Characteristics of Altered States of

Consciousness
 Characteristics of Altered States of
Consciousness

 Most people spend about two thirds of the

day in normal waking consciousness.
 When a person notices their level of mental
functioning changing they are usually
entering an altered state of consciousness.
Altered States of Consciousness
 The term altered state of consciousness
refers to any state of consciousness which is
distinctively different in level of awareness
and experience from NWC, in terms of level
of awareness and experience, the quality and
intensity of sensations, perceptions, thoughts,
feelings, and memories that are experienced.

 In an ASC mental processing shows distinct

changes specific to that particular state.
Altered States of Consciousness
 Some ASC’s are natural – sleep & dreaming

 Others are purposely induced – meditation, hypnosis,

drug taking

 Humans induce ASC for relaxation, therapy, or escapism

from pressures in their lives

 Common characteristics of ASC’s:

-Distortions of perception & cognition,
-Disturbed sense of time,
-Changes in emotional feeling, changes in self control
1. Distortions in perception and
cognition
An ASC seems to have two effects on the senses- it either
makes them more receptive or dulls them so that some
sensations are not experienced at all.

Some drugs heighten sensory experience ie, colours seem

brighter, tastes and smells stronger, sounds louder or more
variable, and touch more sensitive, whereas meditation can
dull our experience of pain.
Distortions in perception

 Perceptions are often so distorted in an ASC

that people may lose their sense of identity
(who they are) or experience the feeling of
being outside their body or someone else
entirely. This can occur with the use of the
drug Ketamine.
Ketamine & Out of body Experiences

 What Is Ketamine?
Ketamine is an anesthetic used on both
animals and humans; it also has been used
in human medicine for pediatric burn cases
and dentistry, and in experimental
psychotherapy. It is being abused by an
increasing number of young people as a "club
drug," and is often distributed at "raves" and
parties.
Distortions in Cognition
 Thought processes are often more disorganised
during a waking ASC, as well as during dreaming.
 In an ASC:

-thinking is often illogical and lacking in sequence

-difficulties may be experienced in problem-solving
-people may have trouble remembering events that
have occurred in an ASC.
 When consuming alcohol people are often unable to
recall the events that occurred while intoxicated.
 Marijuana use can also impair short term memory
and thinking.
 Meditation & Cancer


Meditation
specialists
believe
visualisation
and guided
meditation
can help
cancer
sufferers
gradually
remove
cancer.
2. Disturbed sense of time

 Estimation of time is frequently distorted in an

ASC
 Time passes at a different speed than normal
 Either faster – Eg sleeping for 8 hours and it
feels like 30 mins or vice versa
Think…

 Have you ever seen a person under the

influence of alcohol or drugs, who has shown
completely different emotional responses that
they normally would?
3. Changes in emotional awareness

 ASC’s can put peoples emotions into a state

of turmoil resulting in uncharacteristic
responses
 Eg. Under the influence of alcohol some
people display their feelings/emotions more
freely while others can become quite
aggressive
 In other ASC’s people have reported feeling
emotionless; that is having no feelings at all.

 In some ASC’s people may have

inappropriate emotional reactions. Eg.
laughing at hearing the news of a friends
death or crying at a joke.
Think!

 Have you ever witnessed someone under the

influence of alcohol or drugs who has shown
a complete lack of self control?
4. Changes in self-control

 Changes in our ability to maintain self-control

are often evident during ASC’s

 Eg. In an alcohol induced state people may

have difficulty coordinating and controlling
movements (stumbling).

