1. What is Consciousness? Our awareness of ourselves and environment (slippery concept)

2. Levels of Consciousness Conscious- Active Awareness Preconscious- Stored memories you can recall at any time Subconscious- Routine activities that you don’t need to think about Unconscious- memory, ideas, that our consciousness cannot handle or has stored deep away

3. Consciousness vs. Altered Consciousness Regular Consciousness Gather information though the senses (seeing, hearing, ext…) Reasoning Remembering Daydream/Fantasies Altered States of Consciousness Sleep Hypnosis Under the Influence of Drugs

4. Our Biological Clocks Circadian Rhythms govern our bodies Daily pattern of activity, according to light and day Humans entrained on 24-hour cycle – Entrain: adjust an internal rhythm so that it synchronizes with an external cycle, such as that of light and dark Plants and animals also have them

5. What Controls our Biological Clocks? Hypothalamus- keeps body in tune with your day (nervousness, hunger, temperature, sleep/wake cycles) – Controlled by cluster of neurons (SCN) – SCN gets info from eye about light/dark and then releases chemicals to regions of the brain Hormones – Melotonin- released by Pineal Gland (which gets info from eye); triggers sleep, relaxation increases with longer/shorter periods of dark – Epinephrine- wake, alertness= jump starts heartbeat, surges in a.m. Variations to Circadian rhythm – Jet Lag – Night shift – SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)

6. How do we know what’s going on in our brains during sleep? EEG’s – records electrical activity of the brain = brain waves

7. Sleep Stages Stage 2: Activity: sleep spindles, body temp drops. Brain waves: Theta – a bit slower Stage 3 Activity: Pulse rate and breathing slowed down, more difficult to wake up Brain waves: delta, slower waves Stage 4 Activity: Deep sleep, only loud noises could awake you Brain waves: delta Stage 1: Activity: relaxation, can be easily awakened, hypnic jerks Brain Waves: Alpha- slow regular rhythm REM (rapid eye movement): Activity: blood pressure and heartbeat up, body paralyzed --- start to DREAM Brain Waves: active – MOST IMPORTANT STAGE!

8. NREM (Non Rapid Eye Movement) Stages 1 - 4 Dreaming possible – Partial Images and Stories, harder to remember Brain goes idle Body refuels Growth Hormone released – Hair and nails grow Sleep walking possible

9. Brain waves during sleep cycles

10. Sleep and Age Newborns spend 16-20 hrs/day sleeping Elderly spend 6 or less in one period of time REM sleep goes down as we age

11. Sleep theories – why is it important? Adaptive – ancestors slept to survive when it was dark

12. Sleep theories Restorative – brain repairs, reorganizes, and re-energizes for next day – Memory consolidated