What do the word consciousness mean? The word consciousness can be defined from the dictionary as subjective experience of perceiving oneself and one’s surroundings. However, psychology do not have a logical definition for the word consciousness. Psychology said that consciousness is occasionally confused with the conscience. Your conscious does not stay in one place but it’s changing every second. This may seem like a chaos but it actually happens very smoothly and easily. William James, an American psychologist, compared consciousness to a stream; how it shifted and changed. He did this my using the method called introspection. Verywell.com say that introspection can be defined as examining our own internal thoughts …show more content…
The first stage is called NREM Stage 1 and this is the light stage of sleep which only last 5-10 minutes. The second stage of sleep is called NREM Stage 2. In this stage, people are not really aware of their surroundings, temperature drops, and breathing and heart rate are normal. This stage of sleep last up to 20 minutes. In the third stage of sleep which is called NREM Stage 3; your muscles relax, blood pressure and breathing rate drop, and this is where deepest sleep occurs. In the last stage, REM sleep, the brain is more active, body relaxed, dreams occur, and your eyes could move rapidly. Another word for REM sleep is paradoxical sleep and it’s called this because your brain is more active and muscles are relaxed. Why do we sleep? Scientist uses the EEG to measure electrical patterns and activity produced during sleep. Even with the research, scientists are not sure of why we sleep. However, with the evidences, the scientist has theories of why we sleep. Those three theories are to keep our mind and body functioning, to conserve energy, and to be able to process information that we learn during the day. Even though this were theories on why people need sleep, it’s still not a clear-cut …show more content…
Psychoactive drugs are substance that can alter a person’s state of consciousness. There are four different kind of substances that can do this; depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and opiates. Depressants are substance that decreases activity in the body and nervous system. Examples of depressants include alcohol and tranquilizers. The second substance is stimulants. Stimulants are substance that activates the central nervous system. Examples of stimulants are nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, etc. The third substance is called hallucinogens and this substance stimulates perceptions at odds with reality. Examples of hallucinogens are LSD, ketamine, dextromethorphan, peyote, etc. The last substance in psychoactive drugs is opiates. Opiates are substances that produce sleep-inducing and pain-relieving effects. Examples of opiates includes codeine, morphine, oxycodone, heroin, etc.
No matter what you are doing, your actions and decisions relate to your consciousness. Conscious is an all-or-none process. Conscious changes every second and psychology does not really have a true meaning for conscious. Consciousness is occasionally confused with the