7A- sleep as a naturally occurring ASC

Question 1

consciousness

Answer 1

the awareness of your own internal mental processes, including thoughts and feelings, sensations and perceptions, and your awareness of the external world around you.

Question 2

psychological construct

Answer 2

a concept that cannot be objectively observed or measured directly through the collection of data but is widely understood to exist

Question 3

normal waking consciousness

Answer 3

a state associated with being aware of our internal and external environments

Question 4

altered state of consciousness

Answer 4

any state that differs in awareness when compared with normal waking consciousness

Question 5

induced altered state of consciousness

Answer 5

an ASC that has been brought about on purpose

Question 6

naturally occurring altered state of consciousness

Answer 6

an altered state of consciousness that occurs without any external influence

Question 7

sleep

Answer 7

a naturally occurring and reversible ASC, characterised by a reduction in awareness and responsiveness to external surroundings

Question 8

non rapid eye movement NREM sleep

Answer 8

a type of sleep characterised by a progressive decline in physiological activity

Question 9

rapid eye movement REM sleep

Answer 9

a type of sleep characterised by quick darting of the eyes behind closed eyelids and an increase in physiological activity

Question 10

hypnogram

Answer 10

a line graph that represents that stages of sleep plotted against time

Question 11

contrast normal waking consciousness and altered states of consciousness

Answer 11

Normal waking consciousness is a state associated with being aware of our internal and external environments, whereas altered states of consciousness include any state that differs in awareness from normal waking consciousness.

Question 12

describe consciousness

Answer 12

consciousness is the awareness of your own internal mental processes, including your thoughts, feelings, sensations and perceptions and your awareness of the external world around you. it is unique, subjective and constantly changing and can be thought of as what information takes possession of your mind.

Question 13

why is consciousness considered a psychological construct?

Answer 13

consciousness cannot be objectively observed or measured through the collection of data but is widely understood to exist. it can only be indirectly measured through qualitites that are more easily assessed such as physiological changes or observable behaviours or through self reports

Question 14

contrast naturally occurring ASC’s to induced ASC

Answer 14

naturally occurring ASC’s occur without any external influence such as sleep or fatigue. conversely, induced ASC’s are brought about on purpose such as by alcohol, anaesthetic or meditation

Question 15

what state of consciousness is sleep

Answer 15

sleep is a naturally occurring and reversible ASC characterised by a reduction in awareness and responsiveness to external surroundings

Question 16

what is a typical sleep episode for an adult

Answer 16

5% awake, 20% REM sleep, 20% deep sleep, 55% light sleep

Question 17

identify some differences between NREM and REM sleep

Answer 17

During NREM sleep, physiological activity such as brain activity slows down, whereas in REM sleep, physiological activity increases.
As a night progresses, REM periods increase in length, whereas NREM periods decrease.
NREM sleep is split into three distinct stages, whereas REM sleep does not have separate stages.

Question 18

how many stages of NREM sleep are there

Answer 18

three

Question 19

What is the approximate proportion of NREM and REM sleep in a typical night for an adult?

Answer 19

75-80% NREM
20%-25% REM

Question 20

What is the duration of a sleep cycle, and on average how many sleep cycles are experienced in a typical eight-hour sleep episode?

Answer 20

A sleep cycle is about 90 minutes, and a person typically experiences four or five sleep cycles a night.

Question 21

Nia, Arya and Lynne are in English class where they are reading the assigned novel together as a class. Nia is asked to read out loud. She is a little nervous and so is concentrating on reading each word carefully so she does not make a mistake. Arya is following along in her copy of the book because it might be her turn to read next. Lynne is staring out the window, thinking about going to the beach on the weekend.

Classify the state of consciousness that each person is likely to be experiencing during the class, and give a reason for your answer.

Answer 21

Nia is probably in a hypervigilant/heightened awareness state, classified as an altered state of consciousness because her level of awareness is higher than her normal waking consciousness level of awareness.

Arya is in a normal waking consciousness because she is aware of her external environment in that she might need to read next, and she is able to manage her attention on the book.

Lynne is probably in a daydreaming state, which is classified as an altered state of consciousness, because her level of awareness of the external world is lower than usual as she is not paying attention to the person reading.

Question 22

Describe the general physiological changes experienced as a person moves from awake to N3 sleep.

Answer 22

From awake, to N1, N2 and N3, overall physiological activity is decreasing, such as brain activity, heart rate and breathing rate.

Question 23

With reference to the brain scans shown, provide one difference between brain activity experienced during REM sleep and NREM deep sleep (indicated as ‘slow-wave sleep’ in the scan).

Answer 23

The activity of the brain during REM sleep is quite high and similar to the brain activity while awake, whereas the brain activity during N3 deep sleep (‘slow-wave sleep’) is lower.

Question 24

what can be used to map sleep?

Answer 24

a hypnogram is a line graph of a person’s sleep mapped over time. it displays the sleep architecture or patterns of a sleep episode. a typical nights sleep will consist of 5 sleep cycles featuring REM and NREM sleep. time (in terms of the time of a 24 hour day or hours since attempting to sleep) is plotted on the horizontal x axis. the types and stages of sleep are shown the y axis with wakefulness at the top and deepest sleep at the bottom. a hypnogram shows how sleep progresses through several sleep cycles consisting of REMa nd 3 stages of NREM sleep