STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

What is Consciousness- it is a continuous stream of perceptions, thoughts, feelings, or sensations that we are aware of from moment to moment. Therefore to be conscious means to be aware.

What is Sleep? Sleep which consumes one-third of our life is a natural periodically recurring state of rest. It is characterized by reduced activity, lessened responsiveness to stimuli and distinctive brain-wave patterns. It is an innate biological rhythm which can never be totally ignored.

What is Sleep Deprivation- It is being prevented from getting the desired or needed amounts of sleep. A temporary sleepdeprivation psychosis may happen due to severe sleep loss.

What is REM sleep- It is a sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, paralysis of large muscles, fast and irregular heart rate and respiration, increased brainwave activity, and vivid dreams. Dreams during REM sleep end to be longer, clearer, more detailed, more bizarre, and more dream-like than thoughts and images that occur in NREM sleep.

What are the uses of REM sleep

a. It may stimulate the developing brain of new
born babies. b. It may prevent sensory deprivation during sleep, and may help us process emotional events. c. It seems to help us sort and integrate memories. d. REM sleep and dreaming keep the brain in good working order.

Problems in Sleeping
Hypersomnia- It is excessive daytime sleepiness. This may be due depression, insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, sleep drunkenness, periodic limb movements, drug abuse, and other problems.

What is narcolepsy?- It is a sudden, irresistible, daytime sleep attack that may last in few minutes to half an hour. A victim may fall asleep while standing, talking, or even driving.

Parasomnias- These are the usual behaviours during sleep, which are:

Somnambulism- It is sleeping that occurs during partial arousal from stage 4 sleep or during NREM sleep. It is fascinating. One who sleepwalks usually does so with open eyes but has unsteady feet, a proof that he is asleep. He may avoid obstacles, descend stairs or may even jump out of windows or walk along the streets right in front of vehicles.

What is Sleepwalking disorder?This happens when a person has repeated incidents of leaving his/her bed and walking about while asleep.

2. Sleep talking (somniloquy) It is speaking that occurs during NREM sleep. It is a sleep disturbance in which a person talks while sleeping with no related evidence to a physical or psychological disturbance not even to a guilty conscience.

3. Sleep Apnea- This is a sleep disorder characterized by periods when breathing stops during sleep and the person must be awaken briefly in order to breathe; major symptoms are excessive daytime sleepiness and loud snoring.

What is sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)- It is the sudden, unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant. Sleep apnea is suspected as one cause of SIDS. SIDS babies seem to have a weak arousal reflex.

4. Periodic limb movement Syndrome- These are muscle twitches which primarily affect the legs, and occur every 20 to 40 seconds and severely disturb sleep.

5. Restless legs syndrome- It is

an irresistible urge to move the legs in order to relieve sensations of creeping, tingling, pricking, aching, or tension.

6. Sleep drunkenness- It is a slow transition to clear consciousness after awakening; sometimes associated with irritable or aggressive behaviour.

7. Insomnia- It is a difficulty in getting to sleep or staying asleep. It also includes frequent night time awakening, waking too early, or a combination of these.

Types and Causes of Insomnia

1.Temporary insomniaThis is often caused by worry, stress, and excitement and a selfdefeating cycle. Some can cause insomnia, which are:

a. Excess mental activity and

heightened arousal block sleep.

a)Frustration and anger over not being able to sleep cause more worry and arousal. b)The food we eat also affects how easily we get to sleep. When we eat starchy foods, the amount of tryptophan that goes to the brain increases, increasing serotonin in the brain in return.

2. Chronic insomnia- This is an insomnia that persists for more than 3 weeks.

What is the difference between nightmares and night errors? NIGHTMARES - are simply bad dreams that occur during REM sleep, and are usually short or easy to remember which occur about twice a mount. On the other hand,

NIGHT TERROR - happen during NREM sleep where a person suffers total panic. He may last for 15 to 20 minutes and when the person wakes up, he/she may be profusely sweating but remembers only a little of the terror. Night terrors are common among children and around two percent among adults.

