Sleep and consciousness

• consciousness


  Our awareness of ourselves and our environment
• Consciousness allows us to


  Make sense of our life, sensations, emotions, and choices, set and achieve goals, reflect on our past, adapt to the present, and plan for the future
• cognitive neuroscience


  The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating)
• dual processing


  Simultaneously processing on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
• Blindsight


  A condition in which a person can respond to visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it
• parallel processing


  Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously
• sequential processing

  Processing one aspect of a stimulus or problem at a time, generally used to process new information or to solve difficult problems
• Consciousness awareness


  Ideas in your immediate awareness such as thoughts, feelings, and senses
• Preconscious


  Long term memory; stored info about yourself or environment that you are not currently thinking of but can easily call to mind when asked
• subconscious

  Memories that influence behavior despite no clear memory of them; information you have been exposed to but cannot recall
• Mere exposure effect/ familiarity effect


  people prefer stimuli that they have been exposed to more frequently
• unconscious


  Hidden memories that influence behavior but can never be known to the conscious mind (discovered by Sigmund Freud; the id, superego, and ego)
• nonconscious


  Biological functions occurring without your awareness such as respiration and digestion (coma, under anesthesia)
• sleep


  A periodic, natural loss of consciousness
• circadian rhythm

  An internal biological clock that roughly synchronizes with the 24-hour cycle of day and night
• REM (rapid eye movement) sleep/ Paradoxical sleep

  Recurring sleep stage which vivid dreams commonly occur. Muscles are related but body systems are active
• alpha waves


  The relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
• NREM sleep (Non-rapid eye movement sleep)

  encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep, dreams are less likely to occur
• Hallucinations

  false sensory experiences
• hypnagogic sensations


  Bizmare experiences such as jerking or feeling of falling or floating while transitioning to sleep.
• delta waves

  the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep
• NREM stage 1 sleep

  Relaxation begins, alpha waves with high frequency
• NREM stage 2 sleep

  Asleep but could be awakened easily. Hallucinations and hypnagogic sensations can occur. Theta waves with slower frequency
• NREM Stage 3 sleep

  Deepest level of NREM sleep, muscles relax, blood pressure and breathing rate drop. Delta wave. Slow frequency waves
• REM cycle

  Heart rate rises, breathing becomes rapid and irregular, eyes dart, dreaming occurs. The brain becomes more active but the body becomes relaxed. Waves become rapid.
• SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus)

  A pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls the circadian rhythm. In response to lights it adjusts melatonin production, modifying our sleep fullness.
• sleep deprivation


  any significant loss of sleep, resulting in problems in concentration and irritability
• insomnia

  A sleep disorder in which a person has recurring problems falling or staying asleep
• Narcolepsy

  A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks that are usually caused by excitement. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep often at times
• sleep apnea

  A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings. Sleep apnea is associated with obesity.
• night terrors

  A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified. Night terrors occur during stage 4 sleep and are remembered
• REM sleep behavior disorder

  A sleep disorder where normal REM paralysis does not occur; instead twitching, talking, kicking, or punching may occur, often acting out one's dream
• Dreams

  A sequence of images, emotions and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind