The Science of Consciousness: Dreaming, Circadian Rhythms, and More

Question One 

When the topic of altered states of consciousness comes up, people tend to think that such states are induced by hypnosis, drugs, or other exotic processes. However, everyone experiences an altered state of consciousness daily through sleeping. From a biological view, falling asleep can be described as dangerous since it opens us to different vulnerabilities, such as competitors and predators. Nonetheless, sleep is of significant survival value, which is why the topic was most interesting to me. Falling asleep is a complex process that involves different cognitive, behavioral, and electrophysiological alterations, and is interpreted as the hypnagogic state (Mateos et al., 2018). In human beings, neural synchrony's interactions with cardio-respiratory synchrony relate to its crucial role in integrating respiration, heart, and brain functions to maintain consciousness. Intensity or depth and duration are sleep's qualitative and quantitative measures, respectively. At times, due to their work schedules, human beings stay awake for longer hours, which makes them need restorative sleep. The sleep debt, which reflects on both the qualitative and quantitative measures, makes the topic more interesting to me since various researchers have concluded that reduced sleep affects mortality. What is more, humans can develop a disease known as fatal familial insomnia, which prevents them from falling asleep (Jobst et al., 2017). The ailment can last for a couple of months and eventually leads to death. 

Question Two 

Dreaming is part and parcel of sleep, and is a universal human characteristic that occurs during rapid eye movement. However, many individuals can barely remember their dreams because they happen during an altered state of consciousness. Even for those who can recall the dream, the details are usually scanty. Different societies and cultures interpret dreaming and out of body experiences differently. For instance, some believe that when one is asleep and experiencing a dream, they believe that the soul may leave the body during that time. However, other aspects, such as the content of such dreams is still a mystery with little or no research covering the same. In other cultures, people use dreams experienced during sleep to seek and control supernatural powers. Others use them to get information or aid. For religious experts, dreams are a source of divine intervention. Consequently, people who dream in their sleep may give them the right to assume culturally-restricted roles, particularly if the dreams are interpreted to bring deeper meaning for society. In contrast to that, some of the dreams may be normal reactions based on the individual's previous activities or thoughts and may not necessarily bear a hidden cultural meaning. 

Question Three 

The human brain has a circadian rhythm, which is the 24-hour clock that regulates the levels of sleep and wakefulness in response to environmental light changes (Jobst et al., 2017). The system has gradually evolved to help humans adjust to changes in the environment, such as temperature, radiation, and even food availability. Without such a clock, human beings would be unable to balance the internal physiology of the body and optimize energy expenditure. Sleep, therefore, is an important activity that every organism needs for survival. This is because vital occurrences such as metabolic regulations, body healing, and memory consolidation take place during the sleep cycle. The cycle can also influence body temperature, eating habits, hormone release, as well as digestion. The disruption of the circadian rhythm can have adverse effects, especially on crucial organ systems like reproductive, skeletal, immune, and cardiovascular (Jobst et al., 2017). However, the central clock is not the only internal control mechanism. Recent studies have revealed other peripheral oscillators in the body in organs such as the liver, heart, lungs, and intestines (Jobst et al., 2017). Nonetheless, such secondary clocks are still dependent on the circadian rhythm as well as other factors like external cues, the timing of meals, and temperature. Proper sleep, thus, allows the body to engage in circadian rhythm that initiates the build-up energy stores to trigger metabolic processes. 

Question Four 

At times the circadian rhythm may be disrupted by certain factors such as light, shift work disorders, as well as air travel across different time zones. Light is a significant cue that the body uses to differentiate day from night. However, when the exposure to light is mistimed, for example, at night when one is supposed to be sleeping, behavioral and biological rhythms are desynchronized. If it happens for a long time, it leads to sleep deprivation, which eventually leads to major depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. When it comes to shift work disorder, the circadian rhythm is disrupted when the individual works beyond the typical 800 to 1700h shifts (Mateos et al., 2018). The effects of that include difficulty in falling asleep, excessive sleepiness, and micro-naps, particularly when the individual is expected to stay alert and be productive. Modern conveniences like air travel can also cause shifts in the circadian rhythm, considering that such rhythms do not automatically reset when an individual cross another time zone. Such disruptions can lead to gastrointestinal issues, disturbed sleep, hormonal changes, and daytime fatigue. Additionally, the individual can experience mood swings. 

Question Five 

Consciousness is characterized by a state of mental awareness and alertness (MyPsychLab, n.d.). Researchers have learned that conscious people often experience prospective and concurrent awareness of the events that surround them. Researchers have also established that an individual in an altered state of consciousness has modified and distorted controlling functions (Dietrich, 2018). Such alterations can enhance or limit performance. When it comes to sleep, various individuals have different opinions about it. For some, sleep is characterized by unresponsiveness to the environment and physical immobility, while others believe it is restorative. Similarly, other people view sleep as a time that the brain recovers from stress and exhaustion. As noted above, dreams are part of sleep and are defined as the mental activities that take place during sleep. An individual can have several dreams during one session of sleep. Researchers have established a link between the fist dreams and the last activities that an individual participated (Mateos et al., 2018). For example, if the individual watched television programs, the first dream they will have once they fall asleep will be associated with that. Several emotions, such as anxiety, happiness, and anger, can be expressed in a dream. At times, some of the dreams can be negative enough to be called nightmares, that often have a frightening quality. On most occasions, an individual wakes up in the middle of the nightmare and do not go back to sleep. The sense of dread of the particular nightmare is determined by the intensity of brain activity as well as the simulation of parts that influence emotional reactions. 

Question Six 

A recent study revealed that sleep occurs in stages, where the body reacts differently during each stage. For instance, in stage one, also known as the drifting stage, the brain waves grow irregular, breathing becomes uneven, and body muscles relax (Jobst et al., 2017). At stage two, the brain waves move from low amplitude high frequency to high amplitude low frequency in readiness for stage three sleep, where in every second, high amplitude waves sweep the brain (Jobst et al., 2017). Stage four is characterized by large regular delta waves and deep sleep. If one is awakened at this phase, they may feel disoriented. Human muscles tend to be more relaxed at this stage while the eyes start moving rapidly as the individual enters REM sleep. At this point, the brain shows waves that are similar to those of a fully awakes person. For this reason, REM is also referred to as active sleep and takes about 15-45 minutes; then, the individual returns to stage four of sleeping (Jobst et al., 2017). An important point to note is that at any given time during sleep, the brain does not become inactive. 

References 

Dietrich, A. (2018). Editorial Introduction: Altered States of Consciousness.  Journal of Consciousness Studies ,  25 (11-12), 9-12. 

Jobst, B. M., Hindriks, R., Laufs, H., Tagliazucchi, E., Hahn, G., Ponce-Alvarez, A., ... & Deco, G. (2017). Increased Stability and Breakdown of Brain Effective Connectivity During Slow-Wave Sleep: Mechanistic Insights from Whole-Brain Computational Modelling.  Scientific Reports ,  7 (1), 1-16. 

Mateos, D. M., Erra, R. G., Wennberg, R., & Velazquez, J. P. (2018). Measures of Entropy and Complexity in Altered States of Consciousness.  Cognitive Neurodynamics ,  12 (1), 73-84. 

MyPsychLab. (n.d.).  The Big Picture: States of Consciousness 

Retrieved From;  https://visual.pearsoncmg.com/mypsychlab/index.php?clipId=30