WEE 5 | sleep, dreams and conciousness

Question 1

Define consciousness

Answer 1

Our subjective experience of the world, our bodies and our mental perspectives.

Question 2

Sleep paralysis

Answer 2

state of being unable to move before falling asleep or immediately upon waking up. It is caused by a disruption in the sleep cycle.

Question 3

Locked in syndrome

Answer 3

commonly misdiagnosed as in a come but the individual is actually fully awake and alert its just all their voluntary muscles are paralyzed rendering them unable to speak or move.

Question 4

How much sleep do we need?

Answer 4

Normal adult needs 7-10 hours while a newborn baby needs 16 hours. Some individuals have a mutation in their gene which can allow them to get as little as 6 hours of sleep without them “crashing the next day.

Question 5

which parts of the Sleep cycle are REM and non-REM?

Answer 5

stage 1-4 are Non-REM sleep, 5 is REM sleep.

Question 6

define Stage 1 of sleep cycle

Answer 6

• Usually lasts about 5-10 min
• brain activity shuts down to 50% or more producing theta waves
• As we drift, we may experience hypnagogic imagery which is scrambles bizarre and dream-like images that flit in and out of consciousness. We may also experience sudden jerks sometimes called myoclonic jerks of our limbs as if being startled or falling
• In this stage of sleep, we are usually confused

Question 7

define Stage 2 of sleep cycle

Answer 7

• Lasts about 30 minutes
• Sudden bursts of intense electrical activity called sleep spindles
• Occasional rising and falling of waves called K-complexes and these are only seen when we are sleeping.
• Heart rate decreases, temperature decreases, muscles relax
• We spend 65% of our sleep in stage 2

Question 8

define Stage 3&4 of sleep cycle

Answer 8

• Usually 10-30 minutes
• Slow wave sleep in which we can observe slow delta waves
• Difficult to awaken from this stage, deep sleep
• Non-REM sleep
• Alcohol doesn’t actually help catch up on sleep. It makes you go to bed early but you will feel tired in the morning because alcohol suppresses delta sleep.
• This is where 43% of dreams reports

Question 9

define Stage 5 of sleep cycle

Answer 9

• Lasts about 20 minutes
• Stage 5 is commonly known as REM sleep
• Increased heart rate, BP and irregular breathing.
• Stage 5 occupies 20-25% of our sleep
• Vivid dreams occur in this stage, 80-90%

Question 10

how often do we circle the sleep cycle?

Answer 10

After 10-20 minutes of REM sleep, the cycle starts again going into early stages of sleep then back into deeper sleep. Each night we circle through REM sleep 5-6 times, as we go through the night to morning, the amount of time spent in REM increases. REM periods towards early morning typically last for half an hour or more to when we first fell asleep. So if it feels like a dream lasted 45 minutes its because it did.

Question 11

state the waves of the sleep cycles

Answer 11

Awake: beta waves
Calm wakefulness: alpha waves
Stage 1: theta waves
Stage 2: sleep soindles and K complexes
Stage 3&4: delta waves 
Stage 5: REM sleep, where we dream more in this stage

Question 12

what type of dreams are non-REM and REM?

Answer 12

non-REM dreams are shorter, thought-like and repetitive and deal with everyday topics such as homework, taxes, shopping list.

REM dreams are emotional, illogical and prone to sudden shift in “plot”

Question 13

what happens when we are deprived of REM sleep?

Answer 13

Without REM sleep, it typically results in death within a few weeks such demonstrated in the rats experiment. When humans are deprived of REM for a few nights, we experience REM rebound which is the amount and intensity of REM sleep increases suggesting that REM serves a critical biological function. These rebounds are as an example: if you’ve pulled an all nighter for a few nights, when you get the chance to finally sleep, we experience intense dreams, nightmares and we are usually in deep sleep.

Question 14

define darting and how it affects blind people

Answer 14

When sleeping, function of darting which is eye movements is unknown and the strangest part is blind individuals show this pattern as well.

Question 15

what do sciences call REM sleep and why?

Answer 15

paradoxical sleep because the brain is active at the same time the body is inactive. If REM didn’t paralyze us, we would act out our dreams. Some individuals suffer REM behavioural disorder which is acting out their dreams because the brain stem structures responsible for the paralysis that normally occurs during REM (locus coeruleus) aren’t functioning correctly.

Question 16

what structure is responsible for paralyzing us?

Answer 16

locus coeruleus located in brain stem

Question 17

Define lucid dream

Answer 17

experience of becoming aware that one is dreaming.

Question 18

why do people have lucid dreams?

Answer 18

• Most people know they’re having a lucid dream because they see something so bizarre or improbable that they conclude that they’re having a dream.

Question 19

what part of brain is associated with lucid dreams?

Answer 19

• Part of brain associated with lucid dreaming is cerebral cortex

Question 20

what are the different types os sleep disorders?

Answer 20

1) insomnia
2) somnambulism (sleep walking)
3) somniloquy (speaking when sleeping)
4) sleep apnea
5) narcolepsy

Question 21

define Insomnia and factors related to it

Answer 21

Insomnia: has many forms

1) Having trouble falling asleep (more than 30 minutes)
2) Waking too early in the morning
3) Waking up during the night and having trouble returning to sleep

Factors related to insomnia: depression, caffeine, stress, napping.
Sleeping pills can be effective in treating insomnia

Question 22

define somnambulism and factors related to it

Answer 22

Somnambulism (sleep walking): walking while fully asleep. They walk like regular people.
- Occurs in stage 3&4, deep sleep.

