Chapter 5
Altered States of
Consciousness
Bell ringer!!!!!
Write down the most vivid dream that you
have had recently.
 Try to recall specific details in your dream
and what happened
 Once you are done put this sheet aside we
will be using it again later
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States of Consciousness
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Consciousness is a state of awareness. When
we talk about altered states of consciousness
we are talking about different levels of
awareness
Consciousness includes a person’s feelings,
sensations, ideas and perceptions
Sleep is a form of altered states of
consciousness
Sleep stages
Falling asleep will cause your body
temperature to drop and your breathing
and pulse rate to slow. This happens at
stage one.
 In stage one your pulse rate slows a bit
more and your muscles relax. Your
breathing also becomes irregular along
with your brain waves becoming irregular.
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Stages of sleep
In stage 1 if you are awakened you might
say you were drifting off to sleep
 In stage 2 your eyes start to move from
side to side. About thirty minutes later you
enter into a deeper sleep in Stage 3
 In this stage your breathing and pulse rate
continues to slow
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Stages of sleep
Stage four is the deepest of all the stages
and it is often difficult to awaken someone
when they are in this stage
 About 75% of sleep time is spent in these
first four stages
 Stages 1 through 4 are often called
N.R.E.M. for non-rapid eye movement
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R.E.M. Sleep
After the first four stages you enter R.E.M.
where your eyes begin to move rapidly
underneath your eyelids
 Also in this stage your fingers twitch and
your large muscles become paralyzed
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R.E.M. Sleep
During this stage is when most of your
dreaming takes place
 R.E.M. sleep lasts for 15 to 45 minutes
 Humans spend approximately 1/3 of their
lives sleeping. Newborns spend around 16
hours a day sleeping.
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Interpretation of Dreams
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Now let’s go back to the dream you wrote down at the
beginning of class.
Remember our movie over Freud and how he interpreted
dreams? Now we are going to do that as a class and
share our responses.
Go to
http://www.experiencefestival.com/dream_dictionary.
Type in the google search box the major themes of your
dream and write down underneath what you recall from
the dream its meaning. Is it true or do you think it is way
off base?
Sleep Disorders
Circadian rhythms are rhythms of activity
and inactivity lasting approximately 24
hours.
 Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which a
person fails to get enough sleep at night.
Someone with this disorder has the trouble
falling asleep and or staying asleep
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Sleep Disorders
Sleep Apnea is when a person has
frequent problems breathing while
sleeping
 Narcolepsy is a condition characterized by
someone suddenly falling asleep at any
point in time.
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Nightmares
Nightmares are frightening dreams that
occur during the REM stage of sleep.
 The sleeper usually has vivid memories of
these dreams
 Night terrors occur during stage IV of
sleep
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Sleep
These night terrors involve screaming,
sweating, confusion, etc. However, the
dreamer usually doesn’t remember night
terrors
 Sleep walking is a disorder that involves
walking or carrying out behaviors while
asleep
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Sleep Walking
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Sleep walking usually occurs in children, but
adults may sleepwalk also
Contrary to what many believe, it is not
dangerous to awaken a sleep walker (think Step
Brothers)
Also contrary to what many believe, dreaming
does not take place in a fraction of a second. In
reality, dreams correspond to a realistic time
scale.
Daydreaming and Hypnosis
Daydreaming is also a form of ASC
 Hypnosis is a form of Altered
Consciousness in which people become
highly suggestible to changes in behavior
and thought.
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Hypnotism
Anton Mesmer is said to have discovered
hypnosis. In fact, it was originally called
mesmerism.
 When someone is hypnotized, the
hypnotist can often suggest things for their
subjects to remember or forget when the
trance is over. This is known as posthypnotic suggestion.
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Drugs and Alcohol
Drugs interact with the
Central Nervous System and can alter a
person’s mood or behavior.
 Some drugs may cause hallucinations.
This is when we hear, see, smell, taste
and feel things that do not really exist.
 Hallucinogens are plants around the world
that cause hallucinations when consumed
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Drugs and Alcohol cont.
These drugs are also called psychedlic
drugs because they create a loss of touch
with reality. The most potent known
hallucinogen is LSD.
 Opiates include opium, morphine, and
heroin. Opiates produce analgesia or pain
reduction
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ASC
Barbiturates are popularly known as
downers and are used for ailments such
as insomnia, bedwetting, epilepsy and
arthritis.
 Nicotine and Caffeine are very popular
stimulants. Other stimulants include
amphetamines and cocaine
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Trends in Drug Use
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As trends in clothing and music pass by, so do
trends in drugs. For example, drugs during the
60s that were popular included marijuana, PCP,
and LSD.
While marijuana has remained popular, PCP and
LSD have virtually faded away
During the 70s and 80s cocaine became the
popular drug
Most recently ecstasy became a popular drug
among many people.