the phenomenon of an altered state of consciousness

8/13/2019 The Phenomenon of an Altered State of Consciousness

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The Phenomenon of an Altered State of Consciousness 1

The Phenomenon of an Altered State of Consciousness and

Sleep Observations

Nastassja Lopez

AIT


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Abstract:

This paper explores the phenomenon of an altered state of consciousness dealt while

dreaming. This altered state is reached through the beginning and end of the REM cycle. This

phenomenon is explained through the observation of a willing subject to better understand

the sleep cycles and this altered state to produce a better comprehension of what the human

body goes through when falling asleep and sleeping.

The Phenomenon of an Altered State of Consciousness:

The task is to observe the behavior of someone during REM or rapid-eye movement

sleep. The person I observed was my sister who after 10 minutes of lying down fell asleep and so

stage 1 of the sleeping cycle ensued. My sister started the light sleeping cycle so I had to be extra

careful of my movements as to not disturb her. Around 10 minutes, I guessed that she fell into

stage 2 sleep because she remained calm (except she turned and tossed quite and did not wake

up. After 20 minutes, my sister went into the transitional period between light and deep sleep or

stage 3 sleep. I was still careful enough so I would not wake her up early in her sleep.

This transitional period of sleep lasted around another 15 minutes, at least which is what I

think. After that she experienced stage 4 sleep which was deep sleep and nothing could wake her

up; she slept calmly. That stage lasted a good 30 minutes until I finally saw the beginnings of

stage 5 or REM sleep. Since REM sleep is characterized by bursts of rapid eye movements, I

waited to see more motion coming from my sister. Her eyes were not constantly moving but they

did dart back and forth. Her eyes also stopped for a while and then they jerked back and forth

again. Her eyes appeared to move in the same direction just like they do normally.


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Due to some research after I was done with my observations, some scientists believe that

the eye movements of REM sleep are because of visual projection of dreams, but scientists do

not know why they exist or for what function they exist. Other valuable information that I learnt

was that while muscle tone is normal in NREM sleep, in REM sleep we are almost completely

paralyzed. During REM sleep, the important muscles continue to function while the other

muscles go limp. The main muscles that continue to function are: the heart, diaphragm, eye

muscles, and smooth muscles (the intestines and blood vessels.)

the phenomenon of an altered state of consciousness

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