 In a hypnotic state, some people are more

open to suggestion.
STATES WITHIN ALTERED
STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Daydreaming

 Daydreaming is an ASC in which we shift our attention

from external stimuli to internal, thoughts, feelings and
imagined scenarios.
 The shift occurs naturally and usually without being
aware.
 More likely to occur when you are stationary than when
you are moving around.
 Different from a night dream physiologically- minimal eye
movement and alpha waves present.
Daydreaming

 There are many proposed purposes for daydreaming

such as:
- Freud believed it was to allow us to do in our fantasies
what we are unable to do in reality.
- Singer (1975) proposed that daydreaming enables us to
mentally try out a range of courses of action that could
be applied to certain situations.
- He also suggested it can help us to solve problems.
- Some suggest we daydream to stay mentally alert in
situations in which there is insufficient external
stimulation.
Alcohol-induced state

 What is alcohol?
Usually refers to drinks such as beer, wine or
spirits containing ethyl alcohol- a substance
that can cause drunkenness and changes in
consciousness, mood and emotions.
Ethyl alcohol requires no digestion and seeps
into the bloodstream via the gastrointestinal
tract.
 Alcohol is considered a psychoactive drug.
These are chemicals that change conscious
awareness, perception or moods.
 Alcohol is also classified as a depressant
meaning that although it initially produces a
mild euphoria, it lessons our inhibitions and
depresses the activity of the brain centers.
 Effects depend on the concentration of
alcohol consumed, the amount, and variables
related to the individual.
The effects of alcohol on consciousness:
 a shortened attention span
 impaired perceptions

 impaired thinking

 impaired memory

 slower reaction times

 reduced self-awareness

 impaired emotional awareness

 impaired perception of time

 less self-control

 difficulty with voluntary muscle control and fine movements

 deterioration in performance of complex tasks

Table 2.4 pg 120

Practising meditation

 The experience of pain is less intense and

meditation can provide relief from pain in
some cases.
 Brainwaves experienced in meditation are
similar to those people experience when
falling asleep or when they are actually
asleep.
Meditative state

 Many forms such as yoga, Zen and transcendental

meditation each of which has its basis in Eastern
religion like Buddhism and Hinduism.
 Meditation involves the use of a technique to
deliberately alter NWC in order to induce an ASC
characterised by a deep state of relaxation.
 It typically involves altering the normal flow of
conscious thoughts by focusing on a simple
stimulus like breathing or a body part.
Measuring states of consciousness

Can you think of how we

measure states of
consciousness?
Measuring physiological responses of
consciousness
 A state of consciousness cannot be measured
directly like physical characteristics.

 It is because of this that it is called a psychological

construct.

 A psychological construct is a concept used to

describe something that is believed to exist, but that
cannot be directly observed or measured.
Measuring states of consciousness

 1. Self-report: limited because subjective:

individuals may-
 be dishonest,
 struggle to articulate,
 forget details

 2. Behavioural observations: limited because

can’t observe inside the body
 Measuring states of consciousness
SO! Psychologists usually rely on measuring…

 3. Physiological responses: Useful as objective. Limited:

may indicate illness or multiple ASCs
 Heart rate: ASC usually ↓, e.g. sleep; can ↑, e.g. stimulant drugs
 GSR: positive correlation with arousal
 Body temperature: drops ~1°C during sleep, high temps (e.g.
fever) can induce ASC
 EEG: electrical activity within the brain is graphed
1. EEG
 Electrical Activity of the Brain

 Brain wave patterns

form EEG readings.
Vary in:
Frequency – brainwaves
per second
Amplitude – size of the
peaks and troughs

High Frequency
Low Amplitude
Electrical Activity of the Brain
The size and number of brain waves change with different states of
consciousness:

 Normal waking consciousness – Beta waves: High frequency,

Low amplitude (Ie. Lots of waves but not very high)

 Extremely relaxed – Alpha waves: High Frequency, Larger

amplitude

 Early stages of sleep – Theta waves: Medium frequency, Some

high amplitude

 Deep Sleep – Delta waves: Low Frequency, High amplitude

Remember!

B (wide awake)
A

T

D (fast asleep)
Remember!

Beta: Busy Brain – awake & alert

Alpha: Almost Asleep – resting
Theta: They’re asleep
Delta: Deep Sleep – also know as
slow wave sleep
Brain Waves Patterns
2. Heart Rate

 May increase or decrease in an ASC.

 While a person is asleep, unconscious or

meditating, heart rate is likely to decrease.

