13 States of Consciousness

© Islamic Online University
In the Name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful,

the Especially Merciful
http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com
STATES OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
Introduction to Psychology
Dr Aisha Hamdan
Objectives
• Define consciousness
• Describe types of waking
consciousness
• Discuss Islamic perspective of

sleep
• Outline the sleep cycle
Objectives
• Explain importance of sleep
• Explain effects of sleep deprivation
• Describe various sleep disorders
What is Consciousness
• Awareness of the outside world
and/or one’s own mental activity
(sensations, feelings, thoughts)
• Conscious processing allows us to
perform voluntary tasks, reason,

solve problems, and communicate
with others
What is Consciousness
• “Continuum of consciousness” –
varies throughout the day
• Most dramatic shift is sleep
Normal Waking
Consciousness
• Four varieties of normal
waking consciousness
– Directed consciousness
– Flowing consciousness
– Daydreaming
– Divided consciousness
Normal Waking
Consciousness
• Directed consciousness
– a focused and orderly “one tracked”
awareness
– centered on a specific stimulus

– athletes good at this
– occasionally happens with students
in class!
Normal Waking
Consciousness
• Flowing consciousness
– a drifting, unfocused awareness
– your awareness (attention) moves
at random from attention to one

stimulus to another
Normal Waking
Consciousness
• Daydreams
– focused and directed thinking
– like directed consciousness, but
these involve fantasies (and not

stimuli immediately at hand)
– students usually do this in class!
Daydreams
Normal Waking
Consciousness
• Divided consciousness: Being two
places (mentally) at the same time
– the process of “splitting off” two or
more conscious activities that occur
simultaneously
– similar to “multi-tasking”
– for example: rub your head and pat
your stomach or divide 81 by 3
while saying your name
Sleep: Islamic Perspective
‫َو ِم ْن آيَاتِ ِه َمنَا ُم ُكم بِاللﱠ ْي ِل َوالنﱠ َھا ِر‬

‫ضلِ ِه إِ ﱠن فِي َذلِ َك‬ ْ َ‫َوا ْبتِ َغا ُؤ ُكم ﱢمن ف‬
‫ون‬
َ ‫س َم ُع‬ ْ َ‫ت لﱢقَ ْو ٍم ي‬
ٍ ‫َآليَا‬
“And of His signs is your sleep by

night and day and your seeking
of His bounty. Indeed in that
are signs for a people who

listen.”
ar-Rum (30):23
• Sleep – considered lesser death
• Waking from sleep is resurrection
• Daily reminder of death and
resurrection
‫‪Sleep: Islamic Perspective‬‬
‫َو ُھ َو الﱠ ِذي يَتَ َوفﱠا ُكم بِاللﱠ ْي ِل َويَ ْعلَ ُم‬
‫َما َج َر ْحتُم بِالنﱠ َھا ِر ثُ ﱠم يَ ْب َعثُ ُك ْم فِي ِه‬
‫س ّمًى ثُ ﱠم إِلَ ْي ِه‬‫ضى أ َ ٌ ﱡ َ‬
‫م‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ج‬ ‫َ‬ ‫لِيُ ْق َ‬
‫‪© Islamic Online University‬‬
‫َم ْر ِج ُع ُك ْم ثُ ﱠم يُنَبﱢئُ ُكم بِ َما ُكنتُ ْم‬

‫تَ ْع َملُ َ‬
‫ون‬
‫‪http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com‬‬
“It is He, Who takes your souls

by night [when you are asleep],
and has knowledge of all that
you have done by day, then He

raises [wakes] you up again…”
Al-An’am (6):60
• During sleep – souls are taken
• If Allah wishes – may keep soul
• If wills that should remain alive –
returns soul
“It is Allah Who takes away the
souls at the time of their death,
and those that die not during
their sleep. He keeps
those[souls] for which He has

ordained death and sends the
rest for a term appointed…”
az-Zumar (39):42
Sleep and Sleep Stages
• Stages of sleep
– 5 stages of sleep
– involves passing from waking
state into a semi-wakeful state,
– then into stages of progressively

deeper sleep
– followed by REM sleep
Sleep and Sleep Stages
• Stages of sleep
– based on EEG measures of
brainwave activity during sleep
– reveal different brain-wave

patterns in sleep
– beta, alpha, theta, delta brain
waves
EEG Waves
• Beta waves
–Frontal lobes
–Active mental concentration
• Alpha waves
–Occipital and parietal lobes
–Relaxed with closed eyes
Changes in brain-wave patterns associated with various stages of •

sleep. Actually, most wave types are present at all times, but they occur
more or less frequently in various sleep stages..
Stages of Sleep
• Non-Rem Sleep
–Stage 1 sleep (5%):
• shifting alpha wave brain activity
to mostly theta waves
• brain is slowing down

