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Selina
11/21/2025
AP Psychology
Unit 2 Part 2 Outline: States of Consciousness
133
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Nov 21, 2025
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Understanding States of Consciousness: Module Guide
Selina
@suuhleena
1 / 4
Sleep Patterns and Biological Rhythms
Ever wonder why you feel sleepy at night and alert during the day? That's your circadian rhythm at work—your body's natural 24-hour biological clock. As morning approaches, your body temperature rises, peaks during the day, and drops in the evening to prepare you for sleep.
Sleep occurs in distinct stages that repeat throughout the night. First comes NREM-1, a light sleep lasting 5-10 minutes where you might experience floating sensations. Next is NREM-2, a 10-20 minute transition stage where you're harder to wake up. The deepest sleep happens in NREM-3, lasting about 30 minutes, when growth hormone is released and sleepwalking might occur.
Finally, there's REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), when most vivid dreams happen. Interestingly, during REM, your muscles are relaxed but your brain is highly active—scientists call this "paradoxical sleep."
Did you know? Sleep isn't just for rest—it serves multiple purposes! Sleep protects us from danger (by keeping us inactive during vulnerable nighttime hours), helps us recover physically, rebuilds our memories from the day, boosts creative thinking, and supports growth.
Sleep Deprivation and Sleep Disorders
Missing sleep affects way more than just making you tired the next day. Sleep loss is a strong predictor of depression and can lead to relationship conflicts, weight gain, and trouble focusing. When you're sleep-deprived, your brain struggles to process information, your immune system weakens, and hormones that control hunger get thrown off balance.
Sleep disorders can seriously disrupt your life. Insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep) affects 1 in 10 adults and is the most common sleep disorder. Narcolepsy causes sudden overwhelming sleepiness, while sleep apnea involves repeatedly stopped breathing during sleep. Sleepwalking and sleeptalking are more common in children and typically happen during deep sleep.
Night terrors differ from nightmares and can cause someone to appear terrified during deep sleep. They affect about 1 in 30 children but become rarer as we age. During a night terror, a child's heart and breathing rates might double, but they typically won't remember the experience the next morning.
Sleep fact: Sleep deprivation impacts your whole body—from your brain to your immune system, heart, stomach, fat cells, joints, and muscles. This is why getting enough quality sleep is crucial for your overall health!
Dreams and Dream Theories
Dreams can be fascinating windows into our minds. What we dream about varies widely—trauma survivors often replay their experiences, musicians might dream of music, and blind people's dreams reflect when they lost their sight. Even media experiences like video games or movies can influence dream content.
Why we dream has puzzled scientists for centuries. Freud's wish-fulfillment theory suggests dreams express our unconscious desires, while the information-processing theory proposes dreams help sort out daily events and consolidate memories. Other theories suggest dreams stimulate neural pathways, weave random neural activity into stories, or reflect our cognitive development.
If you're deprived of REM sleep (when most dreaming occurs), your body will compensate with REM rebound—increasing REM sleep in future nights. This suggests dreaming serves an important function our bodies won't let us skip.
Dream insight: Your dreams might be meaningful even if they seem random! The activation-synthesis theory suggests our brain creates stories from random neural signals, but since it's YOUR brain creating those stories, dreams may still reveal something about your thoughts and concerns.
Psychoactive Drugs and Altered Consciousness
Psychoactive substances change how your brain functions, altering your consciousness in different ways. Substance use disorder develops when someone continues using a substance despite serious life disruptions or physical risks.
Psychoactive drugs fall into three main categories based on how they affect your nervous system. Depressants slow down neural activity and body functions—examples include alcohol, sleeping pills, and heroin. Stimulants do the opposite, exciting neural activity and speeding up bodily functions—like caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
Hallucinogens (also called psychedelics) work differently by distorting perceptions and causing hallucinations. LSD and marijuana fall into this category, creating altered states of consciousness by changing how you perceive reality.
Important note: Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis doesn't enhance recall of forgotten events and might even create false memories. However, hypnosis can be effective for pain relief by altering your conscious experience of discomfort.
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The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
I think it’s very much worth it and you’ll end up using it a lot once you get the hang of it and even after looking at others notes you can still ask your Artificial intelligence buddy the question and ask to simplify it if you still don’t get it!!! In the end I think it’s worth it 😊👍 ⚠️Also DID I MENTION ITS FREEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING AND STILL GET YOUR GRADES IN PERFECTLY❗️❗️⚠️
Thomas R
iOS user
Knowunity is the BEST app I’ve used in a minute. This is not an ai review or anything this is genuinely coming from a 7th grade student (I know 2011 im young) but dude this app is a 10/10 i have maintained a 3.8 gpa and have plenty of time for gaming. I love it and my mom is just happy I got good grades
Brad T
Android user
Not only did it help me find the answer but it also showed me alternative ways to solve it. I was horrible in math and science but now I have an a in both subjects. Thanks for the help🤍🤍
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
I found this app a couple years ago and it has only gotten better since then. I really love it because it can help with written questions and photo questions. Also, it can find study guides that other people have made as well as flashcard sets and practice tests. The free version is also amazing for students who might not be able to afford it. Would 100% recommend
Aubrey
iOS user
Best app if you're in Highschool or Junior high. I have been using this app for 2 school years and it's the best, it's good if you don't have anyone to help you with school work.😋🩷🎀
Marco B
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This app is phenomenal down to the correct info and the various topics you can study! I greatly recommend it for people who struggle with procrastination and those who need homework help. It has been perfectly accurate for world 1 history as far as I’ve seen! Geometry too!
