The World of Psychology
Wood & Wood
States of Consciousness
Chapter 4
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Consciousness
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Circadian Rhythms
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Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
Jet Lag
Shift Work
Taking Melatonin
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Circadian Rhythms

All eukaryotes and some prokaryotes (cyanobacteria)
display changes in gene activity, biochemistry,
physiology, and behavior that wax and wane through the
cycle of days and nights.
The level of the hormone melatonin that rises during the
night and falls during the day.
When the organism is placed in constant conditions
these rhythms persist.
However, without environmental cues, they tend to be
somewhat longer or somewhat shorter than 24 hours
giving rise to the name circadian rhythms
(L. circa = about; dies = day).
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The Circadian Clock in Mammals
A low level description:
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Suprachiasmatic Nucleus:

A discreet brain region lying within the
hypothalamus
Responsible for the generation of
circadian oscillations.
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What is a Biorhythm?
A biorhythm is based on the idea that certain aspects
of your life move in cycles.
Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, and Intuitive well being.
The cycle is based on a sine wave, each starting at 0 on the
day of your birth.
Physical cycles once every 23 days
Emotional cycles once every 28 days
Intellectual cycles once every 33 days
Intuitive cycles once every 38 days
Biorhythm cycles are expressed as a percentage from
-100% to 100%.
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Jet Lag
Suppose you fly from Chicago to London, and
the plane lands at 12:00 midnight Chicago time,
about the time you usually go to sleep.
At the same time that it is midnight in Chicago, it
is 6:00 A.M. in London, almost time to get up.
The clocks, the sun, and everything else in
London tell you it is early morning, but you still
feel like it is 12:00 midnight.
You are experiencing jet lag.
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Jet Lag 2
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The problem is not simply the result of losing a
night’s sleep.
You are fighting your own biological clock, which
is synchronized with your usual time zone and
not the time zone you are visiting.
It is difficult to try to sleep when your biological
clock is telling you to wake up and feel alert.
It is even harder to remain awake and alert
when your internal clock is telling you to sleep.
Jet lag is less troublesome for women, younger
people, extroverts, and night owls (Kiester, 1997).
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Shift Work – How many & Who
 About 20% of Americans work at night
and sleep during the day (Slon, 1997).
 The health care, data-processing, and
transportation industries are the largest
employers of shift workers.
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Shift Work – Problems

