Consciousness
What is consciousness?
Consciousness – awareness of one’s self
and one’s environment
Can involve
sensations, perception, self-awareness,
emotions, realizations, thoughts
Rene Descartes
“je pense donc je
suis”
Rene Descartes,
Discourse on Method
(1637)
Latin: “Cogito, ergo sum”
Cogito, Ergo Sum
Descartes believes because he has
thoughts proved his existence
Mind vs. body duality
The mind is a separate entity from the body
Consciousness causes problems for scientific
research cannot observe it
Levels of consciousness
Normal (waking) consciousness
Subconscious
Preconscious
Nonconscious
Unconscious
Chronobiology
Chronobiology is the study of time on life
process
Biological clock, circadian rhythms, ect…
How does time effect our body physically
and psychologically?
Circadian Rhythms
Circadian rhythms – timing of the bodies
functions throughout a day
Some are unique to individuals, some occur
within most humans
Based on a 25 hour cycle
Called entrainment – alteration of a natural cycle to
fit a different cycle
Circadian Rhythms
Altered States of Consciousness
Consciousness = self awareness and
awareness of ones environment
There are plenty of times when we are awake
and conscious, yet we have variations of
“consciousness”
“Altered States of Consciousness”
What are some “altered states of
consciousness” ?
What are there effects (both positive
and negative)?
Daydreaming
Daydreaming
Fanciful imagery
Unfocused thoughts
Subconscious information emerges
Encourages creativity
Drug-Induced State
Drug-Induced State
Chemicals alter the mental state
psychologically effecting the chemicals in the
brain to create a mental or physical reaction
Ideas may seem real but aren't
Hallucination
Hallucination
Experiencing sights and sounds that do
not occur
can be drug induced, or the result of chemical
imbalances
unable to distinguish perceptions from
real experiences
Meditative State
Meditative state
Highly focused on consciousness
Achieved often by listening and focusing on
repetitive peaceful sounds
Can alter the body physically
Lower blood pressure, slow heart rate, alter
brain waves
Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is being aware of the fact
that you are dreaming
Most of the time you have control over your
actions and environment in a lucid dream
Can be a learned skill
How to induce lucid dreaming
Constantly ask yourself throughout the day “am I dreaming?”
Improve dream recall by keeping a dream journal
Count yours, and other peoples fingers throughout the day to see if
they have the right number
Look at text (signs, posters, clocks) turn away and then look back;
text is very likely to change in a dream
Waking up after 5-6 hours of sleep, think about lucid dreaming, and
practice the reality checks for about and hour, then fall back asleep
Sleep
Do you consider sleep to be an
altered state of consciousness?
sleep
Reasons why we sleep are not well
understood
It is clear that sleeping is vital to our survival
Why do we sleep?
Physical / mental recuperation
Consolidation of thoughts
Adaption
Stages of Sleep
Awake, Drowsy
Body, muscles relaxed, heart rate slows
Random thoughts
Stage 1
Transition phase, increased imagery
Stage 2
Sleep talk period
Stage 3
Complete sleep, difficult to awaken
Stage 4
moves around in sleep, little perception of
environment or sounds
Person is at there deepest sleep, hardest to
awaken
REM sleep
90 min in, people return to stage 1, and then
jump to REM sleep
REM = Rapid Eye Movement sleep
People do not move, except for eyes
REM cycle is where people do there dreaming
REM cycle
Optimum Level of Sleep
Most scientist agree between 7 and 9 hours of
sleep
Minimizes accidents, optimal level of alertness,
problem solving skill, health benefits
Cognitive performance declines with less than 8
hours of sleep (UPenn study)
People who live the longest report 6-7 hours of
sleep (San Diego)
People who sleep over 9 hours have an
increased mortality rate (San Diego)
Sleep Disorders
Sleep Apnea
Stoppages in breathing / heartbeat during
sleep
Associated w/ bad snoring
Happens mostly in infants / adult males
Sleep Walking
Occurs in later sleep
stages, people may
talk or interact w/
people
No memory of events
Hypersomnia
Characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness
Can be genetic, result of depression
Manifestation of narcolepsy
Considered hypersomniatic if a person sleeps more
than 11 hours a day for over 2 weeks straight
Night Terrors
Chronic intense nightmares
Person may open eyes, scream, and move,
but is not awake, and often has trouble
regaining full consciousness
Night terrors often cannot be recalled by the
subject