 When a person is experiencing ASC’s

associated with the use of substances that
are stimulants, heart rate is likely to increase.
3. Body Temperature

 Body temperature is less variable than heart

rate; however there is a general pattern
indicating changes in body temperature in
altered states.

 The most obvious change is during sleep;

body temperature drops by more than 1°C
while asleep.
4. Galvanic Skin Response

 The theory is that; the

more relaxed you are
the dryer your skin is
and so the higher the
skins electrical
resistance. When you
are under stress your
hand sweats and then
the resistance goes
down.
3. Galvanic Skin Response
 The galvanic skin response is a physiological
response that indicates the change in the resistance
of the skin to an electrical current.

 Electrical conductivity increases as physiological

arousal increases.

 To measure the GSR electrodes are attached to the

finger or the palm of the hand as these areas have
less hair.
 The electrodes enable detection and measurement
of how easily the electrical current passes through
the skin.

 Changes in the GSR are closely associated with

emotional experiences.

 An individual may show high arousal (and thus less

resistance) when stressed in an exam (NWC) or
when on drugs (ASC). Thus, GSC can not be used
solely as an indication of what state of
consciousness a person is in.
 Using one form of measure can be
misleading as anxiety or illness can change
the measure and may not reflect the actual
state of consciousness. Experts therefore use
a number of measures at one time including
self reports.
ASC: Sleep

Sleep is studied in a sleep lab

Sleep
 During the altered states of consciousness associated
with sleep, our awareness and our perception of
ourselves and the events occurring around us differ
from when we are awake and in a state of normal
waking consciousness.

 Just as there are different levels of awareness within

NWC, when we sleep we also experience different
states of consciousness.

 Eg. When we dream while asleep we experience a

distinctly different state of consciousness than that of
when we are asleep but not dreaming.
Sleep

 Sleep can be described as a regularly

occurring altered state of consciousness that
typically occurs spontaneously and is
primarily characterised by a loss of conscious
awareness.

 Although sleep usually occurs naturally it can

sometimes be induced.
Sleep

 Over a lifetime we spend about one third of

our time asleep.

 If we live to around 75 years of age we will

spend about 25 years of that sleeping.
Methods used to study sleep

 Most sleep research takes place in sleep

laboratories.

 These are often attached to hospitals.

 The ‘bedroom’ is attached to a control room

where the researchers will observe and
monitor sleep patterns throughout the night.
Methods used to study sleep
 Research participants go to sleep at their normal
time and follow their normal routine before going to
bed.
 The laboratory is fitted with devices to monitor and
record various physiological responses of the
sleeper during the course of the night.
 This is often called polysomnography.
Polysomnography is an intensive study of a
sleeping person involving simultaneous monitoring
and recording of various physiological responses of
the sleeper during the course of the night.
Methods used to study sleep
 The main sources of data that provide
information about a persons sleep patterns are:
- Electrical activity of the brain
- Information about eye movements
- The body’s muscle tone or tension
- Heart rate
- Body temperature
- Respiration
- Video monitoring
- Self-reports
Ways to study the physiology of sleep:
 EEG: electroencephalogram:
Record of changes in electrical potential in
the brain.

 EMG: electromyogram: record of muscle

tension beneath the chin.

 Electro-oculogram: record of spontaneous

eye movement.
Ways to study sleep
Electro=electrical impulse
Gram=graph
Each detects, measures, amplifies and records
electrical activity in graph from.
 EEG: electroencephalogram
halo=head=brain activity
 EOG: electro-oculargram
Each term has
Ocular=optic=eye movement same start
and end.
 EMG: electromyogram
Use middle
Myo=muscle activity as cue.
EEG patterns during sleep
An electroencephalograph (EEG) is a device that detects, amplifies
and records the electrical activity that is spontaneously generated by
the brain.

EEG recordings show that as a person falls asleep, and throughout a

typical sleep period, the brain produces distinguishable patterns of
electrical activity called brain waves.