Paul T
iOS user
The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
I think it’s very much worth it and you’ll end up using it a lot once you get the hang of it and even after looking at others notes you can still ask your Artificial intelligence buddy the question and ask to simplify it if you still don’t get it!!! In the end I think it’s worth it 😊👍 ⚠️Also DID I MENTION ITS FREEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING AND STILL GET YOUR GRADES IN PERFECTLY❗️❗️⚠️
Thomas R
iOS user
Knowunity is the BEST app I’ve used in a minute. This is not an ai review or anything this is genuinely coming from a 7th grade student (I know 2011 im young) but dude this app is a 10/10 i have maintained a 3.8 gpa and have plenty of time for gaming. I love it and my mom is just happy I got good grades
Brad T
Android user
Not only did it help me find the answer but it also showed me alternative ways to solve it. I was horrible in math and science but now I have an a in both subjects. Thanks for the help🤍🤍
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
I found this app a couple years ago and it has only gotten better since then. I really love it because it can help with written questions and photo questions. Also, it can find study guides that other people have made as well as flashcard sets and practice tests. The free version is also amazing for students who might not be able to afford it. Would 100% recommend
Aubrey
iOS user
Best app if you're in Highschool or Junior high. I have been using this app for 2 school years and it's the best, it's good if you don't have anyone to help you with school work.😋🩷🎀
Marco B
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This app is phenomenal down to the correct info and the various topics you can study! I greatly recommend it for people who struggle with procrastination and those who need homework help. It has been perfectly accurate for world 1 history as far as I’ve seen! Geometry too!
Paul T
iOS user
Understanding States of Consciousness: Module Guide
Selina
@suuhleena
Consciousness is how we experience and interact with the world around us. From sleep cycles to altered states of mind, understanding consciousness helps explain how our brains function during different activities and why we need proper rest to function well.
Sleep Patterns and Biological Rhythms
Ever wonder why you feel sleepy at night and alert during the day? That's your circadian rhythm at work—your body's natural 24-hour biological clock. As morning approaches, your body temperature rises, peaks during the day, and drops in the evening to prepare you for sleep.
Sleep occurs in distinct stages that repeat throughout the night. First comes NREM-1, a light sleep lasting 5-10 minutes where you might experience floating sensations. Next is NREM-2, a 10-20 minute transition stage where you're harder to wake up. The deepest sleep happens in NREM-3, lasting about 30 minutes, when growth hormone is released and sleepwalking might occur.
Finally, there's REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), when most vivid dreams happen. Interestingly, during REM, your muscles are relaxed but your brain is highly active—scientists call this "paradoxical sleep."
Did you know? Sleep isn't just for rest—it serves multiple purposes! Sleep protects us from danger (by keeping us inactive during vulnerable nighttime hours), helps us recover physically, rebuilds our memories from the day, boosts creative thinking, and supports growth.
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Sleep Deprivation and Sleep Disorders
Missing sleep affects way more than just making you tired the next day. Sleep loss is a strong predictor of depression and can lead to relationship conflicts, weight gain, and trouble focusing. When you're sleep-deprived, your brain struggles to process information, your immune system weakens, and hormones that control hunger get thrown off balance.
Sleep disorders can seriously disrupt your life. Insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep) affects 1 in 10 adults and is the most common sleep disorder. Narcolepsy causes sudden overwhelming sleepiness, while sleep apnea involves repeatedly stopped breathing during sleep. Sleepwalking and sleeptalking are more common in children and typically happen during deep sleep.
Night terrors differ from nightmares and can cause someone to appear terrified during deep sleep. They affect about 1 in 30 children but become rarer as we age. During a night terror, a child's heart and breathing rates might double, but they typically won't remember the experience the next morning.
Sleep fact: Sleep deprivation impacts your whole body—from your brain to your immune system, heart, stomach, fat cells, joints, and muscles. This is why getting enough quality sleep is crucial for your overall health!
Sign up to see the contentIt's free!
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Dreams and Dream Theories
Dreams can be fascinating windows into our minds. What we dream about varies widely—trauma survivors often replay their experiences, musicians might dream of music, and blind people's dreams reflect when they lost their sight. Even media experiences like video games or movies can influence dream content.
Why we dream has puzzled scientists for centuries. Freud's wish-fulfillment theory suggests dreams express our unconscious desires, while the information-processing theory proposes dreams help sort out daily events and consolidate memories. Other theories suggest dreams stimulate neural pathways, weave random neural activity into stories, or reflect our cognitive development.
