usage and wanting to recover • Spiritual component • Free; around for over 70 years! • Rational Recovery, and Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS): Non-spiritual AA Alternatives

31. Hallucinogens • Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD): • Hallucinogen that can produce hallucinations and psychotic disturbances in thinking and perception • Mescaline (Peyote) and Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms) • PCP (Angel Dust): • Initially can have hallucinogenic effects • Also an anesthetic and has stimulant and depressant effects

32. Cannabis Sativa (Marijuana; Pot): • Leaves and flowers of the hemp plant • Active chemical: THC • Effects: relaxation, time distortion, perceptual distortions • Psychologically, NOT physiologically, addictive • Health Risks • Can cause precancerous changes in lung cells as well as increased risk of prostate and cervical cancer • Can suppress immune system, increasing risk of disease • Activity levels in the cerebellum are lower than normal in pot users • Pot may damage some of the brain’s memory centers Rat brain on pot!

33. Dependence • Psychoactive drugs work by altering neurotransmitter activities • Physical Dependence: • Addiction based on drug tolerance and withdrawal symptoms • Drug Tolerance: • Reduction in body’s response to a drug • Withdrawal Symptoms: • Physical illness following withdrawal of the drug • Psychological Dependence: • Drug dependence based on psychological or emotional needs

34. Table 5.3 Psychoactive Drugs: Tolerance, Dependence, Potential for Fatal Overdose, and Health Risks