The Psychology class where i forgot my glasses and just kinda sat

there 😕
● Encounters
● Approximately 20% of college students believe in extraterrestrials (aliens) visiting
us in our dreams
● Almost 10% claim to have “experienced or met an alien”
● Is this really happening?

● Alien Abductions
● Research shows most “abductees”report a history of sleep paralysis
● State of being unable to move just after falling asleep or right before waking up
● Often associated with anxiety/terror, feeling vibrations, or feeling like there is a
menacing presence in the room
● Is this common?

● Consciousness
● Our Subjective experience of the world, our bodies, thoughts, emotions, events,
actions. It is our mental perspective
● We constantly experience a stream of differing states of consciousness
● Sleep paralysis, out-of-body, near-death, and mystical experiences are all
alterations of normal consciousness

● Biology of Sleep
● Our circadian is cyclical biological changes that occur on a roughly 24hr basis.
○ Includes hormone release, brain waves, drowsiness, and body temp.
● You will be asleep approx. 1/3 of your life. But were not sure why its important.
○ Critical for your physical and mental health
○ Memory consolidation?
○ Immune system functioning
○ safety
● Regulated by the suprachiasmatic (SCN) or biological clock of the hypothalamus
○ 20,000 neurons
● Falling asleep is triggered by an increase in melatonin- a hormone made by the
pineal gland
● Disruptions of circadian rhythms (jet lag, late shifts) can cause numerous health
problems
● Example: you fly from Vancouver to Montreal, you “lose” three hours. You get up
at 8AM in Montreal, but it feels like 5AM to your body

● How Much Sleep?

● We need about 7-10 hours of sleep a day.
 ○ Unless you have a gene mutation (DEC2) - < 1% of the population. 6
hours a night and they feel fine
● Newborns—16 hours
● College and university students—9 hours
○ What do you get on average?
○ Is it better for students to go to bed early and get up early, or go to bed
late and sleep in later?
● Most people— 7-10 hours

● Sleep Deprivation
● Building up a sleep debt can have numerous negative consequences
○ Weight gain
○ Depression
○ Decreased immune system functioning
○ Difficulty learning new information
○ Decreased ability to pay attention
○ Slowed reaction time
○ hallucinations (after 4 days of severe sleep deprivation)
○ Increased risk for cardiovascular problems