After completing this chapter you should be able to:

Explain daydreaming.
Describe the stages of sleep.
Explain why REM sleep is also called paradoxical sleep.
Define the sleep disorders of insomnia, narcolepsy, and apnea.
Explain the theories of the nature and content of dreams.
Explain the difference between substance abuse and substance dependence.
Explain the effect of depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens.
List two negative effects of each of the following drugs: alcohol, marijuana,
amphetamines, barbiturates, the opiates, cocaine, and the hallucinogens.
Explain the biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors related to addiction.
Consciousness
Consciousness is the awareness we have of ourselves and our environment.
Different states of consciousness are associated with different patterns of brain
waves. Brain waves are tracings of electrical activity that is going on in the brain.
Scientists record brain waves using an electroencephalograph (EEG), which
monitors electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp. There are four
main types of brain waves: alpha, beta, theta, and delta each with a corresponding
mental state:

Type of Brain Wave - Corresponding Mental State

Alpha - Very relaxed or meditating

Beta - Awake and alert
Theta - Lightly asleep
Delta - Deeply asleep
Sleep
Sleep is just one of many types of consciousness we experience, and sleep itself
comprises several states of consciousness. Even when were sleeping, our brains
and bodies continue to work.

Biological Rhythms
Sleep is affected by biological rhythms or periodic physiological changes. Biological
rhythms are regular, periodic changes in a bodys functioning. There are three types
of biological rhythms:

Circadian rhythms:
Biological cycles that occur about every twenty-four hours. Sleep follows a circadian
rhythm. Hormone secretion, blood pressure, body temperature, and urine
production also have circadian rhythms.

Infradian rhythms
Biological cycles that take longer than twenty-four hours. For example, womens
menstrual cycles occur about every twenty-eight days.

Ultradian rhythms
Biological cycles that occur more than once a day. Sleep follows an ultradian rhythm
of about ninety minutes as well as a circadian rhythm. Alertness and hormone levels
also follow ultradian rhythms.

Biological rhythms usually synchronize with environmental events such as changes

in daylight. However, experiments have shown that many biological rhythms
continue to have the same cycle even without cues from the environment. Such
biological rhythms are endogenous, which means that they originate from inside the
body rather than depend on outside cues.

The Function of Sleep

Although everyone sleeps, no one really knows why people sleep. Researchers have
proposed several theories to explain how sleep evolved to be a necessary behavior:
People conserve energy by sleeping periodically. Sleep has a protective function, as
it keeps people tucked away at night, safe from predators. Sleep restores body
tissues that are depleted during daily activities. Sleep research has provided a lot of
information about what happens to the brain and body during sleep. Researchers
study sleep by monitoring subjects who spend the night in labs, and they use
various instruments for different purposes: Electroencephalographs (EEGs): record
brain waves Electromyographs (EMGs): record muscle activity Electrooculographs
(EOGs): record eye movements Electrocardiographs (EKGs): record the activity of
the heart Other instruments monitor breathing, body temperature, and pulse.

Sleep Stages
During one nights sleep, people pass through several cycles of sleep, each lasting
about ninety to one hundred minutes. There are five distinct stages of sleep in each
cycle: 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM. Stages 14 When people are relaxed and ready to fall
asleep, their EEG will show mostly alpha waves. When people fall asleep, they enter
into stage 1 sleep, which lasts just a few minutes. In stage 1, the EEG shows mostly
theta waves. Heart rate, breathing rate, and body temperature drop, and muscles
relax. Fantasies or bizarre images may float around in the mind. After a few minutes
of stage 1 sleep, people move into stage 2 sleep. Stage 2 lasts about twenty
minutes and is characterized by short bursts of brain waves called sleep spindles.
People then pass into slow-wave sleep, which occurs during stages 3 and 4. In
stages 3 and 4, which together last about thirty minutes, the EEG displays mostly
delta waves. People in stage 3 and 4 sleep show slow breathing and pulse rates,
have limp muscles, and are difficult to rouse.

Sleepwalking
Most people in stage 4 sleep are still, quiet, and difficult to rouse. Sleepwalkers,
however, sometimes become physically active during stage 4. They may get up and
walk around their room or even carry on a conversation, take a bath, cook, or go
outside and get in their car. Because they are in a deep sleep, most sleepwalkers
remember nothing of their actions when they wake up.

REM Sleep At the end of stage 4, people go back through the stages in reverse, from
stage 4 to 3 to 2 to 1. When they reach stage 1, instead of waking up, people go
into REM, or rapid eye movement, sleep. A single cycle might look like this: 1 2 3 4
3 2 REM . REM sleep is a stage of deep sleep in which, paradoxically, brain wave
activity resembles that of an alert person. REM sleep is also called paradoxical
sleep. During REM sleep, pulse rate and breathing become irregular, eyes move
rapidly under closed lids, and muscles remain very relaxed. Genital arousal also
happens during REM. In women, the clitoris becomes swollen with blood, and
vaginal lubrication increases. In men, the penis becomes erect. EEGs show mostly
beta waves during REM sleep. Although dreaming happens in other sleep stages as
well, dreams are most vivid and frequent during REM sleep. People typically go
through about four sleep cycles during one night of sleep. The REM stage of sleep
gets longer and longer as the night passes, while stage 3 and 4 sleep gets shorter
and shorter. During the nights first sleep cycle, the REM stage lasts about ten
minutes. During the nights last sleep cycle, people may spend about forty to sixty
minutes in REM sleep. Non-REM sleep becomes more shallow as the night goes on,
and eventually the sleeper awakens.

