Consciousness and Sleep Test

• The final test is in computer lab 1L22 during the regular class day/time
• The test is not open book
• The test includes multiple choice, true/false, explanation, and short answer questions
• Phones should be placed inside bags at the front of the class
• Leaving the class will not be permitted after the test has begun
• Getting sleep, eating breakfast, and reviewing techniques from week 9/10-slide 3 are recommended

Consciousness and Sleep

• Consciousness involves awareness of ourselves, our internal state, and our external surroundings at any given moment
• Consciousness incorporates thoughts, perceptions, and emotions
• Understanding consciousness remains a significant mystery in neuroscience and philosophy
• Consciousness is important for planning, adapting, learning, self-reflection, understanding our identity, moral reasoning, and decision-making
• High-level consciousness includes full awareness and control such as during problem-solving and decision-making
• Low-level consciousness involves automatic processes needing little attention, such as driving on autopilot
• Consciousness as awareness involves different levels of awareness allowing the ability to experience and interpret the world
• Sensory awareness pertains to perceiving and processing external stimuli from our surroundings
• Selective awareness involves focusing on specific stimuli while ignoring others
• Direct awareness involves internal experiences like thoughts, emotions, and memories, without using senses
• Proving consciousness is an ongoing problem in that a scientific theory of consciousness is not possible because consciousness defies observation

Sleep

• There are 4 functions of sleep, including:
• Physical health where sleep repairs and restores tissues/muscles, strengthens the immune system, and regulates hormones like stress, hunger, and growth
• Brain function and memory
• Emotional well-being, regulating mood and lowering stress, where lack of sleep increases anxiety, irritability, and depression risk.
• Survival and energy conservation
• Circadian rhythms (CR) facilitate alertness during the day and sleepiness at night
• Jet lag or shift work disrupts CR, which affects sleep, mood, and performance
• Light exposure, especially in the morning, helps reset the CR to align with the day-night cycle
• Circadian rhythms are important because they regulate sleep timing, quality, energy levels, body temperature, heart rate, hormone secretion, and cognitive function
• The first 4 stages of sleep are non-rapid eye movement, stages 3 and 4 are deep sleep
• Stage 5 of sleep is REM (rapid eye movement)
• Sleep is essential for both the body and brain, helping with physical health, brain function, memory, emotional well-being, survival, and energy conservation
• Dreams are a series of images, thoughts, and emotions that commonly occur during REM sleep which is most active
• Dreams can be vivid, surreal, confusing, and often reflect the dreamer's life, emotions, and memories
• Memory consolidation means dreams help organize and store memories, processing emotions and events from the day
• Emotional regulation means dreams may help us process emotions, especially difficult or stressful ones
• Random brain activity and cognitive simulation

Sleep Disturbances vs Sleep Disorders

• Sleep disturbances are temporary, caused by stress/noise/changes in routine, and go away after the cause is gone
• Examples of sleep disturbances include trouble sleeping during a stressful week or a circadian rhythm disorder
• Sleep disorders are long-term, happen regularly, and seriously affect one's health
• Examples of sleep disorders include insomnia, narcolepsy, or sleep apnea

Altering Consciousness

• Altered states of consciousness are non-ordinary states, including hypnosis, meditation, hallucination, trance, and the dream stage
• Hypnosis works because individuals act as a hypnotized person rather than being in an altered state and responding to social cues
• Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a mantra-based meditation using a repeated sound/word to transcend thoughts for an altered state
• TM is practiced for 15-20 minutes twice daily, comfortably seated, with eyes closed, reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, and improving focus
• Mindfulness Meditation is focused awareness in the present moment without judgment involving breath awareness, body scans, or mindful observation of thoughts/emotions

Substance-Related

• Substance abuse involves misuse or overuse of a substance that causes harm or risk
• Substance dependence involves a strong need/compulsion to use a substance despite negative effects on health, relationships, or responsibilities
• Physiological dependence happens when the body gets used to a substance over time
• Tolerance happens when someone needs more of a substance to get the same effect they used to get with less
• Psychological dependence happens when someone needs a substance to feel good or cope with life and may be emotionally or mentally dependent
• Withdrawal symptoms include physical and mental effects when stopping a substance one is dependent on, like seizures, scratching, mood changes, and illegal acts
• Cannabis is a mixed-action drug.
• Depending on the dose and strain can act as a depressant, stimulant, or hallucinogen
• Impairs reaction time and performance
• Can cause drug-induced psychosis and paranoia
• Medically cannabis can provide mild pain relief, treat nausea, and sleep disturbances

Learning

• Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior, capabilities, or knowledge that arises from practice or experience
• Types of learning include:
• Automatic
• Voluntary
• Narration/Stories
• Books
• Internet
• Media and advertising influence learning by shaping behavior, attitudes, and beliefs through repeated exposure and modeling, reinforcing societal norms, capturing attention, and priming the brain to respond to related ideas
• Excessive media exposure may overwhelm focus and hinder information processing, while advertising influences decision-making by linking emotions to products, subtly shaping consumer behavior
• Media shapes behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs through repeated exposure and modeling, and reinforces societal norms
• Classical conditioning: one learns to associate one event with another, based on pairing a neutral stimulus with something that triggers a response
• The unconditioned stimulus (US) and unconditioned response (UR) are foundational elements in classical conditioning
• Primary reinforcers: unlearned reinforcers that are naturally rewarding and satisfy basic needs like food and water
• Secondary reinforcers: conditioned reinforcers that are learned rewards that gain value through association with established reinforcers, like money
• Negative reinforcement: a response increases in frequency because it removes an unpleasant stimulus
• Punishment: an event suppresses or decreases the behavior it follows