EEGs discussed in terms of:

 Amplitude – height or size of wave

 Frequency –number of waves per second

EMG patterns during sleep

 The electromyograph (EMG), is a device used to

detect, amplify and record the electrical activity of
muscles.

 EMG recordings generally show the strength and

electrical activity occurring in the muscles, which
indicates changes in muscle activity (movement) and
muscle tone (tension).

 This information is obtained by attaching electrodes to

the skin above the particular muscles whose activity is
being monitored.
EMG patterns during sleep
 These records are displayed as line graphs.

 Similar to the EEG recordings, EMG records

show that there are identifiable changes in
muscular activity during the course of a
typical night’s sleep.

 Eg. There are periods of time when our

muscles are very relaxed whereas at other
times our muscles go into spasm.
EOG patterns during sleep
 The electro-oculargram (EOG) is a device for
measuring eye movements or eye positions by
detecting, amplifying and recording electrical
activity in eye muscles that control eye
movements.
 The records of the EOG are also recorded on a
line graph.
 They have lead psychologists to clarify the
difference between two main types of sleep
pattern- rapid-eye movement sleep and non-
rapid-eye movement sleep.
Heart rate and core body temperature

 Both heart rate and core body temperature

gradually drop as we progressively drift from
lighter sleep to deeper sleep and then gradually
increase as we come out of deeper sleep into
lighter sleep.
 Unlike body temperature, there can be sudden
and quite dramatic changes in heart rate. These
are commonly associated with dreaming, or
sleep phenomena like nightmares and night
terrors or sleep disorders like sleep apnea.
Video monitoring

 Most sleep labs are also fitted with video

monitoring to observe any external
physiological changes.
 These use modern technology to film in low
light and allow researchers to replay and
analyse sleep behaviour.
 This is particularly useful with participants
who have a serious sleep disorder.
Self-reports
 Most commonly sleep diaries and questionnaires.
 A sleep diary is a self-reported record of an individuals
sleep and waking time activities, usually over a period of
several weeks.
 Things that are usually recorded include:

- The time when trying to fall asleep

- The time when sleep onset occurred

- The number, time and length of awakenings

- The time of waking up

- The time of getting up

Other inclusions may be naps, alcohol consumption,

caffeine, and use of medication, meal times and exercise.
Characteristics of sleep:
 The use of EEG, EMG and EOG measures in
human sleep research has lead to a universally
agreed classification of sleep into distinct stages.

 Stages 1-4 are characterised by different depths of

sleep and are known as non- rapid eye movement
sleep (NREM).

 A 5th stage is characterised by short bursts of rapid

eye movements and is know as rapid eye movement
sleep (REM sleep)
Characteristics of patterns of sleep

 Over the course of a typical night’s sleep we

experience two distinctly different states, or types of
sleep known as NREM sleep and REM sleep.

 These occur in continuous cycles, with one following

the other.

 In adults one cycle of NREM sleep lasts for about

70-90 minutes, and consists of four distinct stages,
each of which can be identified by a different brain
wave pattern.
Characteristics of patterns of sleep
 A period of REM sleep follows each period of NREM
sleep.

 Therefore NREM is sometimes referred to as the

fifth stage of sleep.

 A complete sleep cycle consists of a period of

NREM sleep (but not necessarily all four stages)
and a period of REM sleep (which tends to increase
in duration as the night progresses).

 Generally a complete sleep cycle lasts about 80-120

minutes, and we go through this cycle about four or
five times during eight hours of sleep.
NREM sleep

 Approximately 80% of our sleep time is spent in

NREM sleep, and typically the first half of the night
has more NREM than the second half.

 During NREM sleep the brain is active (but not as

active as during REM sleep or NWC).

 NREM sleep consists of 4 different stages.

 When we first close our eyes and begin to relax our

brain emits a burst of alpha waves.
Falling asleep
 Alpha wave patterns are associated with relaxation and
drowsiness.

 They produce a pattern of relatively high frequency and

medium amplitude waves.

 The transition of being awake to being asleep is known as a

hypnogogic state and is characterised by slow rolling eye
movements.