Shift workers complain of sleepiness and
sleeping difficulties.
Shift workers average 2 to 4 hours less
sleep than nonshift workers of the same
age
(Campbell, 1995).
From 75% to 90% of workers complain of
sleepiness during the night shift, and
many actually fall asleep during their shift
(Leger, 1994).
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Shift Work – Problems
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Alertness and performance deteriorate if
people work during subjective night,
when their biological clock is telling them
to go to sleep (Åkerstedt, 1990; Folkard, 1990).
During subjective night, energy and
efficiency are at their lowest point,
reaction time is slowest, productivity is
diminished, and industrial accidents are
significantly higher.
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Shift Work – Problems
More errors in judgment and most accidents
occur during the night shift.
 Three Mile Island,
 Chernobyl
 Challenger disaster (Moore-Ede, 1993).
Even the slight circadian disruption due to
daylight saving time is associated with
an increase in traffic accidents
 a short-term but significant 6.5% increase in
accidental deaths (Coren, 1996a, 1996b).
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Making shift rotation less disruptive
Rotating work schedules forward from days to
evenings to nights makes adjustment easier
because people find it easier to go to bed later and
wake up later than the reverse.
Changing workers’ shifts every three weeks
rather than every week has also improved
job satisfaction,
health,
productivity (Czeisler et al., 1982).
12-hour shifts provide more time off and
improve night-shift workers’ family and social
lives (Moore-Ede, 1993).
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Making shift rotation less disruptive
more ideas…
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Exposure to appropriately timed bright
light or even light of medium intensity has
been found to reset the biological clocks
of young adults (Campbell, 1995;
Eastman et al., 1995; Martin & Eastman,
1998).
Some researchers have helped shift
workers reset their biological clocks by
having them take melatonin supplements
at specifically determined times.ACTIVITY
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Taking Melatonin
Melatonin
has not been approved by the FDA as a drug,
 is sold over the counter as a sleep aid or dietary
supplement.
Taking melatonin helps
reset the biological clock in night-shift workers
 reset the biological clock in those suffering from jet lag.
Low doses (0.3–1.0 milligram) taken several hours
before bedtime have been found to
promote sleep in healthy young males
without significantly altering the structure of sleep
without creating negative aftereffects the following
morning (Zhdanova et al.,
1996).
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© Allyn & Bacon 2002
Taking Melatonin
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 Another view of the Hype:
 Other issues:
Effects the immune system
Contraindicated in
 Arthritis
 Lupus
 Autoimmune conditions
Believed by some to lengthen lifespan
Replaces decrease in age related levels
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Lecture 4a
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Sleep
NREM and REM Sleep
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Sleep Cycles
Variations in Sleep
The Functions of Sleep
Sleep Deprivation
Dreaming
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NREM and REM Sleep
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NREM Sleep:
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NREM sleep is sleep in which there are no rapid eye
movements.
NREM moves from Light to Deep Sleep in Stages
Stages have smooth transitions
called “quiet sleep,” because
 heart rate and respiration are slow and regular,
 there is little body movement
 blood pressure and brain activity are at their lowest points
of the 24-hour period.
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REM Sleep : Rapid Eye Movements and
Dreams
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REM sleep, sometimes called “active sleep,”
 anything but calm,
 constitutes 20–25% of a normal night’s sleep in
adults.
 associated with intense brain activity.
In fact, within 1 to 2 minutes after REM sleep begins, brain
metabolism increases and brain temperature rises rapidly
(Krueger & Takahashi, 1997).
The body reacts as if to a daytime emergency. Epinephrine
(adrenaline) shoots into the system, blood pressure rises,
and heart rate and respiration become faster and irregular.
 Ulcer patients may secrete 3 to 20 times as much
stomach acid as during the day and may awaken with
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& Bacon 2002
stomach pains (Webb,
1975).
REM Sleep : Rapid Eye Movements and
Dreams
In contrast to storm of internal activity, there is:
 an external calm during REM sleep.
 The large muscles of the body—arms, legs, trunk—
become paralyzed (Chase & Morales, 1990).
 Some researchers suggest that this paralysis
prevents people from acting out their dreams.
 A rare condition REM sleep behavior disorder
 individuals are not paralyzed during REM sleep.
 while dreaming, they may become violent, causing
injury to themselves and their bed partners and
damage to their homes (Broughton & Shimizu, 1995;
Moldofsky et al., 1995).
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Sleep Cycles
 Sleepers progress through four NREM
stages
 The brain-wave pattern change from
 Stages 1 and 2: faster, low-voltage waves
To
 Stages 3 and 4: slower, larger delta waves
 Notice that the brain-wave activity during
REM sleep is similar to that of the subject
when awake.
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Brain Wave Patterns
during Normal Sleep
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Normal Sleep
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 Sleep follows a fairly predictable pattern
 We all sleep in cycles.
 Each cycle lasts about 90 minutes
 a person has one or more stages of NREM
sleep
 followed by a period of REM sleep
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Variations in Sleep
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 The Older We Get, the Less We Sleep
 Larks and Owls
 Early to Rise
 Late to Bed
About 25% of people are larks: body temperature
rises rapidly after they awaken and stays high until
about 7:30 P.M. Larks turn in early and have the
fewest sleep problems.
 About 25% of people are owls: body temperature of
an owl gradually rises throughout the day, peaking in
the afternoon and not dropping until later in the
evening.
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© Allyn & Bacon 2002
 About 50% who are
somewhere
in between.
The Functions of Sleep
The Restorative Theory
Being awake produces wear and tear on the body
and the brain, and sleep serves the function of
restoring body and mind (Gökcebayet al., 1994).
Circadian Theory
Sleepiness and alertness ebb and flow according to
circadian rhythms. The circadian theory of sleep is
based on the premise that sleep evolved to keep
humans out of harm’s way during the dark of night
and possibly from becoming prey for some nocturnal
predator.
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The Functions of Sleep
A Blended Theory
Alexander Borbely (1984; Borbely et al., 1989)
Blends the circadian and restorative theories.
 Feeling sleepy at certain times of day is consistent
with the circadian theory.
 That sleepiness increases the longer a person is
awake is consistent with the restorative theory.
OR
 The urge to sleep is partly a function of how long a
person has been awake and partly a function of the
time of day (Webb, 1995).
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Sleep Deprivation
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After missing two or three nights
 difficulty concentrating
 lapses in attention
 general irritability.
After 60 hours without sleep
 some people even have minor hallucinations.
Most people who stay awake for long periods of
time
 Have microsleeps
 2- to 3-second lapses from wakefulness into sleep.
 You may have experienced a microsleep if you
have ever caught yourself nodding off for a few
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seconds in class or
on a long automobile trip.
Sleep Deprivation 2
 What suffers most from prolonged sleep loss is the
motivation to sustain performance.
 If a task is brief or interesting or demanding, you can do
almost anything.
 Sleep deprivation seriously impairs human functioning
(Pilcher & Huffcutt, 1996).
Even partial sleep deprivation impairs ability to
 attend to relevant environmental stimuli
 process relevant environmental stimuli
 Moreover, sleep deprivation has a negative impact on mood,
alertness, and performance
Are there any other serious effects of sleep loss? Unfortunately,
yes. Partial sleep loss, even for one night, can significantly
reduce the effectiveness of the human immune system by
lowering killer cell activity.
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Sleep Deprivation 3
 Other serious effects of sleep loss
Significantly reduce the effectiveness of the
human immune system by lowering killer cell
activity.
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Dreaming
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 Can occur during both NREM and REM sleep
 Matches real world in time
 We remember only a few
 Features that stand out are bizarre or
emotional.
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Dream Content Quiz
Falling
Being attacked or pursued
Trying repeatedly to do
something
School, teachers, studying
Sexual
Arriving too late
Eating
Being frozen with fright
Death of a loved person
Flying
Being locked up
Finding money
Swimming
Snakes
Being dressed inappropriately
Being smothered
Being nude in public
Fire
Failing an examination
Seeing self as dead
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Dream Content Reported
rates
Falling (83%)
Being attacked or pursued
(77%)
Trying repeatedly to do
something (71%)
School, teachers, studying
(71%)
Sexual experiences (66%)
Arriving too late (64%)
Eating (62%)
Being frozen with fright (58%)
Death of a loved person (57%)
Flying (34%)
Being locked up (56%)
Finding money (56%)
Swimming (52%)
Snakes (49%)
Being dressed inappropriately
(46%)
Being smothered (44%)
Being nude in public (43%)
Fire (41%)
Failing an examination (39%)
Seeing self as dead (33%)
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Dream Meaning
 Symbols in dreams typically have two or more simultaneous meanings.
These meanings change across persons and over time. Understanding the
symbol in the context of the entire dream requires training, patience, Art,
and the willingness to admit error.
 Amusing site: http://www.petrix.com/dreams/c.html
 List similar to class exercise:
http://www.dreams.ca/nightmares.htm#Resolving
 Caution! Digging around on the Internet for dream
information will expose you to many cons, rip-offs, hucksters,
weirdoes, well meaning idiots, the demented, and lies.
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Sleep Disorders
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 Sleepwalking
and Sleep Terror
 Nightmares
 Sleep
talking (Somniloquy)
 Narcolepsy
 Sleep Apnea
 Insomnia
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Sleepwalking and Sleep Terror

