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PSYCHOLOGY
SLEEP
Altered States of Consciousness
Consciousness & Information
Processing
The unconscious mind processes information
simultaneously on multiple tracks, while the conscious
mind processes information sequentially.
Conscious mind
Unconscious mind
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Different Levels of Consciousness
The Preconscious Level
The Unconscious Level
• Preconscious thought is stored
knowledge that is retrievable into
conscious awareness.
• Information stored in the
unconscious level is unavailable
to awareness under most
circumstances.
The Nonconscious Level
Altered States of
Consciousness
• The nonconscious level refers to
bodily processes, such as the
growing of hair, of which we are
not aware.
• In altered states of
consciousness, a person’s sense
of self or sense of the world
changes.
• Examples: sleep and hypnosis
Sleep & Dreams
Sleep – the irresistible tempter to whom we
inevitably succumb.
Mysteries about sleep and dreams have just started
unraveling in sleep laboratories around the world.
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Sleep & Dreams
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Disc Jockey – Peter Tripp
Sleep is a state of altered consciousness
Consciousness – a state of awareness, including
a person’s feelings, sensations, ideas and
perceptions
Consciousness ranges from alertness to nonalertness
Sleep has been difficult to study until recently
EEG – electroencephalograph – records electrical
activity in the brain
Why do we sleep?
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Sleep is characterized by unresponsiveness to
the environment and usually limited physical
mobility.
Some people believe sleep is used to “recharge
their batteries.”
Others believe sleep is a primitive hibernation to
conserve energy.
Some believe we slept at night to stay out of
harm’s way.
Some researchers believe we sleep to clear our
minds and dream.
Sleep Theories
1. Sleep Protects: Sleeping in the darkness when
predators loomed about kept our ancestors out
of harm’s way.
2. Sleep Recuperates: Sleep helps restore and
repair brain tissue.
3. Sleep Helps Remembering: Sleep restores and
rebuilds our fading memories.
4. Sleep and Growth: During sleep, the pituitary
gland releases growth hormone. Older people
release less of this hormone and sleep less.
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The Importance of Sleep and Dreams
• People need sleep to revive the tired body and build up resistance to
infection.
• Sleep may help people recover from stress and consolidate memories.
• REM sleep seems to help animals and people learn, remember, and retain
information.
Dreams
The Freudian View
• REM sleep is when we have the most
vivid dreams.
• People dream in color and in black and
white.
• People seem to dream in “real time.”
• People do not always remember their
dreams.
• Sigmund Freud theorized that dreams
reflect a person’s unconscious wishes
and urges.
• He also believed people dream in
symbols as a way to deal with painful
material they cannot otherwise deal
with consciously.
Sleep Stages
Measuring sleep: About every 90 minutes, we
pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages.
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Hank Morgan/ Rainbow
Stages of Sleep
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As you sleep several things happen:
 Body
temperature decreases
 Pulse rate drops
 Eyes close
 Body may twitch and eyes may roll
 Brief visual images flash across your mind
 EEG shows alpha waves which are associated
with absence of concentrated thought &
relaxation.
Sleep Stages 1-2
During early, light sleep (stages 1-2) the brain
enters a high-amplitude, slow, regular wave form
called theta waves (5-8 cps). A person who is
daydreaming shows theta activity.
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Theta Waves
Early Stages of Sleep
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Stage 1
 Pulse
slows more and muscles relax
 Breathing becomes uneven and brain waves
grow irregular.
 Lasts up to 10 minutes
 If awakened you would report that you were
just drifting
Early Stages of Sleep
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Stage II
 Eyes
roll slowly from side to side
 Lasts about 30 minutes
 Stage
III
 Large
amplitude delta waves begin to sweep your
brain every second.
Sleep Stages 3-4
During deepest sleep (stages 3-4), brain activity
slows down. There are large-amplitude, slow
delta waves (1.5-4 cps).
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Later Stages of Sleep
Stage IV is the deepest stage of all.
