Altered States Of Consciousness

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From the time of hunters and gatherers, the some of the thing that has accompanied the human race is their brains. Human's intelligence and consciousness has evolved just as humans have evolved from early hominids to modern humans. Consciousness refers to an individual's awareness of their surroundings and everything that is going on around them. During the course of a lifetime, there are many instances where a shift in the quality and pattern of an individual's mental activity occurs. Altered states of consciousness includes the variable aspects of sleep, dreams, drug induced consciousness, and hypnosis.
One of the most common altered states of consciousness that occurs on a daily basis is sleep. Sleep is a circadian rhythm that takes about a day to complete and "is a product of the activity of the hypothalamus, the hormone melatonin, the neurotransmitter serotonin, and body temperature" (Ciccarelli & White, 2011). Sleep is needed on a daily basis because it is one of the natural cycles the body needs to perform in order to function to the best of its ability. Four stages of sleeping consist of a light sleep, sleep spindles, a sleep where delta waves come in and make up thirty to fifty percent of the brain's activity, and delta waves that make up fifty percent or more of the brain's functions. According to the adaptive theory and restorative theory of sleep, sleep is essential in order to conserve energy and accommodate to the needs of the body like restoring chemicals and repairing cell tissue.
Those that have a bad sleep pattern most likely suffer from sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is a significant loss of sleep that results in concentration problems and is detrimental to one's health. The symptoms of sleep deprivatio...

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Easton, J. (2010, October 4). Sleep loss limits fat loss, study finds. UChicago News. Retrieved July 20, 2014, from http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2010/10/03/sleep-loss-limits-fat-loss-study-finds
How you cope with stress may increase your risk for insomnia. (2014, July 18). Health & Medicine Week, 1438. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA375157321&v=2.1&u=vale41196&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=e35450c916b2d6602c2015ae4ba1aa6b
Hypnosis. (2007). In World of Health. Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCV2191500648&v=2.1&u=vale41196&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=b458ceac89aea46838f7d191e6f17e30
Yager, J. (2010, August 1). Sleep Benefits and Sleep Deprivation Risks. ConsumerAffairs. Retrieved July 20, 2014, from http://www.consumeraffairs.com/sleep-benefits-and-sleep-deprivation-risks?page=1

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