6A Consciousness and Sleep

Consciousness is the level of awareness an individual has over their thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and existence.

A psychological construct is an agreed upon description and understanding of psychological phenomena that cannot be overtly (directly) measured or observed.

Normal waking consciousness (NWC) is a state of consciousness in which an individual is awake and aware.

An altered state of consciousness (ASC) is a state of consciousness that is distinctly different from normal waking consciousness

Sleep is a regular and naturally occurring altered state of consciousness that involves a loss of awareness and disengagement with internal and external stimuli.

Sleep episode: the full duration of time spent asleep

• Sleep cycle: an approximately 90-minute-period that repeats during a sleep episode in which an individual progresses through stages of REM
• and NREM sleep

REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is a type of sleep characterised by rapid eye movement, high levels of brain activity, and low levels of physical activity.

• NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep is a type of sleep characterised
• by a lack of rapid eye movement and is subdivided into three different stages