Altered States of

ConsciousnessMeditation, Sleep, Dreams, Drugs

SleepBiological Rhythms

oRhythms controlled by internal “biological clocks.”

1. Annual cycleoGeese migrate, bears hibernate, and

humans experience seasonal variations in appetite, sleep, and mood.

o Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder people experience during dark winter months.

2. Menstrual Cycle oOperates on an approx. 28 day cycle

3. 24 Hour Cycle – Circadian RhythmoHumans experience 24-hour cycles of

varying alertness (sleep), body temperature, and growth hormone secretion.

4. 90 Minute Cycle o In sleep, we go through various 90 minute

stage cycles

What causes these cycles?

• Biological Clockso Brain structures that schedule rhythmic

variations in bodily functions by triggering them at the appropriate times.

o Light in the environment play a critical role in helping our brains synchronize these biological clocks

o Jet Lag throws off your biological clock by changing the signals (light, temperature, etc.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEkjNgaCCu4BBC Biological Clocks

Consciousness• The subjective (personal experience) awareness

of internal and external events

Reactions of Events

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjfaoe847qQo VSauce Consciousness

Brain Waves1. Alpha Waves

o Pattern of brain activity in someone who is in a relaxed state, with their eyes closed. (Meditation)

2. Beta Waveso Pattern associated with

active, busy, or anxious thinking and active concentration.

3. Delta Waveso Pattern of brain activity

observed in stage 3 and stage 4 sleep; synchronized slow waves

• About every 90 minutes, we pass through a cycle of five distinct sleep stages. Most adults will have 4-5 cycles.

• With each 90-minute cycle, stage 4 sleep decreases and the duration of REM sleep increases.

http://dreamstop.com/sleep-cycle-everything-know/

Stage 1 Sleep: Time of drowsiness or transition from being awake to falling asleep. Brain waves and muscle activity begin to slow down. Image may appear. May experience sudden muscle jerks, and a falling sensation.Stage 2 Sleep: Light sleep. Brain waves become slower, with occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles. Heart rate slows and body temperature decreases.

Sleep Stages 1 - 4

Stage 3 Sleep: Transition into deep sleep

Stage 4 Sleep: (Deep Sleep) • Delta Waves • Breathing slows, body temperature drops even

lower. • No eye movement. • Very difficult to be awakened during deep sleep.

People who are awakened during these stages of sleep may feel groggy or disoriented when the wake up.

• Bed wetting, sleep talking, sleepwalking and night terrors may happen during this stage.

• After reaching the deepest sleep stage (4), the sleep cycle starts moving backward towards stage 1.

• Active period of sleep marked by intense brain activity Beta Waves.

• Breathing becomes irregular, eyes move rapidly in various directions. Limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Heart rate increases. Vivid dreams occur.

REM - Rapid Eye Movement

The Right Mix of SleepHow many hours do individuals from 14 to 17

need?

• 8-10 hours (14-17: Adolescents); • 7-9 hours (18-25: Young Adults);• Getting the quantity of sleep is just as

important as the quality; the right mix of REM and DEEP SLEEP.

• Deep Sleep (Stage 4) is a restorative or healing sleep. This is the time when the body does most of its’ repair work and regeneration.

• REM Sleep is important for processes such as learning, memory, mood and the ability to concentrate.

1. Sleep Protects: Sleeping in the darkness when predators loomed about kept our ancestors out of harm’s way.

2. Sleep Recuperates: Sleep helps restore and repair brain tissue.

3. Sleep Helps Remembering: Sleep restores and rebuilds our fading memories.

4. Sleep and Growth: During sleep, the pituitary gland releases growth hormone. Older people release less of this hormone and sleep less.

Sleep Theories

As a table: a) (1) Provide a short description of the

disorder/phenomenon (2) Why does it happen? (3) How many people are affected? (e.g. 1 in 20,000)

b) Research a second disorder/phenomenon to share with the class: (1) Description, (2) Why does it happen? (3) How many people are affected?