If you're deprived of REM sleep (when most dreaming occurs), your body will compensate with REM rebound—increasing REM sleep in future nights. This suggests dreaming serves an important function our bodies won't let us skip.
Dream insight: Your dreams might be meaningful even if they seem random! The activation-synthesis theory suggests our brain creates stories from random neural signals, but since it's YOUR brain creating those stories, dreams may still reveal something about your thoughts and concerns.
Sign up to see the contentIt's free!
Access to all documents
Improve your grades
Join milions of students
By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Psychoactive Drugs and Altered Consciousness
Psychoactive substances change how your brain functions, altering your consciousness in different ways. Substance use disorder develops when someone continues using a substance despite serious life disruptions or physical risks.
Psychoactive drugs fall into three main categories based on how they affect your nervous system. Depressants slow down neural activity and body functions—examples include alcohol, sleeping pills, and heroin. Stimulants do the opposite, exciting neural activity and speeding up bodily functions—like caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
Hallucinogens (also called psychedelics) work differently by distorting perceptions and causing hallucinations. LSD and marijuana fall into this category, creating altered states of consciousness by changing how you perceive reality.
Important note: Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis doesn't enhance recall of forgotten events and might even create false memories. However, hypnosis can be effective for pain relief by altering your conscious experience of discomfort.
We thought you’d never ask...
What is the Knowunity AI companion?
Our AI companion is specifically built for the needs of students. Based on the millions of content pieces we have on the platform we can provide truly meaningful and relevant answers to students. But its not only about answers, the companion is even more about guiding students through their daily learning challenges, with personalised study plans, quizzes or content pieces in the chat and 100% personalisation based on the students skills and developments.
Where can I download the Knowunity app?
You can download the app in the Google Play Store and in the Apple App Store.
Is Knowunity really free of charge?
That's right! Enjoy free access to study content, connect with fellow students, and get instant help – all at your fingertips.
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The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
I think it’s very much worth it and you’ll end up using it a lot once you get the hang of it and even after looking at others notes you can still ask your Artificial intelligence buddy the question and ask to simplify it if you still don’t get it!!! In the end I think it’s worth it 😊👍 ⚠️Also DID I MENTION ITS FREEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING AND STILL GET YOUR GRADES IN PERFECTLY❗️❗️⚠️
Thomas R
iOS user
Knowunity is the BEST app I’ve used in a minute. This is not an ai review or anything this is genuinely coming from a 7th grade student (I know 2011 im young) but dude this app is a 10/10 i have maintained a 3.8 gpa and have plenty of time for gaming. I love it and my mom is just happy I got good grades
Brad T
Android user
Not only did it help me find the answer but it also showed me alternative ways to solve it. I was horrible in math and science but now I have an a in both subjects. Thanks for the help🤍🤍
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
I found this app a couple years ago and it has only gotten better since then. I really love it because it can help with written questions and photo questions. Also, it can find study guides that other people have made as well as flashcard sets and practice tests. The free version is also amazing for students who might not be able to afford it. Would 100% recommend
Aubrey
iOS user
Best app if you're in Highschool or Junior high. I have been using this app for 2 school years and it's the best, it's good if you don't have anyone to help you with school work.😋🩷🎀
Marco B
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This app is phenomenal down to the correct info and the various topics you can study! I greatly recommend it for people who struggle with procrastination and those who need homework help. It has been perfectly accurate for world 1 history as far as I’ve seen! Geometry too!
Paul T
iOS user
The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
I think it’s very much worth it and you’ll end up using it a lot once you get the hang of it and even after looking at others notes you can still ask your Artificial intelligence buddy the question and ask to simplify it if you still don’t get it!!! In the end I think it’s worth it 😊👍 ⚠️Also DID I MENTION ITS FREEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING AND STILL GET YOUR GRADES IN PERFECTLY❗️❗️⚠️
Thomas R
iOS user
Knowunity is the BEST app I’ve used in a minute. This is not an ai review or anything this is genuinely coming from a 7th grade student (I know 2011 im young) but dude this app is a 10/10 i have maintained a 3.8 gpa and have plenty of time for gaming. I love it and my mom is just happy I got good grades
Brad T
Android user
Not only did it help me find the answer but it also showed me alternative ways to solve it. I was horrible in math and science but now I have an a in both subjects. Thanks for the help🤍🤍
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
I found this app a couple years ago and it has only gotten better since then. I really love it because it can help with written questions and photo questions. Also, it can find study guides that other people have made as well as flashcard sets and practice tests. The free version is also amazing for students who might not be able to afford it. Would 100% recommend
Aubrey
iOS user
Best app if you're in Highschool or Junior high. I have been using this app for 2 school years and it's the best, it's good if you don't have anyone to help you with school work.😋🩷🎀
Marco B
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This app is phenomenal down to the correct info and the various topics you can study! I greatly recommend it for people who struggle with procrastination and those who need homework help. It has been perfectly accurate for world 1 history as far as I’ve seen! Geometry too!
Paul T
iOS user