consciousness and sleep Flashcards
consciousness
an awareness of one’s surroundings and of what’s in one’s mind at a given moment; includes aspects of being awake and aware.
wakefulness
degree of alertness reflecting whether a person is awake or asleep.
awareness
monitoring of information from the environment and from one’s own thoughts.
coma
a state of consciousness in which the eyes are closed and the person is unresponsive and unarousable.
vegetative state
state of minimal consciousness in which the eyes might be open, but the person is otherwise unresponsive.
mindfulness
a heightened awareness of the present moment, whether of events in one’s environment or in one’s own mind.
attention
the limited capacity to process information that is under conscious control.
selective attention
the ability to focus awareness on specific features in the environment while ignoring others.
meditation
practices that people use to calm the mind, stabilize concentration, focus attention, and enhance awareness of the present moment.
circadian rhythms
the variations in physiological processes that cycle within approximately a 24-hour period, including the sleep–wake cycle.
rapid eye movements (REM)
quick movements of the eye that occur during sleep, thought to mark phases of dreaming.
beta waves
pattern of brain activity when one is awake; a rapid, low-energy wave.
alpha waves
pattern of brain activity when one is relaxed and drowsy; slower, higher-energy waves than beta waves.
non-REM
orm of sleep with few eye movements, which are slow rather than fast.
theta waves
pattern of brain activity during Stage 1 sleep; slower, lower-energy waves than alpha waves.
delta waves
type of brain activity that dominates Stage 3 sleep; higher energy than theta wave.
insomnia
a sleep difficulty characterized by difficulty falling and staying asleep, as well as not feeling rested.
sleepwalking
sleep difficulty characterized by activities occurring during non-REM sleep that usually occur when one is awake, such as walking and eating.
narcolepsy
sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and weakness in facial and limb muscle
hypersomnia
sleep difficulty characterized by sleeping more than 10 hours a day for 2 weeks or more; includes urge to nap during inappropriate times.
night terrors
state that occurs when a person walks around, speaks incoherently, and ultimately awakens, terrified, from sleep.
manifest level
Freud’s surface level of dreams, recalled upon waking.
latent level
Freud’s deeper, unconscious level of dreams; their meaning is found at this level.
