Sleep as a psychological construct(6A) Flashcards
What is consciousness?
Our awareness of internal and external stimuli.
The level of awareness an individual has of their thoughts, feelings, perceptions and existence.
What is a psychological construct?
An agreed upon description and understanding of psychological phenomena that cannot be overtly measured or observed.
__________OR __________
a concept that is used to describe an activity or pattern of activity that does not exist or occur in a physical sense and cannot be measured directly.
What are the two states of conciousness?
Normal waking consciousness (NWC)
Altered state of consciousness (ASC)
What is normal waking consciousness (NWC)?
A state of consciousness in which an individual is awake and aware.
What is an altered state of consciousness (ASC)?
A state of consciousness that is distinctly different from normal waking consciousness sin terms of quality of experience and levels of awareness.
What is a naturally occurring altered state of consciousness?
A type of altered state of consciousness that occurs without intervention. Includes sleep and daydreaming.
What is an induced altered state of consciousness?
A type of altered state of consciousness that occurs due to a purposeful action or aid. Such as taking drugs or meditating.
What is the consciousness continuum?
A visual representation of the different states of consciousness.
Coma - anaesthetised - sleep - alcohol induced - meditation - drowsy - day dreaming - - - relaxed state - focused attention
What is sleep?
A regular and naturally occurring altered state of consciousness that involves a loss of awareness and disengagement with internal and external stimuli.
What is Rapid Eye Movement (REM)?
A type of sleep characterised by rapid eye movement, high levels of brain activity and low levels of physical activity.
What are some characteristics of REM sleep?
- brain activity resembles wakefulness
- heart rate and breathing rate increases
- voluntary muscles are seemingly paralysed and twitch only intermittently
- the most vivid and memorable dreams occur during REM
What percent of the sleep episode does REM sleep take up?
About 20%
At what time during the sleep episode does REM take place?
At the end of each
What is NREM (non rapid eye movement) sleep?
Characterised by a progressive decline in physiological activity. Consists of three different stages.
What percent of the sleep cycle does NREM take up?
About 80%