 During this stage people may experience:

- Flashes of light
- Feelings of floating or weightlessness
- Dreamlike images
- Jerky movements
NREM stage 1
 Stage 1 occurs when we drift in and out of a true
sleep state.

 Physiological changes include:

- Decrease in heart rate
- Decrease in respiration
- Decrease in body temperature
- Decrease in muscle tension

 A hypnic jerk may be experienced in which the body

seems to go into spasm or jerk.
NREM stage 1
 The EEG patterns will show a decrease in alpha
waves and these will be replaced by the more
irregular theta waves. (Theta waves- mixture of high
and low amplitude).

 Stage 1 lasts for around 5-10 minutes

 If we are woken during this stage, we may feel as if

we have not slept at all.
NREM stage 2

 Stage 2 is a light stage of sleep.

 It lasts for around 10-20 minutes.

 Physiological changes:
- Body movements lessen
- Breathing becomes more regular
- Blood pressure and temperature continue to fall
- Heart rate is slower
NREM stage 2
 Brain waves are mainly theta waves, but slightly lower in
frequency and higher in amplitude than the theta waves
produced in stage 1.

 During stage 2, brief bursts of higher frequency brain wave

activity called sleep spindles periodically appear on the EEG
reading.

 Sleep spindles last for about 1 second and indicate that the
person is truly asleep.

 EEG patterns also show bursts of low frequency and high

amplitude waves, called k complexes in response to
arousing stimuli.
NREM stage 3
 Stage 3 is the start of the deepest period of sleep.

 Lasts for about 10 minutes

 Physiological changes:
- Body movements lessen
- Breathing continues to be slow and steady
- Blood pressure and temperature continue to fall
- Heart rate is slower

- The individual is extremely relaxed.

NREM stage 3
 In this stage people are difficult to arouse

 During stage 3 there is a reduction in the brain’s

electrical activity, and delta waves begin to appear in the
EEG reading.

 The presence of delta waves marks the beginning of

slow wave sleep (SWS) so called because of the slower
frequency delta waves.

 Generally we begin SWS within an hour of falling asleep,

and remain in it for around 30 minutes.
NREM stage 4
 Stage 4 is the deepest stage of sleep.

 Physiological signs:
- Muscles are completely relaxed and we barely
move.

 Delta waves dominate the EEG patterns and are

even slower and larger than in stage 3.

 A person in this stage is very difficult to wake.

NREM stage 4
 People who wake up in this stage may take up to 10
minutes to orient themselves and may be mentally
confused.

 Psychologists use the term sleep inertia when

referring to this mental lag.

 In the first cycle of sleep a person may spend up to

20 minutes in stage 4, however as the night
progresses less time is spent in stage 3 and 4. In
those cycles close to the morning there may be no
time spent in these stages.
NREM stage 4
 It is during this stage of sleep that sleep phenomena
such as sleep walking, sleep talking and night
terrors may occur.

 The progression through NREM sleep from stage 1-

4 takes about 45-60 minutes before we
progressively move back up through stages 3, 2,
and then 1.
REM sleep
 REM sleep is a period of rapid eye movement sleep
during which the eyeballs rapidly move beneath the
closed eyelids.

 EEG patterns show irregular waves consisting of low

amplitude, relatively high-frequency beta waves like
those produced in alert wakefulness.

 The body’s internal functioning is more active during

REM sleep than during NREM sleep.
REM sleep
 Physiological changes:
- Heart rate is faster and more irregular
- Blood pressure rises
- Breathing is quicker and more irregular
- Most muscles are limp except for the occasional
twitch or jerk

 REM sleep is sometimes called paradoxical sleep

because internally the brain and body are active but
the body appears calm and inactive.
REM sleep
 One explanation for this paralysis is so that we are
unable to act out our dreams.

 It is in REM sleep that most dreaming occurs.

 We all dream several times a night even if we do not

remember dreaming.

