The most apparent differences between the unconscious and conscious states are manifested in the states of sleep and wakefulness. In addition, EEGs have been shown that some patients with memory loss suffering from neurological lesions cannot consciously recall past events and even such simple information as their names. But they can study and recognize other types of tasks, such as motor learning tasks. Since conscious recall is associated with brain damage, it is evident that consciousness has a neurological basis.
Sleep is a natural repetitive state that characterizes altered consciousness and relatively reduced sensory activity. It also suppresses almost all voluntary muscles and reduces interaction with the environment. Sleep affects many processes in the body, and it is evident that people accumulate all their strength, energy, and efficiency (Spielman et al., 2020). It is worth noting that there is an activation of various systems in the brain, which during sleep allows consolidating memory. Due to this, helpful information is fixed in long-term memory. Furthermore, muscle growth is stimulated during sleep, tissue repair occurs, and protein synthesis.
Physical dependency causes changes in normal biological functioning, and when the medication is stopped, the user will suffer withdrawal symptoms. A person with psychological dependence, on the other hand, has an emotional rather than a bodily need for the substance and may use it to alleviate psychological suffering. Tolerance is connected to physiological dependency and happens when a person takes increasingly higher dosages of a substance to obtain the same effects at lesser levels (Spielman et al., 2020). Tolerance can cause a user to raise their drug intake to dangerously high levels, even to the point of overdosing and death.
Question: How does the effectiveness of human behavior depend on the state of consciousness, namely on the level of wakefulness?
Reference
Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e [E-book]. Openstax.