 Hard to wake and will be disoriented if
awakened
 Talking, sleepwalking & bedwetting occur
during this stage with no memory
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REM Sleep
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Rapid Eye Movement (REM)- active sleep
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Pulse & breathing become irregular
Adrenal & sexual hormone levels rise
Face & fingers twitch while large muscles are
paralyzed
Brain waves similar to that of an awake person
Lasts 15-45 minutes
Entire sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes
Stage IV sleep decreases with each cycle while REM
sleep increases until you wake up
Stage 5: REM Sleep
After reaching the deepest sleep stage (4), the
sleep cycle starts moving backward towards stage
1. Although still asleep, the brain engages in lowamplitude, fast and regular beta waves (15-40 cps)
much like awake-aroused state.
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A person during this sleep exhibits
Rapid Eye Movements (REM)
and reports vivid dreams.
Brain Waves During Sleep
Frequency of Sleep Stages
90-Minute Cycles During Sleep
With each 90-minute cycle, stage 4 sleep decreases
and the duration of REM sleep increases.
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How Much Sleep?
Amount needed varies considerably
 Newborns sleep up to 16 hours while 70
years and older may sleep only 5 hours
 Circadian rhythm – biological clock that is
genetically programmed to regulate
physiological responses during the day
 Missing sleep disrupts this rhythm (jet lag)
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Sleep Disorders
Insomnia
 Sleep Apnea
 Narcolepsy
 Nightmares & Night Terrors
 Sleepwalking & Sleep Talking
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Why do we sleep?
We spend one-third of
our lives sleeping.
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Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./ Corbis
If an individual
remains awake for
several days, they
deteriorate in terms of
immune function,
concentration, and
accidents.
Sleep Deprivation
1. Fatigue and subsequent death.
2. Impaired concentration.
3. Emotional irritability.
4. Depressed immune system.
5. Greater vulnerability.
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Insomnia
Insomnia – a prolonged and usually
abnormal inability to obtain adequate
sleep
 Do not feel rested the next day
 Insomnia has many causes including
anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug use
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Accidents
Frequency of accidents increase with loss of sleep
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Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea – a sleep disorder in which a
person has trouble breathing while sleeping
 Identified by snoring that lasts 10-15 seconds
then ends suddenly with a movement of the
body
 During this time the person is actually choking
which triggers breathing reflexes
 Affects 1% of population, especially older and
obese persons
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QcmK24ZNyQ
Sleep Labs
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy – a condition characterized by
suddenly falling asleep or feeling very sleepy
during the day
 Feel like you are having dreamlike hallucinations
and/or temporary paralysis
 Sleep attacks occur accompanied by brief
periods of REM sleep.
 Victims have trouble with work, relationships,
leisure and are prone to accidents.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN1_yS6_5T4
Nightmares & Night Terrors
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Nightmares occur during the dream phase of
REM sleep
Person usually wakes with a vivid movie-like
memory of the dream.
Night terrors occur during Stage IV sleep and
can last 5-20 minutes.
May involve sweating, screaming, confusion and
a rapid heart rate.
May wake suddenly and usually have no
memory of night terrors
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking – walking or carrying out
behaviors while sleeping.
 Usually occurs among children who
outgrow it.
 Typically have no memory of event.
 Has been associated with stress, fatigue
and the use of sedatives
 Usually harmless unless a fall occurs
 It is not dangerous to wake sleepwalkers
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Sleep Talking
Common sleep disruption
 Most people talk in their sleep and do not
remember doing so
 Can occur during various stages and can
be one word or several words.
 Can possibly engage them in conversation
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Dreams
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Dreams – mental activity that takes place during sleep
Many dreams are not remembered.
Sleep researchers wake people during the night to
record their dreams.
Early dreams are brief and vague while later dreams are
more vivid and dramatic.
The last dream is usually the longest and the one people
remember.
People deprived of REM sleep will increase their amount
of time in REM sleep making it appear that dreaming is
necessary.
Dreams
600 hours of dreams per year
 1500 dreams per year
 100,000 dreams in your lifetime
 8-10 dreams are negative
 1-10 male dreams are sexual in nature
 1-30 female dreams are sexual in nature
 65% of male dreams contain men
 50% of female dreams contain men
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Content of Dreams
Most dreams collected by researchers are
common and dull.
 Most dreams incorporate everyday
activities.
 Dreams usually have a large % of
negative or unpleasant emotions.
 Dreams correspond to a realistic time
scale and do not occur in a split second.
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What do we Dream?
Negative Emotional Content: 8 out of 10
dreams have negative emotional content.
2. Failure Dreams: People commonly dream
about failure, being attacked, pursued,
rejected, or struck with misfortune.