 Dreaming also occurs during NREM sleep but the

dreams are less frequent, less memorable, less vivid
and less fragmented that those of REM sleep.
REM sleep
 Some suggestions about the reasons for REM
sleep:
- REM sleep may assist in consolidating new
memories in the brain
- Probably serves an important biological need

 Throughout the night we pass continuously through

NREM and REM sleep cycles, with REM periods
lengthening and occurring closer together as the
night progresses.
 Sleep patterns summary

 Awake
EEG: beta waves: high F, low A

 NREM Stage 1 (drowsy)

EEG: alpha waves: mid-high F, mid-low A
EMG: Reduction in muscle tension (but muscles still
active)
Other sign: hypnic jerk
EOG: May be slow, rolling movements
 Sleep patterns

 NREM Stage 2 (light sleep)

EEG: theta waves = low F, mixed A.
Sleep spindles (burst of high F)
K complexes (burst of high A).
EMG: Medium Activity
EOG: No movement

 NREM Stage 3 (sleep)

EEG: theta & delta waves = higher A, lower F
EMG: Medium or Low Activity
EOG: No movement
Sleep patterns
 NREM Stage 4 (deep sleep)
EEG: delta waves = high A, low F
EMG: Medium or Low Activity
EOG: No movement

 REM (Rapid Eye Movement)

EEG: Beta waves: irregular bursts of high F, low A
EMG: Low Activity (temporary paralysis)
EOG: Sharp, intermittent eye movements
REM NREM
Cataplexy: muscles relax Individual can still move
to near paralysis
Eyes move rapidly Eyes don’t move
Most dreaming occurs Some dreams

Purpose: Purpose:
Consolidation of LTM Physical growth and body
repair

~20% of adult’s sleep ~80% of adult’s sleep

Typical Sleep Pattern

 Sleep cycles of 90mins through night.

 NREM stage 1 to 4, then back, then REM.

 More time in NREM at start of night

 More time in REM later in night

CHANGES IN SLEEP PATTERNS
OVER THE LIFESPAN
 The amount of time spent in each stage is
highly variable.

 Eg. Poor sleepers are likely to spend less

time in stage 4 and REM sleep.

 The amount spent in each stage also

changes across the lifespan.
 Eg. A newborn infant sleeps for around 16 hours
a day and around 50% of that is REM sleep.
 By the end of infancy, total sleep time drops to
around 12-13 hours and about 25-30% is REM
sleep.
 By the end of childhood and onset of
adolescence, total sleep time drops to around 9
hours and about two hours or 20% is REM
sleep.
 By late adulthood, the total sleep time averages
six to seven hours, with about one third in REM
sleep.
 People in their sixties and older tend to report
that their sleep is much lighter with increased
awakenings than when they were younger.

 By age 90, stage 3 and stage 4 is rarely

experienced, if at all.
Negative correlation between age and hours of sleep.
Negative correlation between age and REM sleep.
 Sleep-wake cycle shift during
adolescence
 In general adolescents tend to lesson the hours they
sleep each night from 10 to less than 8 between the
ages of 13-19.
 Studies have found however, that adolescents require
more than 9 hours sleep a night to function well when
asleep.
 They also seem to have a higher percentage of sleep
problems like:
- Taking a long time to fall asleep
- Insufficient night time sleep
- Difficulty waking in the morning
 This can lead to difficulties in daytime
functioning like:
- Difficulty concentrating in class
- Mentally ‘drifting off’ or falling asleep in class
- Lethargy
- Problems staying motivated.
 Each day our body goes through a cycle called
a circadian rhythm during which hormones
are produced to control bodily functions.

 Melatonin is one of these hormones and this

causes us to feel sleepy at night.