Sleep Disorders & Phenomenon

1. Somnambulism

2. Nightmares3. Night terrors4. Narcolepsy

5. Sleep Apnea6. Insomnia7. Sleep

Paralysis

Somnambulismhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYT_rOgvIAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibQ3-EwdthMNightmaresNight Terrorshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSVwmSzxKtUNarcolepsyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyaonferplkSleep apneahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjQdAf9cQBoInsomniaSleep Paralysis

Dreams1. Wish Fulfillment (Freud)

o Freud believed dreams (when interpreted) could help serve as a “royal road to the unconscious.”

o Dreaming was a means to wish fulfillment; to satisfy wishes and desires (especially sexual ones)

o Hyper-sexualized many objects – “guns, cigars, tunnels, or doorways”

• It was important for Freud to distinguish between a dream’s Manifest Content (the things seen and experienced by the dreamer) and the Latent Content (those hidden desires too disturbing to be confronted directly).

2. Activation-Synthesis Hypothesiso Proposes that dreams are random activities in the braino During REM sleep, for unclear reasons, cells in the hindbrain

spontaneously activate the higher centres of the brain as a way to give the brain some “circuitry exercise.”

o As such, the brain tries to make sense of out these signals that it’s receiving, which gives us crazy/random dreams.

3. Other possibilities? • Problem-solving dreams help us to focus

some attention to troubling problems for potential solutions

• Simulating threats evolutionarily helping us to think about our response to a potential threat

• Watch: Why Do We Dream (Vsauce)

Sleep Deprivation

1. Fatigue

2. Impaired concentration.

3. Emotional irritability.

4. Depressed immune system.

5. Greater vulnerability.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation & Meditation

Drugs & Altered States

• Stimulants o Increases nervous system activity by enhancing neural

transmission

• Depressants o Decreases nervous system activity by depressing the ongoing

transmissions

• Hallucinogens o Disrupts normal mental functioning and produces distorted

perceptions

• Opioids o Reduces anxiety and lowers sensitivity by depressing nervous

system activity

Marijuana• In 2014, 28% of Canadian youth between the

ages of 11-15 admitted to having used cannabis during the year. o 23% in United States (some states have legalized) o 17% in Netherlands (cannabis is decriminalized)

• As much as 10% of Grade 12 students in Canada use cannabis every day.

• In the 1960s, Marijuana contained approximately 1% of the chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

• Today from10% to as high as 30%(Health Canada 2014)

The debate: To Criminalize or

Decriminalize1. Criminalize

o Allowing the recreational use of marijuana has greater impact on the health and social aspects (brain development, a “gateway” drug, or potential gang involvement) than any possible benefits. Criminalization inhibits the “normalization of drug abuse”

2. Decriminalize o By having greater regulation (similar to that of alcohol) on

marijuana, decriminalization would allow (a) youth and adults to be pushed away from criminal activity and (b) decrease convictions of possession so as to access a higher socio-economic spectrum, reducing further progression of abuse and consequently crime.

Effects on the young brain

• How does cannabis impact the brain?o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsJzCdFlpyQ

• Marijuana works by inhibiting neuroreceptors and neurotransmitters from synaptic activity – stops the release, exchange and passing of information

• The adolescent brain is developing 3 distinct and important processes in the brain:

1. Learning and working memory2. Motivation3. Mood and emotions

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvszaF4vcNYo Effects on the brain

Effects on the young brain

• Comparatively in the brain, those who use marijuana have brains that work harder than those who do not. o In tasks designed to measure impulsivity,

working memory, visual-spatial processing and sustained attention, those who used marijuana had to engage more brain resources to respond accurately.

o Higher abnormalities in emotional intelligence and reward processing in the brain of those who used marijuana.

Effects on the young brain

• A long term study in New Zealand of 1,037 (1972) followed the long term IQ. o The earlier and more long term the use of marijuana in

adolescence, the greater the IQ loss at age 38. o Those who heavily used marijuana in their adulthood did not

show high losses in IQo Including socio-economic factors, there was still an

association between adolescent use of marijuana use and IQ decline; none in adulthood use

• Cannabis use in adolescence increases the risk of schizophrenia by up to six-times

Hallucinogens • In history, hallucinogens have been used for

hundreds of years to induce altered states for religious or spiritual purposes.

• They act by disrupting the neural circuits in the brain that use the neurotransmitters serotonin o Primarily in the prefrontal cortex o Mood, cognition, perception

• The drug activates with 20-90 minutes of ingestion, and can have lasting effects up to 12 hours

25I-NBOMe

Xanax

Bath Salts

Cocaine

Crystal Meth

LSD

Marijuana

Mushrooms