 A sleep disturbance where a person partially awakens
with a scream, dazed and groggy, in a panic state, with a
racing heart.
 Often runs in families.
 Occurs during partial arousal from NREM Stage 4 sleep
 Sleeper does not come to full consciousness.
 Typically, no memory the following day.
 Most cases begin in childhood
 Attributed primarily to delayed development of the CNS.
 Children usually outgrow the disturbance by adolescence.
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Nightmares
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 Very frightening dreams
 Occur during REM sleep
 Occur toward morning, when REM periods longest.
 Likely to be remembered in vivid detail.
 Most common themes are:
 being chased, threatened, or attacked.
 Can be a reaction to traumatic life experiences
 More frequent during periods of:
 high fevers, anxiety, emotional upheaval.
 REM rebound during drug withdrawal or following long
periods without sleep can also produce nightmares.
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Narcolepsy
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A Sudden Attack of REM Sleep
An incurable sleep disorder characterized by
 excessive daytime sleepiness
 uncontrollable attacks of REM sleep
 usually lasting10 to 20 minutes
People with narcolepsy—
 number from 250,000 to 350,000 in the United
States
 have a drastically lowered quality of life
 have more accidents virtually everywhere
 are often stigmatized as lazy, depressed, and
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disinterested in work.
Narcolepsy 2
Anything that causes an ordinary person to be
tired can trigger a sleep attack in a person with
narcolepsy
 a heavy meal
 sunbathing at the beach
 a boring lecture (NOT Psych 101 obviously!)
A sleep attack can also be brought on by
 laughter
 an exciting situation (such as lovemaking)
 a strongly emotion situation (such as anger or
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elation).
Narcolepsy 3
Narcolepsy is a physiological disorder
caused by an abnormality in the part of
the brain that regulates sleep.
Has a strong genetic component
Some dogs are subject to narcolepsy
We have learned a lot by studying these dogs.
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Sleep Apnea