Sleep Deprivation
Different people need different amounts of sleep. Some people can function with
fewer than six hours of sleep a night, while others cant manage without at least
nine hours. Research shows that getting insufficient sleep can have negative effects
on health, productivity, and performance. Researchers have also studied the effects
of insufficient REM sleep. Experiment subjects who are intentionally deprived of
REM sleep tend to enter the REM stage of sleep more and more frequently during
the night. After an REM-deprivation experiment has ended, subjects usually
experience a REM rebound effect, spending more time in the REM stage on
subsequent nights to make up for lost REM time.

Aging and Sleep

Sleep patterns change as people get older. Newborn babies spend about two-thirds
of their time in sleep. As people age, they tend to sleep less. The amount of time
spent in REM sleep also changes over time. In very young babies, about half of all
sleep is REM sleep. As babies get older, the proportion of REM sleep decreases.

Sleep Disorders
Everyone has occasional difficulty sleeping, but some people have insomnia, a
chronic problem with falling or staying asleep. Another kind of sleep disorder is
narcolepsy, which is a tendency to fall asleep periodically during the day.
Narcolepsy can be dangerous, as people who experience it may fall asleep while
driving or operating machinery. Sleep apnea is another condition that can have
negative effects on health and safety. People who have sleep apnea stop breathing
many times during a nights sleep, and each time they stop breathing, they wake up
briefly and gasp for air. This prevents them from getting enough deep sleep, which
leads to irritability and sleepiness during the day. Chronic sleep apnea can also
result in high blood pressure.

Biological Clocks
Endogenous rhythms exist because the body has biological clocks that keep time.
Biological clocks can be adjusted by environmental cues, such as changes in
temperature. In humans, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is the main biological
clock that regulates circadian rhythms of sleep. The SCN lies in the brains
hypothalamus. When light stimulates receptors in the retina of the eye, the
receptors send signals to the SCN. The SCN then sends signals to the nearby pineal
gland, which secretes melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep cycle.

Jet Lag

Jet lag is the fatigue and disorientation air travelers feel after a long flight. Although
traveling itself drains energy, the time change also contributes to fatigue. People
experience jet lag when the events in their environment are out of sync with their
biological clocks. Example: A traveler leaves New York City at eight in the morning
and arrives in London about seven hours later. For her, its three in the afternoon,
but because of the time change, in London its eight in the evening. Her body,
thinking its mid-afternoon, will be confused by the lack of sunlight, and shell
experience jet lag.Describe meditation and hypnosis

There are many types of meditation that people around the world practice today. It
is a personal exercise and people have their own reasons for wanting to practice the
art. Some types of meditation suit different people better than others with
spirituality, fitness, and concentration all playing parts in the exercise. As an
alternative health therapy, different types of meditation continue to gain popularity
in the West year after year.

Meditation is a way of relaxing and calming first the mind, and then the physical
body. A normal state of mind is actually quite abnormal, with visual stimuli and
uncontrolled sensory signals being fed and then slowly organized by the brain. This
leads to stress, unhappiness, and bad mental health in some, and fatigue or tension
in others. Various types of meditation slow down a persons thoughts and actions to
let them enter a state of consciousness where serenity, clarity of thought, and
happiness can be achieved. The many types of meditation all share a similar history
and practice.

Meditation originated and has been practiced in Eastern countries such as China,
India, and Tibet for over 5,000 years. It goes hand in hand with traditional Eastern
religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, where different types of meditation are
used as a means to get closer to God. Meditation focuses on training the brain to be
better equipped to deal with a hectic lifestyle. It also can be used for personal
training, such as teaching people to believe in their inner self and to achieve the
goals they have set for the future. Hypnosis is a state of human consciousness involving focused attention and
reduced peripheral awareness and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.
The term may also refer to an art, skill, or act of inducing hypnosis.[1]

Theories explaining what occurs during hypnosis fall into two groups. Altered state
theories see hypnosis as an altered state of mind or trance, marked by a level of
awareness different from the ordinary conscious state.[2][3] In contrast, nonstate
theories see hypnosis as a form of imaginative role-enactment.[4][5][6]

During hypnosis, a person is said to have heightened focus and concentration. The
person can concentrate intensely on a specific thought or memory, while blocking
out sources of distraction.[7] Hypnotised subjects are said to show an increased
response to suggestions.[8] Hypnosis is usually induced by a procedure known as a
hypnotic induction involving a series of preliminary instructions and suggestion. The
use of hypnotism for therapeutic purposes is referred to as "hypnotherapy", while
its use as a form of entertainment for an audience is known as "stage hypnosis".
Stage hypnosis is often performed by mentalists practicing the art form of
mentalism.