 The cycle is also linked to external cues like

sunlight, alarm clocks, meal times and even
television.
 During adolescence there is a hormonally
induced shift of the body clock about two
hours, making the adolescent sleepier one
or two hours later.
 This is known as the sleep-wake cycle shift
and this affects their ability to fall asleep at
the earlier time that they would of as a child.
 This also means that they have the biological
need to sleep a couple of hours longer in the
morning.
 For teenagers, this is virtually impossible
given their school and work schedules.
 As a results this nightly sleep loss can
accumulate as a sleep debt; that is, sleep
that is owed and needs to be made up.
 Eg. A nightly sleep debt of 90 minutes
between Monday and Friday would add up to
a total sleep debt of seven and a half hours.
 Often on the weekends teenagers would
sleep for longer to make up for this debt
which can also be problematic.
THE PURPOSE OF SLEEP

 Research investigated on the effects of

sleep deprivation and the amount of
sleep has lead to a number of theories
that provide answers about WHY we
need to sleep.
 Most theories however, can provide

some explanation for the reasons why

sleep is such a necessity.
Restoration
 Restorative theories propose that sleep provides
‘time out’ to help us recover from depleting activities
during waking time that use up the body’s physical and
mental resources.
- Allows us to replenish the energy used up during the
day
- Allows damaged cells to be repaired
- Allows muscles to be detoxified and rid themselves of
waste products
 This is supported by our view that we feel tired before
we go to sleep and replenished when we wake up in
the morning.
Evidence
 Study 1: When we are asleep our physiological
functions slow down and growth hormone which
promotes body repair is secreted at a much higher
level than when awake.
 Study 2: Athletes who competed in a 92km
marathon found that when allowed to sleep as long
as they wanted to they slept significantly longer and
deeper in the following two nights after the race.
 Study 3: Experiments with rats have found that
prolonged sleep deprivation results in the
breakdown of various bodily tissues and death
within three weeks.
Restoration

 NREM sleep is believed to be important for

repairing and restoring the body whereas
REM sleep is believed to restore the brain
and may have a role in higher mental
functions like memory and learning.
NREM REM
-Physical growth, tissue -Brain growth and
repair and recovery restoration occur during
from the effects of REM sleep.
fatigue occur during -REM is a lot more
stages 3 and 4 of predominant in infants
NREM sleep. than in later years
indicating that REM
sleep plays an
important role in brain
development in the
early years.
Restoration
 Psychologists generally believe that REM sleep
has some biological quality that we need.
 When lab patients are woken each time they
enter REM sleep they do not seem to show any
adverse signs, however, when left to rest
normally they will spend more time in REM sleep
than usual. This indicates that there is a need for
them to ‘catch up’ on lost REM sleep.
 This is called REM rebound which involves
catching up on REM sleep immediately following
a period of lost REM sleep when next asleep.
SURVIVAL

 The survival theory of sleep proposes that

sleep evolved to enhance survival by
protecting an organism through making it
inactive during the part of the day when it is
most risky or dangerous to move about.
 Sleep serves the function of protecting the
sleeper from harm or death, and therefore
enhances survival of the species.
Evidence
 Animals with few natural predators, such as lions,
tigers and gorillas, sleep as much as 15 hours a
day.
 Grazing animals like horses, zebras and cows have
many predators and would struggle to escape from
them. They cannot hide easily, climb trees or burrow
quickly to escape danger and therefore tend to only
sleep around 4 hours total in the day.
 Smaller animals like bats and possums eat less food
and take less time to digest it as well as usually
sleeping in safe places. This means they do not
need to spend much time awake.
Evidence

 Humans sleep at night because we are highly

visual creatures who need light to find food
and do other things necessary for survival.
 At night it may have been best for us during
our evolution to be asleep at night to avoid
any dangers.
Criticisms

 One criticism is that it does not explain why

sleep involves a loss of awareness since the
loss of consciousness during sleep may
place the organism at greater risk.
 There is only limited evidence to support
each of these theories.
SLEEP DEPRIVATION
Sleep deprivation

 The term sleep deprivation means going without

sleep.

 The extent of discomfort depends on the individual,

the amount of sleep lost, and the period of time over
which the deprivation occurs.
Sleep deprivation

 Research into sleep deprivation has identified

different effects for different kinds of sleep loss.

 3 categories:
1. Total deprivation
2. Partial deprivation
3. Selective deprivation

 We will focus on total deprivation and partial

deprivation.
Sleep deprivation
 Unethical to conduct research on humans so most
total deprivation research has been conducted on
animals.