Breathing Stops during Sleep
 Over 1 million Americans—mostly obese men—
 periods during sleep when breathing stops
 the individual must awaken briefly to breathe
 The major symptoms:
 excessive daytime sleepiness
 extremely loud snoring (as loud as a jackhammer),
 often accompanied by snorts, gasps, and choking
noises.
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Sleep Apnea Scenario
 A person with sleep apnea will
1.
2.
3.
4.
Repeat
5.
6.
drop off to sleep
stop breathing altogether
awaken struggling for breath
gasp several breaths in a semi-awakened state
fall back to sleep
stop breathing again
 People with severe sleep apnea may partially
awaken as many as 800 times a night to gasp
for air.
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Sleep Apnea Aggravation &
Sequela

Contraindications:
 Alcohol
 Sedatives
Severe sleep apnea can lead to:
 chronic high blood pressure
 heart problems
 death
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Sleep Apnea Treatments
Treatments for sleep apnea include
 greatly reducing body weight (now considered crucial to any
cure)
 surgically modifying the upper airway
Favored treatment, however
 use of a continuous positive airway pressure
device
 delivers air through a mask
 worn over the nose at night
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Insomnia

Approximately one-third of adults in the United
States suffer from insomnia
a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty
falling or staying asleep, by waking too early, or
by sleep that is light, restless, or of poor quality
 can lead to distress and impairment in daytime
functioning
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Insomnia
Transient (temporary) insomnia
 lasts 3 weeks or less
 Causes:
 jet lag
 emotional highs (an upcoming wedding)
 emotional lows (losing a loved one or a job)
 a brief illness or injury that interferes with sleep
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Chronic Insomnia
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Much more serious than transient insomnia
lasts for months or even years
about 10% of the adult population
higher for women, the elderly, and people
suffering
 from psychiatric and medical disorders
 may begin as a reaction to
 a psychological problem
 a medical problem
 persists long after the problem is resolved.
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Chronic Insomnia Risks

 Individuals with chronic insomnia
experience
1. higher psychological distress
2. greater impairments of daytime functioning
3. are involved in more fatigue-related
accidents,
4. take more sick leave,
5. use health care resources more often
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Altering Consciousness
 Meditation
 Hypnosis
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Myths
Medical uses
Sociocognitive Theory
Neodissociation
Dissociated Control
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Meditation (concentrative)
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Definition:
 A group of techniques that involve
 Focusing attention on
 an object,
a word,
one’s breathing,
body movement
 to block out all distractions
 to enhance well-being
 to achieve an altered state of consciousness.
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Meditation Examples
 yoga, Zen, and transcendental meditation (TM)
have their roots in Eastern religions and are
practiced by followers of those religions to attain
a higher spiritual state.
In the US these approaches are often used to
increase relaxation
reduce arousal
expand consciousness
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Meditation - yoga
 In practicing yoga, a meditator typically
assumes a cross-legged position known
as the lotus and gazes at a visual
stimulus—a mandala (a symbolic circular
pattern) or an object such as a vase or a
flower.
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Meditation - Zen
 During Zen meditation, the individual counts
breaths or concentrates on the breathing process.
With all three approaches, the meditator’s goal
is to block out unwanted
thoughts and facilitate the meditative state.
Herbert Benson (1975) suggests that any
word or sound can be used for transcendental
meditation. Moreover, he claims that
the beneficial effects of meditation can be
achieved through simple relaxation techniques.
Do the Try It! to experience Benson’s relaxation
response.
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Meditation -
Transcendental
Meditation™
In transcendental meditation,
The meditator is given a mantra
(a secret word assigned by a teacher)
The meditator sits quietly with closed eyes
 The meditator silently repeats the mantra
over and over during meditation.
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Meditation – Common Features

