Meditation and sleep

2 separate classes

Meditationhttp://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22

Or Headspace Take 10

• How do you feel about the meditation we’ve been doing in class?

• What is the most difficult aspect of it?• What’s the most pleasant aspect of it?• Have you noticed any benefit to your life

from our class meditation?

Benefits of meditation

• Read the article “8 ways meditation can improve your life”

• Then flip through the pics and read the side captions at the bottom “7 fascinating facts about meditation”– http://tinyurl.com/kzdpw4a

Use ipad, answer these questions

1. What is meditation? 2. Do some research and write about its

history and how/where it is practiced around the world.

Class activity - meditation

• Sit comfortably• Measure your own pulse rate and breathing

rate• Write it down• Meditate (listen to the tape)• Measure your own pulse rate and breathing

rate again• Class average

Post meditation follow up questions1. Describe your meditation in this class:

1. What did you think about during the meditation?2. How did you feel before? After?3. What were your pulse and breathing rates before?

After?4. Would you meditate again? When?

2. Compare it to your meditation in Russell’s class. How were they the same/different?

3. How did we measure the effects of meditation today? Is this a good measure? Why/why not?

4. Why is it important to get the class average?

Homework due – self hypnosis write up.

• Project progress and discussion• Process board (exhibition display)• Project time

College Readinghttp://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=hypnosis-memory-brain

• Discussion questions:1.Compare functional amnesia and post

hypnotic amnesia (PHA)2.How does PHA affect implicit and explicit

memory? Are memories encoded and forgotten, or not encoded?

Read:http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/05/03/1913123.htm

1. Describe the sleep patterns of humans from early childhood to adulthood. Explain why this pattern exists, in terms of melatonin (sleep hormone) and other factors.

2. When does REM sleep normally start? For tired teens in the school sleep study?

3. Design the ideal school day schedule to accommodate teenage sleep patterns (keep in mind family schedule needs too).

Graph of sleep patterns through the lifespan

Some ways you can improve your sleep…

• Block out all light (even the tiny light on a TV or alarm clock)• No electronics or stimulating activities right before bedtime• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day• Create a sleep sanctuary – use your bed only for sleep (no

homework or other awake activities)• Use an app like sleepcycle to wake you up at the optimal

time (measures your sleep stage)• Exercise, but not too soon before bedtime• Eat a healthy diet • Listen to “white noise” to block out sudden sounds (like

traffic) that might wake you• Avoid caffeine (esp close to bedtime)

1 minute exercise: Finish these words

• Id _______• Re_______• Be _______• Ap _______• Na _______• Fl ________• Gr _______• Pe _______• Cr _______

Were the words you wrote…?• Positive• Negative• Neutral

1. Count the number of each2. This is an indicator of your internal emotional state3. Q: If you were awoken during a stage of sleep to

write these word endings and your words were mostly negative, what would this mean?

Sleep and dreaming

• Watch “what are dreams?” NOVA documentary• Write and answer these questions:

1. What are the stages of sleep?2. When do dreams occur? What happens to your

body while you dream?3. Why do scientists think we dream?4. Are all types of dreams the same?5. What is the % chance that thinking about something

before you sleep will make you dream about it? (personal goal for project….)

6. What are some benefits of nightmares?

Measuring Sleep Changes

• Electroencephalograph (EEG): Brain-wave machine; amplifies and records electrical activity in the brain

• Beta Waves: Small fast waves associated with alertness and awakeness

• Alpha Waves: Large, slow waves associated with relaxation and falling asleep

Stages of Sleep

• Stage 1: Small, irregular waves produced in light sleep (people may or may not say they were asleep)– Hypnic Jerk: Reflex muscle twitch throughout

body that may occur in Stage 1

Stage 2

• Deeper sleep; sleep spindles (bursts of distinctive brain-wave activity) appear

Stage 3

• Deeper sleep; Delta waves appear; very large and slow

Stage 4

• Deepest level of normal sleep; almost purely Delta waves

Kinds of Sleep

• Rapid Eye Movements (REM): Associated with dreaming; sleep is very light– Body is very still during REM sleep– Lack of muscle paralysis during REM sleep is

called “REM Behavioral Disorder”• Non-REM (NREM) Sleep: Occurs during

stages 1, 2, 3, and 4; no rapid eye movement occurs– Seems to help us recover from daily fatigue

Sleep Disturbances

• Insomnia: Difficulty in getting to sleep or staying asleep, or waking early– Sleeping pills exacerbate insomnia; cause

decrease in REM and Stage 4 sleep and may cause dependency

• Drug-Dependency Insomnia: Sleeplessness that follows withdrawal from sleeping pills

Types and Causes of Insomnia

• Temporary Insomnia: Brief period of sleeplessness caused by worry, stress, and excitement.– Avoid fighting it and read a book, for example,

until you’re struggling to stay awake.• Chronic Insomnia: Exists if sleeping troubles

last for more than three weeks.– Adopt regular schedule; go to bed at the same

time each night, for example.

Sleep Disturbances

• Sleepwalking (Somnambulism): Occurs in NREM sleep during Stages 3 and 4

• Sleeptalking: Speaking while asleep; occurs in NREM sleep

Nightmares

• Bad dreams that occur during REM sleep • Imagery Rehearsal: Mentally rehearse the

changed dream before you go to sleep again; may help to eliminate nightmares

Night Terrors

• Total panic and hallucinations may occur– Occurs during Stage 4 sleep– Most common in childhood; may occur in

adults

Sleep Apnea

• Interrupted breathing during sleep; cause of very loud snoring– Hypersomnia: Extreme daytime sleepiness– Apnea can be treated by • Surgery• Weight loss• Breathing mask

Psychodynamic (Freudian) Theory of Dreaming

• Emphasizes internal conflicts, motives, and unconscious forces

• Wish Fulfillment: Freudian belief that many dreams are expressions of unconscious desires– Much evidence to refute this

• Dream Symbols: Images that have a deeper symbolic meaning

Time… meditation