SLEEP, HYPNOSIS, AND DRUGS CHAPTER 7

CONSCIOUSNESS Define: consciousness is our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

CONSCIOUSNESS We will explore altered states of consciousness Sleep Hypnosis Drug induced

SLEEP Our sleep/wake cycle is a circadian rhythm, meaning one cycle takes about a day to complete. It is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) located in the hypothalamus. Melatonin is a critical hormone that brings on sleep and it released by the pineal gland when daylight changes. Staring at an electronic device at night can distort your body’s perception of nighttime leading to insomnia.

STAGES OF SLEEP

STAGES OF SLEEP 4 distinct stages repeating every 90-100 minutes Non-REM Stage 1: Also known as “twilight sleep,” duration ~5 minutes, often includes vivid images, sensations of falling or floating, muscle twitches and jerks will often occur; alpha & theta brain waves Non-REM Stage2: duration ~20 minutes, experiences include rapid, rhythmic brainwave activity, sleep talking may occur during this stage; sleep spindles: sudden bursts of brain wave activity occur in this stage. It is presumed their purpose is to maintain a state of tranquility

STAGES OF SLEEP Non-REM Stage 3: transitional sleep to stage 4 ~30 minutes, brain emits large, slow delta waves, difficult to wake during this stage of sleep (and into stage 4), typically when bed wetting and sleep walking will occur in children. Auditory cortex is still responsive, but only some sounds will wake us like our name or a baby’s cry.

STAGES OF SLEEP Each cycle last ~90-100 minutes. This illustrates about 7-8 hours of sleep:

STAGES OF SLEEP You then ascend out of stage 4, through stage 3 and 2 and enter REM sleep (rapid eye movement).   REM sleep: duration ~10 minutes, brain waves become rapid and sharp, much like being in stage 1 sleep. Heart rate increase, breathing becomes rapid and irregular, eyes dart around, sexual arousal, dreams occur that are often story-like and emotional. Everyone dreams, just some don’t remember them.

STAGES OF SLEEP The motor cortex is active during REM sleep, but the brainstem blocks its messages leaving muscles so relaxed you are almost paralyzed. This is known as “paradoxical sleep.” The cycle repeats itself with stage 4 getting progressively shorter and then disappears and REM gets longer. Therefore, if you deprive yourself of sleep, you deprive yourself of primarily REM

STAGES OF SLEEP REM rebound: after being sleep deprived, it is found that people will fall into REM more quickly and stay their longer. What’s the point of REM? Why is it so important? Recent research finds that there is a necessary cleaning process that occurs during sleep, specifically during REM http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/10/18/236211811/brains-sweep-themselves-clean-of-toxins-during-sleep http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx

DREAMS Freud: Dreams is the outlet for our unacceptable feelings and desires. He believed the manifest (literal) content of the dream is a censored version of the latent (hidden) content which he believed was usually of a sexual nature. He felt they were the key to our inner conflicts.

DREAMS Information processing theory claims that dreams may help us sift, sort and fix the day’s experiences into our memories. This is supported by studies that show REM increases following stressful experiences or intense learning periods. Research also shows that repeated patterns of brain activity of wakeful acitivities illustrate themselves when we sleep.

DREAMS Activation-synthesis theory claims that the associate brain activity of REM sleep stimulates the sleeping brain developing and preserving the neural connections. Neural activity from the brainstem spreads upward and dreams are the brain’s way of making sense of the impulses. It’s as if the conscious part of our brain cannot help but try to organize this activity. Essentially, though, the dream is meaningless waste.

DREAMS And here are some more thoughts on dreams: V sauce: Why do we dream? (youtube.com)

COMMON SLEEP DISORDERS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES Insomnia: persistent problems in falling or staying asleep. treatment: medication, therapy to deal with stress, better sleep habits & environment

COMMON SLEEP DISORDERS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES Narcolepsy: experience periodic, overwhelming sleepiness; in severe cases the person will collapse into immediate REM sleep with loss of muscle tension. High risk of automobile accidents. Reduced amounts of hypocretin may be most likely cause Treatment: medication, therapy, healthy lifestyle changes

COMMON SLEEP DISORDERS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES Sleep apnea: (typically occurring in overweight men) intermittent cessation (stopping) of breathing during sleep, their body awakens them to breathe resulting in disrupted sleep. Suffers are less rested, irritable, also at risk of increased traffic accidents.

COMMON SLEEP DISORDERS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES Night terrors: (typically occur in children) person may sit up or walk around, talk incoherently, experience doubling of heart rate and breathing rates, and appear terrified. Sufferers seldom remember the episode. These are not nightmares because it occurs during stage 4 sleep. They may

HYPNOSIS State of consciousness in which a person is especially susceptive to suggestion. Can be used to reduce pain, create temporary states of amnesia, and affect sensory perception It cannot increase physical strength, enhance memory, or regress a person to childhood

DIFFERENT THEORIES OF HYPNOSIS What is known: The power is in the hypnotized openness to suggestion. To some degree everyone is “suggestible.” Anyone who can turn attention inward, relax, and imagine is able to experience some degree of hypnosis, and if lead to expect hypnotic responses, one likely will. (1989 UConn experiment)

DIFFERENT THEORIES OF HYPNOSIS In terms of therapy, hypnosis and positive suggestions, like placebos, change people’s expectations, but unlike placebos, involve no deception. Hypnosis can relieve pain. Some theories suggests this is dissociation of the sensation from the emotional state of pain. Another theory is selective attention, focus on something else (think athletes and Lamaze).

DIFFERENT THEORIES OF HYPNOSIS Is it an altered state of consciousness? Since similar behaviors have been seen in un-hypnotized people, it implies that hypnosis is not an altered state. Social influence theory suggests that hypnotized subjects are caught up in a role they are playing. Divided-consciousness theory suggests is caused by splitting our awareness/attention, like being on autopilot.

ADDICTION, TOLERANCE, WITHDRAWAL Addiction is the physical and psychological need for a drug. People rarely become addicted to psychoactive drugs used for medicinal purposes. Therapy is not always needed to overcome addictions. “Addiction-as-a-disease” mentality may cause more harm than good if people choose to use it as a crutch for overcoming their habits. Highly debatable topic.  

ADDICTION, TOLERANCE, WITHDRAWAL Tolerance occurs when the drug user requires larger and larger doses to experience the drug’s effect.   Withdrawal is the body’s response to the absence of a drug to which it has grown accustomed

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS 3 categories of psychoactive drugs (chemicals that change perceptions and moods): 1. Depressants: calm neural activity and slow body functions (examples: alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates)

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS 2. Stimulants: excite neural activity and arouse body functions (examples: caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, and cocaine)

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS 3. Hallucinogens: distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input. (examples: marijuana, PCP, LSD)