An African proverb says, When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside can
do you no harm.

Self-awareness is one of the most important skills for success. How you behave and
respond to external situations is governed by internal mental processes. Selfawareness uncovers any destructive thought-patterns and unhealthy habits. This
leads to better decision-making and behavioral responses.

Here are 12 exercises for greater self-awareness:

1. The three whys.

Before acting on a decision, ask yourself Why? Follow up your response with
another Why? And then a third. If you can find three good reasons to pursue
something, youll have clarity and be more confident in your actions.

Being self-aware means knowing your motives and determining whether theyre
reasonable.

2. Expand your emotional vocabulary.

The philosopher Wittgenstein said, The limits of my language means the limits of
my world.

Emotions create powerful physical and behavioral responses that are more complex
than happy or sad. Putting your feelings into words has a therapeutic effect on
your brain; if youre unable to articulate how you feel, that can create stress. Heres
a great list of feeling words to help with labeling your emotions. Increase your
emotional vocabulary with one new word each day.

Related: Are You Emotionally Intelligent? Here's How to Know for Sure.

3. Practice saying 'no' to yourself.

The ability to say no to yourself to put off short-term gratification for the longterm gain is an important life-skill. Like a muscle, it is strengthened with exercise.
The more you practice saying no to small daily challenges, the better you can
withstand major temptations.

There are plenty of daily temptations -- social media, junk food, gossiping, Youtube.
Make a goal of saying no to five different temptations each day.

4. Break visceral reactions.

A person without self-awareness runs on auto-pilot, and responds with knee-jerk
reactions. Self-awareness allows you to assess situations objectively and rationally,
without acting on biases and stereotypes.

Take a deep breath before you act, especially when a situation triggers anger or
frustration. This gives you time to re-assess whether your response will be the best
one.

5. Be accountable to your flaws.

Nobody is perfect. Being aware of your flaws, but failing to accept accountability, is
leaving the job half-done. Were often critical of others, while ignorant of our own
flaws. Self-awareness helps turn the mirror on ourselves and prevents hypocritical
behavior.

Iteration and self-improvement only happens once you recognize a flaw. Create a
habit of acknowledging your mistakes, rather than making excuses.

6. Monitor your self-talk.

There is non-stop commentary in our heads that is not always helpful. A little bit of
negative self-talk can spiral into stress and depression.

Pay attention to the way you respond to your successes and failures do you pass
off your achievements as luck? And crucify yourself after failures? Positive and
negative feedback-loops will form in your mind based off how you respond to
successes and failures. Being tough on yourself needs to be balanced with selfcompassion. Celebrate your wins, forgive your losses.

Related: How Talking to Yourself Can Help You Be More Successful

7. Improve your body language awareness.

Watching yourself on video can be a cringeworthy experience, but awareness of
your body language, posture, and mannerisms improves your confidence.

Slouching, or taking a low-power-pose increases cortisol and feeds low selfesteem, while standing tall or taking a high-power-pose stimulates testosterone
and improves your performance. Using hand gestures helps with articulating your
thoughts and affects how people respond to you.

Record a speech or presentation and evaluate your posture and hand gestures.
Watch videos of skilled speakers and adopt their mannerisms to improve your own.

8. Play Devils Advocate.

Taking an opposing view forces you to question your assumptions. Your "default"
beliefs and worldview are not always reasonable; its healthy to argue against
yourself and see how your views hold up.

And youll give your brain a good workout. Processing challenging information
stimulates new neural connections.

9. Know your personality type.

Knowing your personality type allows you to maximize your strengths and manage
your weaknesses. Understanding your strengths and talents can be the
difference between a good choice, and a great choice. (Strengths are skills and
knowledge that can be acquired, while talents are innate).

Start with understanding where you fall on the introvert/extrovert spectrum; know
your Myers-Briggs type; and then conduct a personal SWOT analysis (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, threats).

10. Practice self-evaluation and reflection.

Keep a journal and track your progress. How would you rate your current level of
self-awareness out of ten? Think about how often you say regretful things; repeat
bad habits; make absent-minded decisions; and have erratic thoughts.

Set regular goals, break big goals down into smaller milestones. Ask yourself at the
end of each day, What did I do well today? And, How can I improve on this
tomorrow?

11. Ask for constructive feedback, regularly.

We all have blind spots in our thinking patterns and behaviors. Asking for regular
constructive feedback cuts through any self-deceit or one-dimensional views you
might hold. But only ask people youd consider mentors those who understand
you; whom you respect; and will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want
to hear.

12. Meditation.
Meditation is a foundational practice for improving self-awareness. To focus solely
on your breathing is to focus on a key internal process. Youll become aware of how
your mind wanders, and get better at snapping out of distractions.

For beginners, start with ten minute sessions. Find a quiet place to sit, breath in
through your nose and out through your mouth. Count your breaths silently, pulling
your mind back when it wanders. See how many breaths you can string together.