In all three approaches, the meditator’s goal is
to
 block out unwanted thoughts
 facilitate the meditative state
Herbert Benson (1975) suggests that:
 any word or sound can be used for TM
 the beneficial effects of meditation can be
achieved through simple relaxation techniques.
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Meditation – Practice…
Find a quiet place and sit in a comfortable position.
1. Close your eyes.
2. Relax all your muscles deeply. Begin with your feet and move
slowly upward, relaxing the muscles in your legs, buttocks,
abdomen, chest, shoulders, neck, and finally your face. Allow
your whole body to remain in this deeply relaxed state.
3. Now concentrate on your breathing, and breathe in and out
through your nose. Each time you breathe out, silently say the
word ooommmm to yourself.
4. Repeat this process for 20 minutes.
When you are finished, remain seated for a few minutes—first
with your eyes closed, then with them open.
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Hypnosis

Definition:
a procedure through which one person,
the hypnotist, uses the power of
suggestion to induce changes in thoughts,
feelings, sensations, perceptions, or
behavior in another person, the subject.
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Under Hypnosis

 People suspend their usual rational and logical
ways of thinking and perceiving and allow
themselves to experience distortions in
perceptions, memories, and thinking.
They may experience positive hallucinations, in
which they see, hear,touch, smell, or taste
things that are not present in the environment.
Or they may have negative hallucinations, in
which they fail to perceive things that are
actually present.
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Hypnosis How may & Who
 About 80–95% of people are hypnotizable to
some degree, but only 5% can reach the
deepest levels of the hypnotic state
 The ability to become completely absorbed in
imaginative activities is characteristic of highly
hypnotizable people
 Individuals’ fantasy-proneness and their
expectation of responding to hypnotic
suggestions were predictors of hypnotizability.
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Hypnosis Myths

Hypnotized people are under the complete
control of the hypnotist and will violate their
moral values if told to do so.
People can demonstrate superhuman strength
and perform amazing feats under hypnosis.
Memory is more accurate under hypnosis.
People under hypnosis will reveal embarrassing
secrets.
People under hypnosis can relive an event as it
occurred when they were children and can
function mentally as if they were that age.
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Hypnosis Medical Uses

recognized as a viable technique to be used in
medicine, dentistry, and psychotherapy.
particularly helpful in the control of pain
(Hilgard,
 It has also been used successfully to treat a
wide range of disorders,
including:
severe
morning sickness,
 high blood pressure, side effects of chemotherapy.
bleeding,
psoriasis,
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Hypnosis Medical Uses
Other problems responding well to hypnosis
are:
 Asthma
 Severe insomnia
 Some phobias
 Dissociative identity disorder
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Altered States of Consciousness
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Altered States of Consciousness
 Drug Addition
 Stimulants
 Physical
 Caffeine
Dependence
 Psychological
Dependence
 Nicotine
 Amphetamines
 Cocaine
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Drug Use
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Depressants

 Alcohol
 Barbiturates
 Minor
Tranquilizers
 Narcotics
 Inhalants
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Hallucinogens

 Marijuana
 LSD
 MDMA (Ecstasy)
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Hallucinogens
The hallucinogens, or psychedelics, are
drugs that can alter and distort perceptions of
time and space, alter mood, and produce
feelings of unreality.
Hallucinogens also cause hallucinations,
sensations that have no basis in external
reality
Hallucinogens have been used in religious
and recreational rituals and ceremonies in
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Mescaline
derivative from the mescal cactus
used by some groups of Native
Americans to produce hallucinations in
their religious ceremonies.
Other people have also used peyote,
another mescal derivative, but typically
only to get high.
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Mary Jane
marijuana tends to produce a feeling of
well being,promote relaxation, lower
inhibitions, and relieve anxiety.
The user may experience an increased
sensitivity to sights, sounds, and touch,
as well as perceptual distortions and a
perceived slowing of time.
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“Acid”
LSD is lysergic
acid diethylamide
The average LSD “trip” lasts for 10 to 12 hours
Usually produces extreme perceptual
changes—visual hallucinations and distortions.
Emotions can become very intense and
unstable ranging from euphoria to anxiety,
panic, depression, or even suicidal thoughts
and actions
LSD can cause bad trips that can be terrifying
and leave the user in a state of panic.
Can produce a flashback, a brief recurrence
of a previous trip that occurs suddenly and
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MDMA (Ecstasy)

MDMA is a designer drug
a cross between a hallucinogen and an
amphetamine.
A hallucinogen-amphetamine – Oh BOY!
The drug’s main appeal is its psychological
effect—a feeling of relatedness and
connectedness with others
But animal experiments with MDMA have
revealed some disturbing findings—irreversible
destruction of serotonin releasing neurons
MDMA is also more toxic than most other
hallucinogens
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002
Have YOU entered an Altered State of
Consciousness?
Let’s go home!
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002