3. Sexual Dreams: Contrary to our thinking,
sexual dreams are sparse. Sexual dreams in
men are 1 in 10; and in women 1 in 30.
4. Dreams of Gender: Women dream of men
and women equally; men dream more about
men than women.
1.
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Why do we dream?
1.
2.
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Wish Fulfillment: Sigmund Freud suggested
that dreams provide a psychic safety valve to
discharge unacceptable feelings. The dream’s
manifest (apparent) content may also have
symbolic meanings (latent content) that signify
our unacceptable feelings.
Information Processing: Dreams may help sift,
sort, and fix a day’s experiences in our
memories.
Why do we dream?
3.
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Physiological
Function: Dreams
provide the sleeping
brain with periodic
stimulation to
develop and preserve
neural pathways.
Neural networks of
newborns are quickly
developing; therefore,
they need more sleep.
Why do we dream?
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Activation-Synthesis Theory: Suggests that the
brain engages in a lot of random neural
activity. Dreams make sense of this activity.
Cognitive Development: Some researchers
argue that we dream as a part of brain
maturation and cognitive development.
All dream researchers believe we need REM sleep. When
deprived of REM sleep and then allowed to sleep,
we show increased REM sleep called REM Rebound.
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Dream Interpretation
Many believe dreams contain hidden
meanings including Freud.
 Some scientists feel dreaming is just brain
activity with little meaning.
 Others believe dreams are meeting with
spirits, a way of address problems, or
removing unpleasant thoughts.
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Dream Theory
Daydreaming
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Involves low level of awareness and involves
fantasizing but directed thinking while we are
awake.
Daydream when we are bored or in situations
that require little attention.
Reminds us of or prepares us for future events.
Improve creativity and generates thought
process.
Some psychologists believe daydreaming helps
us control our emotions.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis
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http://iddiokrysto.blog.excite.it
A social interaction in
which one person (the
hypnotist) suggests to
another (the subject)
that certain
perceptions, feelings,
thoughts, or behaviors
will spontaneously
occur.
Hypnos: Greek god of sleep
Hypnosis
Victor Rausch
 Hypnosis – a state of consciousness
resulting from a narrowed focus of
attention and characterized by heightened
suggestibility
 May recall forgotten incidents
 Hypnosis does not put a person to sleep.
 People become highly receptive and
responsive to internal and external stimuli.
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Hypnosis
Helps to relax and focus on one tiny
aspect of reality while ignoring others.
 Can be convinced to do things that one
would not normally do
 Psychologists try to solve problems or
learn more about how the mind works.
 Mutual trust is important for hypnosis to
be successful.
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Hypnosis
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Barber feels that if people try hard they can do
what they would if hypnotized.
Hypnotism reveals that people often have
potential abilities they do not use.
Used by athletes
Posthypnotic suggestion – a suggestion made
during hypnosis that influences the participant’s
behavior afterward.
Used to reduce pain, quit smoking & lose
weight.
Aspects of Hypnosis
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Posthypnotic Suggestion: Suggestion carried
out after the subject is no longer hypnotized.
2.
Posthypnotic Amnesia: Supposed inability to
recall what one experienced during hypnosis.
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Hypnotic Feats
Strength, stamina, and perceptual and memory
abilities similarly affect those who are
hypnotized and those who are not
hypnotized.
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Facts and Falsehood
Those who practice hypnosis agree that its power
resides in the subject’s openness to suggestion.
Can anyone experience hypnosis?
Yes, to some extent.
Can hypnosis enhance recall of
forgotten events?
No.
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Facts and Falsehood
Can hypnosis force people to act
against their will?
No.
Can hypnosis be therapeutic?
Yes. Self-suggestion
can heal too.
Can hypnosis alleviate pain?
Yes. Lamaze can do
that too.
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Hypnosis: Myths and Realities
Hypnosis is a condition in which people appear to be highly
suggestible and to behave as if they are in a trance. Some
psychologists believe that hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness.
Others wonder whether hypnosis is truly an altered state of
consciousness.
The History of Hypnosis
Achieving Hypnosis
• Hypnosis dates back to the late
1700s with the work of Franz
Mesmer.
• Today doctors and psychologists
use hypnosis in a variety of ways:
as an anesthetic, to help reduce
anxiety, manage pain, or overcome
fears.
