 Sleep
is a state of altered consciousness
(different levels of awareness),
characterized by certain patterns of brain
activity.
 State
of awareness, including a person’s
feelings, sensations, ideas, and perceptions
 People who are fully aware with their
attention focused on something are
conscious of that “something”
 A person who is not completely aware is in a
different level of consciousness – altered
state of consciousness (e.g., sleep)
 Freud’s level of consciousness
 Stages
of Sleep
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I
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II
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III
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IV (deepest sleep of all)
 REM
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Sleep
A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye
movements, a high level of brain activity, a
deep relaxation of the muscles, and dreaming
Known as active sleep – as if you were awake
Almost all dreaming takes place at REM sleep
Lasts 15-45 minutes
We go through this cycle every 90 minutes
At no point does your brain become inactive
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Spend 1/3 of our lives in sleep
Newborns – 16 hours a day sleeping, ½ of it
in REM sleep
Teens – 10 to 11 hours
Young Adults – 8 hours
Elderly – 5 hours
 Rhythm
of activity and inactivity lasting
approximately one day
 Biological clock genetically programmed to
regulate physiological responses within 24
hours
 Jet Lag – takes about one day for each
hour of time change to reset your circadian
clock
 Sleep is an active state essential for
mental/physical functioning
 Insomnia
(mental) – failure to obtain
enough sleep at night in order to feel
rested/Why? – anxiety, depression, overuse
of alcohol/drugs
 Sleep
Apnea (physical) – person has trouble
breathing while asleep/flow of air to lungs
actually stops/affects one in 100
Americans/usually occurs among older
people
 Narcolepsy
– suddenly falling asleep or
feeling very sleepy during the day
 Nightmares
– unpleasant dreams/occur
during dream phase of REM sleep
 Night Terrors – sleep disruptions that
occur during Stage IV of sleep, involving
screaming, panic, and confusion
 Sleepwalking
– walking or carrying out
behaviors while asleep, without any memory
of doing so/associated with children/may
be inherited/not dangerous to wake
sleepwalkers
 Sleep Talking – talk in your sleep/talk as if
carrying a conversation with someone
 The
Content of Dreams
 Often we incorporate our everyday
activities into our dreams
 Dream
Interpretation
 Freud believed that no matter how simple
or mundane, dreams may contain clues to
thoughts the dreamer is afraid to
acknowledge in his/her waking hours
 Contain hidden meanings
 Some researchers believe dreaming allows
people a chance to review and address some
of the problems they faced during the day
 Removing certain, unneeded memories
 Form of mental housecleaning
 Daydreams
 Dreaming
while we are awake
 Usually when we are in situations that
require little attention or when we are
bored
 Lucid Dreaming
Hypnosis
 Form of altered consciousness in which people
become highly suggestible to changes in
behavior and thought
 Used for assistance in quitting smoking, losing
weight, etc.
 Does not put participant to sleep
 Theories of Hypnosis
 Uses of Hypnosis
 Posthypnotic Suggestion
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A suggestion made during hypnosis that influences the
participant’s behavior afterward
 Process
of learning to control bodily states
with the help of specialized machines
 Feedback makes learning possible
 Focusing
of attention to clear one’s mind
and produce relaxation
 Three Approaches
 1. Transendental Meditation
 - repetition of mantra
 2. Mindfulness Meditation
 - focuses on the present moment
 3. Breath Meditation
 - concentration on one’s respiration
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- process of inhaling and exhaling
 Psychoactive
Drugs
 Interact with central nervous system to
alter a person’s mood, perception, and
behavior (e.g., caffeine, alcohol, marijuana,
LSD)
 Chemicals that affect the nervous system
and result in altered consciousness
 How Drugs Work
 Drug molecules act like neurotransmitters
and hook onto the ends of nerve cells
(neurons) and send out their own chemical
messages
 Marijuana
 Dried
leaves and flowers of Indian hemp
that produce an altered state of
consciousness when smoked or ingested
 THC – tetrahydrocannabinol – active
ingredient
 Hallucinations
 Perceptions
that have no direct external
cause
 Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or
feelings that do not exist
 Portions of brain that respond to incoming
stimuli become disorganized, while central
nervous system is aroused
 Hallucinogens
 Drugs
that produce hallucinations
 Psychedelic – create loss of contact with
reality
 LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)
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A potent psychedelic drug that produces
distortions of perception and thought
Trip lasts 6 to 14 hours
May have flashback experiences, even
months/years after taking LSD
 Opiates
 Usually
called narcotics
 Opium, morphine, heroin
 Alcohol
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Most widely used and abused mind-altering
substance in the United States
Depressant that serves to inhibit the brain’s
normal functions
Increased drinking within specific time, ability
to function diminishes
 Drug
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Abuse and Treatment
Drug abusers are people who regularly use
illegal drugs or excessively use legal drugs
Can turn into addiction