What are some reasons why we sleep a. To conserve energy. Sleep conserves energy and prevents exhaustion. b. To restore depleted resources. Certain kinds of tissue restoration like cell repair may occur during sleep and certain brain chemicals such as neurotransmitters are restored during sleep.

c. To clean the mind. Our brains accumulate extraneous, largely useless information when awake. These may clatter our brains and interfere with our learning and recall of new information if they are not erased. This is done during REM sleep. d. To dream We need to dream during a nights sleep.

Drugs and Consciousness

Psychoactive Drug- It is a drug that alters normal mental functioningmemory, judgement, time sense, self control, mood, perception, or thought; if used medically, it is called a controlled substance.

Stages of drug addiction

1.Experimentation 2.Social use 3.Addiction 4.Dependence

What are the possible effects of the use of psychoactive drugs? a.Drug dependence (physical) b.Drug tolerance c.Withdrawal symptoms d.Drug dependence (psychological)

What are some of the Psychoactive Drugs

a. Stimulants or Uppers. These are drugs that speed up activity in the central nervous system, suppress appetite, and cause a person to feel more awake, alert, and energetic.

What are the commonly known stimulants

1. Caffeine- is the worlds most wide used

drug. It makes us more mentally alert and can help us stay awake. It is a natural drug with stimulant properties which is found in coffee and tea and added to artificial beverages and medicines. Frequent use of caffeine may result to caffeinism.

What is caffeinism- It is the excessive consumption of caffeine, leading to dependence and variety of physical and psychological complaints. Some signs of caffeinism are insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, chills, racing heart, and elevated body temperature.

2. Nicotine- Is a potent stimulants drug found primarily in tobacco. It is a known carcinogen. It is a deadly poison that the body may develop almost immediately from smoking. It is also addictive

What are some important facts about smoking

a.A single cigarette stick reduces a smokers life expectancy by minutes. b.Smoking even exceeds the number of deaths from alcohol, drugs, car accidents, and AIDS combined.

c. Forty percent of all smokers who develop throat cancer try smoking again. d. Each year, only 1 out of 5 smokers who try to quit smoking succeeds.

e. Some tobacco companies manipulate nicotine levels in the cigarettes to keep smokers addicted. f. Daily exposure to second-hand smoke at home or work causes a 24 to 39 percent increase in cancer risk to non-smokers.

g. The scientific link between tobacco smoking and cancer undeniable Wayne McLaren, the man who portrayed the rugged Marlboro Man in cigarette ads, died of lung cancer at age 51.

3. Amphetamine- is an energy in the brain with a price. It is a class of synthetic drugs having stimulants effects on the nervous system. This is a stimulant that increases arousal, relieves fatigue, suppresses the appetite and gives a rush of energy.

4. Cocaine- is a crystalline drug derived from coca leaves, used as s central nervous system stimulant and local anaesthetic.

What are the signs of cocaine abuse a.Compulsive use b.Loss of control c.Disregarding consequences

5.MDMA(Ecstasy)- is a chemically amphetamine. It produces a rush of energy and makes the user feel closer to others and heightens sensory experiences.

b. Downers- These are depressant drugs as differentiated from stimulant drugs. Downers decrease activity in the central nervous system, slow down bodily functions and reduce sensitivity to outside stimulation

What are some common depressants

1. Alcohol- It is the common name for ethyl alcohol, the intoxicating element in fermented and distilled liquors.

2. Barbiturate- It is a class of addictive depressants used as sedatives, sleeping pills and anaesthetics.

3. Tranquilizer (minor)It is the depressant that calms the user. It lowers anxiety and reduces tension.

4. Narcotics- They are a class of depressant drugs that are derived from the opium poppy and have pain-relieving effects.

5. GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate)- This is an illicit nervous system depressant that produces intoxication and sedation.

Hallucinogens or Psychedelics- These are drugs that can alter and distort perceptions of time and space, alter mood, and produce feelings of unreality.

What are the common hallucinogens

1. LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide)- is simply called acid by many users. It is a powerful hallucinogen with unpredictable effects like perception changes and vivid hallucinations to state of panic and terror.

2. Marijuana- is a hallucinogen with effect ranging from relaxation and giddiness to perceptual distortions and hallucinations. It comes from the leaves and flowers of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa.

3. Hashish- is a resinous material scraped from the leaves of the hemp plant. It has a high concentration of THC.