• Professional hypnotists may put
people into a hypnotic trance by
asking them to focus on something
specific.
• People who are easily hypnotized
are said to have hypnotic
suggestibility.
Meditation
Meditation – the focusing of attention to
clear one’s mind and produce relaxation
 Various types of meditation have been
used for thousands of years.
 Researchers generally agree that
meditation provides benefits through
relaxation.
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The Uses of Hypnosis
Hypnosis and Memory
• Hypnosis is not a reliable approach to help people remember details
of a crime.
• Many psychologists argue that material recalled under hypnosis
should not be used as testimony in trials.
Hypnosis and Pain Prevention
• Hypnosis has been used to help people prevent pain.
• A similar effect can be achieved through relaxation techniques and
breathing exercises.
Hypnosis and Quitting Bad Habits
• Therapists may use posthypnotic suggestion to help people quit a
bad habit.
• In posthypnotic suggestion, the therapist gives instruction during
the hypnosis that the patient is to carry out after the session has
ended.
Interesting Sleep Notes
1989 Michael Doucette – safest teen
driver
 Sleep 25 years of your life
 Who gets more sleep? Men or Women
 20% of U.S. auto accidents related to
sleep
 Yawning – increases alertness
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Interesting Sleep Notes
Can you learn during sleep?
 Up to 25 years old men spend ½ their
time sleeping in an aroused state
 1942 – 7.6 hours of sleep
 2001 – 6.7 hours of sleep
 Invention of light
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Interesting Sleep Notes
Bilingual people will dream in which
language?
 If you fall in your dream will you die?
 Forget what happens about 5 minutes
before you fall to sleep.
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Section 4 at a Glance
Drugs and Consciousness
• Depressants slow down the nervous system, stimulants
increase the activity of the nervous system, and
hallucinogens produce hallucinations.
• Treatments for drug abuse include detoxification,
maintenance programs, counseling, and support groups.
Depressants
• Many drugs are addictive. Addiction to a drug means that after the
person takes that drug for a while, the body craves it just to feel
normal.
• Depressants are drugs that slow the activity of the nervous system.
Alcohol
Narcotics
• Alcohol is the most widely used
drug in the United States.
• Alcohol is a depressant.
• It causes intoxication, or
drunkenness.
• Regular consumption can lead
to addiction.
• Narcotics are addictive
depressants used to relieve pain
and induce sleep.
• Many are derived from the
opium poppy plant.
• They include morphine and
heroin.
Stimulants
• Stimulants increase the activity of the nervous system.
• They include nicotine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, and
cocaine.
Nicotine
Amphetamines
• Nicotine is one of the most
common stimulants.
• It spurs release of adrenaline.
• Regular use can lead to addiction.
• Nicotine is found in tobacco.
• Cigarette smoking is as addictive as
heroin.
• Amphetamines are stimulants
often used for staying awake or
reducing appetite.
• They can cause hallucinations,
perceptions that seem to be real
but are not, and delusions, false
ideas that seem real.
• One extremely addictive form is
methamphetamine.
Cocaine
• Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca plant.
• It raises blood pressure, increases heart rate, and decreases supply of
oxygen.
• Use of cocaine can sometimes cause death.
• One very harmful form is known as crack.
Click on the
image to play
the Interactive.
Hallucinogens
• A hallucinogen is a drug that produces hallucinations.
Marijuana
LSD
• Produced from the leaves of the
cannabis sativa plant
• May produce feelings of relaxation
and mild hallucinations
• Impairs perception, coordination,
memory, and learning
• Can have severe effects on
consciousness
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Can produce intense hallucinations
Sometimes called acid
Can cause injury or suicide
Side effects include memory loss,
violent outbursts, nightmares, and
panic
Other Hallucinogens
• Mushrooms that contain psilocybin, which produces altered perceptions,
confusion, anxiety, and panic
• Peyote, which contains mescaline
• Ecstasy, a pill that produces hallucinations, increased energy, loss of
judgment, and serious side effects including nausea and high blood pressure
Treatments for Drug Abuse
• Varies depending on the drug
• One treatment is detoxification
– harmful substances are removed from the body
– most commonly used with alcohol and narcotic addiction
• Other treatments include:
– maintenance programs
– counseling
– support groups