• lightest stage of sleep
• peacefulness, slowed pulse and
respiration
• decreased blood pressure
Stages of Sleep
• Non-Rem Sleep
–Stage 2 sleep (45%):
• brain is slowing further
• largest percentage of sleep time
• sleep spindles
–Stage 3 sleep:
• theta-to-delta brain wave patterns
• the brain is slowing further
Stages of Sleep
• Non-Rem Sleep
– Stage 4 sleep:
• delta wave brain patterns
• brain is at its slowest
• deepest, most relaxed stage
Stages of Sleep
• During stages 3 and 4 (25%
combined):
– Night terrors
– Sleepwalking (somnambulism)
– Bedwetting (enuresis) may occur
Sleep and Dreaming
• Rem Sleep or Dream Sleep (25%):
– brain begins to move faster
– returns to beta wave pattern of
wakefulness
– though still asleep
– REM (rapid eye movement) activity is

present
– increased pulse, respiration and blood
pressure
– absence of skeletal muscle movement
Sleeping and Dreaming
• REM Sleep or Dream Sleep
– virtually everyone dreams every
night
– most people dream more than once
in a single night
– REM periods of 10 – 40 minutes
occur about every 90 minutes
• REM Sleep or Dream Sleep
– typical person – 1 to 2 hours of
dreaming every night
– REM rebound – if deprived of REM
sleep one night will have increased

REM sleep next night
The Sleep Cycle
The Sleep Cycle
• Normal sleep required by
individual is 7.5 hours per night
• Typical sleep cycle is about 1.5
hours
• Typical person has 4 to 5 sleep

cycles occurring per sleep period
These Siamese twins share the same blood supply, yet

one sleeps while the other is awake.
(Photo by Yale Joel, Life Magazine. © Time, Inc.)
Sleep Deprivation
• Why do we sleep and dream?
– Isn’t it a waste of about 33% of your
life?
• NO! Sleep and dreaming is
important to maintain normal

psychological functioning
Sleep Deprivation
• Sleep deprivation studies
– Going more than 40 hours
without sleep
– Leads to forgetting, irritation,

poor judgment, and other
symptoms
Sleep Deprivation
• Extreme sleep deprivation
– studies of extreme sleep
deprivation
– at about 120 hours of sleep
deprivation
– begin to behave like paranoid
schizophrenics
Sleep Deprivation
• Extreme sleep deprivation
– symptoms include: hostility,
suspicion, paranoia,
unpredictable behavior,
hallucinations and delusions,

anxiety
• What important thing happens in
sleep?
– Studies on sleep and REM
deprivation
– REM (dreaming state) of sleep is

KEY reason why we sleep
– Sleeping without dreaming is not
useful
Importance of Sleep
• Quality of sleep determines –
–our mood, alertness, energy,
thinking, productivity, and safety
–general health and longevity
• Sleeping brain is highly active –

–regulates immune, hormone, and
cardiovascular functions
–replenishes neurotransmitters
What do dreams mean?
Theories of Dreams
• Dream Symbols: Images that have a
deeper symbolic meaning
• Cartwright: Extension of
processing/problem-solving of waking
life
• Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis:
Brain’s attempt to make sense of
spontaneous brain activity during
sleep http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com
Islamic Perspective of Dreams
The Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) said, “There are
three types of dreams: a righteous
dream which is glad tidings from
Allah; the dream which causes

sadness which is from Satan; and a
dream from the ramblings of the
mind.”
(Muslim, al-Bukhari)
Islamic Perspective of Dreams
• Dreams of the Prophets were a form
of revelation
• Aisha (radiAllahu anha) said, “Divine
revelation began to come to Allah’s
Messenger in the form of righteous

dreams during his sleep. Whenever
he had a dream, it would come
true like daybreak.”
(Al-Bukhari)
Sleeping and dreaming
• Nightmares
– exceptionally frightening dreams
– typically involve anxieties
– often involve being chased, being late,
or falling
– typically dark and foreboding
– individuals may wake up after
nightmares with a sense of uneasiness
Sleep Disorders
• Insomnia:
– difficulty falling asleep or staying
asleep
– frequent nighttime awakenings, or
waking too early

– leads to sleepiness during day
– problems in social or work
obligations
Sleep Disorders
• Sleepwalking
– Repetitive walking during sleep
– No memory of episode
– Occurs during delta sleep
• Sleep terror
– Repetitive experiences of fright
– Screams in fear during sleep
– Usually children
– No memory of having dream

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© Islamic Online University

In the Name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful,

• Discuss Islamic perspective of

perform voluntary tasks, reason,

– centered on a specific stimulus

at random from attention to one

these involve fantasies (and not

‫َو ِم ْن آيَاتِ ِه َمنَا ُم ُكم بِاللﱠ ْي ِل َوالنﱠ َھا ِر‬

“And of His signs is your sleep by

are signs for a people who

‫َم ْر ِج ُع ُك ْم ثُ ﱠم يُنَبﱢئُ ُكم بِ َما ُكنتُ ْم‬

“It is He, Who takes your souls

you have done by day, then He

those[souls] for which He has

– then into stages of progressively

– reveal different brain-wave

Changes in brain-wave patterns associated with various stages of •

• brain is slowing down

• deepest, most relaxed stage

– Bedwetting (enuresis) may occur

– REM (rapid eye movement) activity is

sleep one night will have increased

• Typical person has 4 to 5 sleep

These Siamese twins share the same blood supply, yet

important to maintain normal

– Leads to forgetting, irritation,

hallucinations and delusions,

– REM (dreaming state) of sleep is

• Sleeping brain is highly active –

Allah; the dream which causes

Messenger in the form of righteous

waking too early

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