Question 23

define somniloquy

Answer 23

Somniloquy (sleep talking): occurs during any sleep stage and is more frequent among children

Question 24

define necrolepsy and factors related to it

Answer 24

Narcolepsy: dramatic disorder in which people experience episodes of sudden sleep lasting anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes or even as long as an hour. The urge to sleep can strike at any moment
- When people experience narcolepsy, they plummet into REM sleep immediately suggesting uncontrollable REM sleep

Question 25

define sleep apnea and factors related to it

Answer 25

Sleep apnea: caused by a blockage of the airway during sleep. This problem causes people with apnea to snore loudly, gasp and sometimes stop breathing for more than 20 seconds. Struggling to breathe rouses the person many times and interferes with sleep causing fatigue the next day. YET most people with sleep apnea have no awareness of these multiple awakenings. Causes of sleep apnea is being overweight.

Question 26

define night terrors

Answer 26

sudden waking episodes characterized by screaming, perspiring, and confusion followed by a return to a deep sleep.

• almost exclusively in children. Only happens to adults if under intense stress.
• Occurs within 2-3 hours of falling asleep and during stage 3&4.

Question 27

define nightmares

Answer 27

occurs toward morning during REM sleep. They are frightening dreams occurring during REM sleep(vivid dreams)

Question 28

define freud’s dream protection theory

Answer 28

Freud believed what the First nations believed to what dreams actually meant, to reveal hidden wishes and desires, He described dreams as the guardians (protectors) of sleep, dreams represent wish fulfillment, how we wish things could be. These dream require interpretation and aren’t given to use straight.

• Also believed many dreams are sexual but sexual dreams only account for 10% of dreams
• Another argument is dreams don’t appear to be disguised. 90% of dreams are straightforward descriptions of everyday activities and problems

Question 29

what are the 5 important reasons why sleeping and dreaming is important

Answer 29

1) procession emotional memories
2) integrating new experiences
3) learning new strategies
4) simulating threatening events
5) re-organizing and consolidating memories

Question 30

define activation-synthesis theory

Answer 30

proposes dreams reflect brain activation in sleep
- Acetylcholine increases during REM but serotonin and norepinephrine are shut down during REM. The pons sends incomplete signals to the lateral geniculate (thalamus) and the forebrain interprets there’s signals. The amygdala is active

Synthesis part is the forebrain and activation is the beginning

Question 31

which neurotransmitter is active during REM?

Answer 31

Acetylcholine

Question 32

which neurotransmitters are shut down during REM?

Answer 32

serotonin and norepinephrine

Question 33

which area of the brain if damaged leads to complete loss of dreams?

Answer 33

deep frontal white cortical matter

Question 34

what proves that dreams are illogical and bizarre?

Answer 34

The prefrontal cortex is active when a person is engaged in tasks that require planning or careful analysis. BUT this area is less active when someone is dreaming which proves how dreams are illogical and bizarre.

Question 35

define out of body experience and why they occur?

Answer 35

Out of body experience: sense of our consciousness leaving our body
Why do they occur? When people become absorbed in experiences and lose bodily awareness

Question 36

define near death experience

Answer 36

out of body experiences reported by people who’ve nearly died

Question 37

what is the feeling of peace and hearing sounds during an NDE mean?

Answer 37

• The feeling of peace that can accompany a near death experience in a dying brain can be the result of a massive release of endorphins and noises can be the rumblings of an oxygen-starved brain.

Question 38

feinte deja vu and why it occurs?

Answer 38

a feeling of reliving an experience that is new.

• Excess of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the temporal lobes play a role in déjà vu.
• Occurs more in people who remember their dreams, travel frequently, young, have liberal political and religious beliefs, post secondary education and a high income

Question 39

what are triggers of deja vu?

Answer 39

1) People who experience seizures will often report déjà vu before the seizure
2) When input from two separate neural pathways that process sensory information goes out-of-sync. This short delay might trick the brain into interpreting the data as separate copies of the same experience
3) Can be triggered by a present experience that resembles, in whole or in part, an earlier experience, for instance it may be due to implicit memories of a place or event that the individual is not aware of.

Question 40

define hypnosis

Answer 40

a set of techniques that provide people with suggestions for alterations in their perceptions, thoughts, feelings and behaviours
- Use an induction method when the person is instructed to imagine or think of a pleasant experience

Question 41

name 5 myths about hypnosis

Answer 41

1) Hypnosis is a unique altered state? No.
- Subjects can experience many hypnotic phenomena such as hallucinations and pain insensitivity, when they receive suggestions alone, without hypnosis.
2) Hypnosis is a sleep-like state?
- Shown on EEG, it is false. Hypnotized people don’t show brain waves similar to those of sleep. People are just as responsive on a stationary bicycle as they are following hypnotic suggestions for sleep and relaxation
3) Hypnosis makes one unaware of surroundings? No
- Most hypnotized people are fully aware of their immediate surroundings and can even recall the details of a telephone conversation they overheard during hypnosis.
4) Hypnotized people forget what occurred during hypnosis? No
- Spontaneous amnesia be amnesic following hypnosis
5) Hypnosis enhances recall of forgotten events? No
- Scientifc studies generally reveal that hypnosis doesn’t improve memory