How stages of sleep and the amount of sleep affect consciousness. How does the amount of sleep affect you personally in regards to your functionality and consciousness?
Topic: How do the stages of sleep and the amount of sleep affect consciousness? How does the amount of sleep affect you personally in regards to your functionality and consciousness? One full-page
Write a one-page opinion/research paper on the topic listed below. . This assignment is worth 10 points. You will have ONLY one (1) attempt to submit this assignment so make sure you do it right.
Consciousness and Sleep
Sleep is a state of reduced responsiveness to the environment, decreased voluntary muscle activation, and largely inhibited sensory modalities. Hence, it is a state of altered consciousness. It is considered to be a restorative process unless its excess or insufficiency interferes with patients’ quality of life.
In this article, we will explore the concept of consciousness and sleep, followed by discussing two types of sleep: rapid eye movement sleep (REM) and non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM). Subsequently, we will review a complex sleep regulatory network and discuss the consequences when it is disrupted.
Consciousness defines an individual’s awareness of themselves and their surroundings together with their own mind – including a person’s own thoughts and dreams. The conscious experience relies on the integration of multiple parts of the nervous system.
Neurologically speaking, the consciousness system is a series of cortical and subcortical brain networks that work in synergy to maintain attention, alertness, and awareness.
Sleep is a physiological state of reduced consciousness. However, consciousness can be also impaired or completely lost as a consequence of pathology. A person can have different degrees of consciousness and in turn awareness.
The sleep-wake cycle is a cyclical variation in one’s awareness, comprising of phases of wakefulness and sleep. This is largely influenced by changes in behavior and physical activity as well as light and dark exposure and is an example of a circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms are important in regulating many physiological processes including hormone release e.g. cortisol.