 Rats have been the main participants.

 The sleep deprived rats typically were unable to

maintain a constant body temperature, resulting in
excessive heat loss.

 They eventually died after 2-3 weeks.

Sleep deprivation
 Autopsies show that the rats immune systems had
collapsed, resulting in blood poisoning and untimely
death.

 It was then proposed that sleep is vital to the

regulation and stability of an animals internal
environment and this may also apply to humans.

 Research conducted on people that have voluntarily

become sleep deprived has found that although
there are some serious psychological and
physiological effects none of these are permanent.
Sleep Deprivation: partial
Tiredness
Lack of energy
Lapses in attention
Inability to concentrate for long periods
Low level of motivation
Impaired motor skills
Irritability
Occasional headaches
Decline in ability to perform cognitive tasks
Slower reaction times on motor tasks
Thinking in irrational and illogical ways
Difficulty making decisions
Partial sleep deprivation
 Generally over a short period of time, partial sleep
deprivation has temporary and relatively minor effects.
 A person can also quickly recover when the sleep debt
is repaid.
 People, however, underestimate the effects of partial
sleep deprivation over a prolonged period.
 William Dement (1999) believes that millions of people
throughout the world are ‘living less than an optimal
life and functioning at less than optimal level, impaired
by an amount of sleep debt that they are not even
aware they are carrying’.
 He believes that the high level of sleep
deprivation in adolescents could even be fatal
as they are in a high risk of accident
category.
 30% of road accidents occur when drivers fall
asleep on long boring stretches of road.
 After only 4 hours of sleep deprivation,
reaction time is as much as 45% lower than
usual.
 Memory processes may also be impaired.
Total sleep deprivation
 Studies on the effects of total sleep
deprivation in humans have tended to rely on
convenience samples.
 In one case of total sleep deprivation,
teenager Randy Gardener stayed awake for
264 consecutive hours (11 days) as part of a
high school science project.
 Although he experienced a range of
physiological and psychological effects
throughout the experience, he did not
experience any long lasting effects.
 Some people however, experience more
debilitating effects like depression,
hallucinations, delusions and paranoia.
 In 1959, American DJ Peter Tripp remained
awake for 100 hours for charity and began to
experience severe psychological disturbances.
He claimed to see a rabbit run along the radio
booth (hallucination) and cobwebs in his shoes.
He had difficulty thinking clearly and
remembering things. Eventually he became
paranoid believing people were trying to drug
him to force him asleep.
 He was escorted home after 201 hours
without sleep and slept continuously for 13
hours. When he woke he had returned to
normal.
Sleep Deprivation
Psychological Effects:
 Impaired cognition due to reduced concentration,
motivation and attention.
 Increased irritability

 Ability to perform simple tasks more affected than

performance on complex tasks
 Moodiness

 Increased anxiety

 Impairment of memory processes (STM)

 Depression

 Hallucinations, delusions & paranoia

Sleep Deprivation
Physical Effects
 Sleepiness and fatigue

 Droopy eye lids

 Difficulty focusing

 Slurred speech

 Increased sensitivity to pain

 Hand tremors

 Headaches

After 5 consecutive days:

 The heart and respiratory system become slower

 Body temperature drops

 The immune system is lowered making us more vulnerable

to illness
Sleep deprivation
 After 3-4 sleep-free days we involuntarily drift into
microsleeps

 A microsleep is a very short period of drowsiness

or sleeping that occurs while the person is
apparently awake.

 During a microsleep the EEG pattern resembles the

early stages of NREM sleep.

 During this time the person will have no recollection

of the events unfolding.
 We do not seem to have to fully compensate
for all sleep lost, but we will make up for lost
sleep by gaining a few extra hours over the
next few nights.
Sleep deprivation vs alcohol

 Does fatigue really kill?

 Yes!
 20 hours sleep-free = perform at same level
as with BAC 0.05%
 24 hours sleep-free = perform at same level
as with BAC 0.10%