States of Consciousness: Dreams and Sleep Disorders

1. States of Consciousness: Dreams and Sleep Disorders

2. Definition of Consciousness • State of awarenessof ourselves and our world • It includes our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions

3. The Study of Consciousness • Psychologists believe consciousness is linked to talking and brain waves • All of us are conscious and aware of things outside of ourselves • People use selective attention when focusing on a particular thing

4. Levels of Consciousness • Preconscious Level • Ideas are not in your awareness, but you could recall them if you had to • The Unconsciousness Level • Information in the unconsciousness is not available to awareness • Freud believed we all use defense mechanisms to deal with feeling of anxiety, guilt and shame • The Non-conscious Level • Things are not aware of • Fingernails growing • Breathing

5. Divided Consciousness • The ability to divide consciousness allows us to perform more than one task at a time • Dangers: alcohol, drugs, hypnosis

6. Loss of Consciousness • Head trauma • Surgical anesthesia • Coma

7. Altered States of Consciousness • Daydreaming • Meditation, prayer • Hypnosis • Drug use

8. Sleeping and Dreaming • 1/3 of our lives we are asleep; hypothalamus regulates • Jet lag can highly affect

9. Sleep and Dreams • We all are governed by our biological clocks or circadian rhythms • This includes bodily changes, blood pressure, sleepiness, and wakefulness • This occurs every 24 hours • When people move from their day and night cycles the body will use a 24-25 hour clock

10. Stages of Sleep • There are four stages of sleep • Stage One • Lightest stage of sleep • Stage Two • Deeper sleep. But still easily awakened • Stage Three • Deep sleep with increasing brain activity • Stage Four • Deepest stage of sleep • Very active brain

12. Cont. Stage 5 • While sleeping we experience REM or rapid eye movement • Beneath our closed eye lids our eyes are moving rapidly • during 8 hours of sleep you will go through the stages of sleep at least 5 times

13. Brainwave Patterns During Wakefulness and Sleep. Tiny electrodes are attached to the eyelids to record REM sleep.

14. Changes in Sleep Patterns You can see from this chart that babies sleep quite a bit; consequently, they have a significant amount of REM time. As a person gets older, the amount of sleep that he or she needs decreases, along with the amount of REM time they need.

15. Freud and Dreams • Sigmund Freud theorized that dreams represent a form of wish fulfillment. He also believed that dreams contain symbols that underlie wishes that are usually sexual and/or aggressive. • Freud called dreams the “royal road to the unconscious.” He believed that dreams need to be interpreted. • Freud felt that dreams had two levels: the manifest level (the dream at face value) and the latent meaning (the hidden or disguised form).

16. Dream Theories • Freud believed that things in your dreams like trees, skyscrapers, snakes, and guns were symbols of male genitalia because they were phallic-shaped, while enclosed objects like closets and purses symbolize the female genitalia. • Psychologist R.D. Cartwright has suggested that we use dreams to solve personal problems. • Researcher Alan Hobson proposed a different model in which dreams are merely the results of every-day brain activity and have no profundo meaning.

17. Sleep Deprivation • One man reportedly stayed awake for 231 hours and was still lucid and capable of serious intellectual work. • He wrote a beautiful poem after ten days with no sleep. • He was an exception—most people need between 7-8 hours a night to feel completely rested and functional.

18. Sleep Deprivation • Special note: People using the drug Ecstasy often stay awake for many hours. • As people get older, they require less and less sleep. • causes or contributes to a significant amount of automobile accidents.

19. Sleep Disorders • Insomnia • Narcolepsy-falling asleep at unusual times • Apnea • Sleepwalking • Night terrors

21. Mike wearing a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) mask hooked to machine

22. Insomnia-a result of stress in most cases • Insomnia affects 15% of the adult population • 3 types: 1. Trouble getting to sleep 2. Trouble staying asleep 3. Trouble returning to sleep after awakening

23. Characteristicsof Insomnia Sufferers • Higher levels of autonomic nervous system activity • Higher anxiety/stress levels

24. Using Drugs to Induce Sleep • Sleeping pills and arousal • Habituation and tolerance • Melatonin- natural supplement that helps regulate the circadian rhythm sleep cycles

25. Melatonin’s other benefits • Gall bladder stones • Cancer • Depression • ADHD • Alzheimers

26. Things You Can Do to Sleep Better • Practice relaxation techniques • Avoid worrying about the day’s problems • Read your Bible before you go to bed • Pray and thank God for the positive things • Attitude of Gratitude • Establish a regular routine

27. Narcolepsy • A mirror image of insomnia • Rapid onset of REM sleep • May last up to 15 minutes • Dangers-sudden sleep

28. Sleep Apnea • extremely dangerous. • It affects more than 18 million American men, many of whom are usually overweight. • The word “apnea” means “without breath.” • A person who has sleep apnea may stop breathing as many as 500 times in one night.

29. Sleep Apnea • Often apnea is caused by a structural abnormality such as an overly thick palate or enlarged tonsils that block a person’s airways. Apnea sufferers usually have no memory of when they stop breathing. • These episodes can last for as long as 90 seconds. Surgery of the palate is sometimes helpful; so is elevating the head of one’s bed. In more extreme cases of apnea, a sufferer is hooked up to oxygen at night. • A common risk of apnea is high blood pressure. • Sufferers also usually snore very loudly because of restricted airways.

30. Nightmare Disorder (pesadillas) • often afflict children. • elaborate, story-like dreams that feel extremely threatening. • Themes in nightmares often include falling or being pursued by an unknown attacker. • Most nightmares take place during REM sleep and usually occur late at night or early in the morning, when periods of REM sleep are longer in duration. • Stress seems to be a contributing factor.

31. Night Terrors • much more intense than nightmares. • occur in deep sleep, not REM sleep. • The disorder affects males more than females, and children more than men. • Night terrors often begin with loud, panicky screams.

32. Night Terrors • There seems to be an association between night terrors and victims of delayed stress, such as combat veterans. • People who suffer from night terrors may sit up in bed with their hearts pounding, breathing rapidly. They may also talk incoherently and move wildly. • Many attacks can occur over the course of a night. Tranquilizers can sometimes help.

33. Sleepwalking • occurs most commonly among children—about 5% of all children have a sleepwalking disorder. • remains sound asleep while moving about with their eyes open and an expressionlesslook on his/her face. • Usually no memory of the episode. .

34. Sleepwalking • It is not harmful to awaken a sleepwalker. • Many children grow out of the disorder. • occurs in deep sleep, with episodes occurring typically during the dreamless, non-REM stage.