PSY 100 Lecture 4: Chapter 4
Document Summary
Your awareness of everything that is going on around you and inside your head at any given moment. Thoughts, feelings and sensations that are clear and organized and you feel alert. State of awareness characterized by divided attention to two or more tasks performed at the same time. There"s a shift in the quality or pattern of your mental activity. Many of our biological functions follow this sleep wake cycle. Bp, temp, and hormones all follow this cycle. Influenced by light, when light fades it triggers the pineal gland to secrete melatonin. Melatonin- secreted by pineal gland, when it builds up, we get sleepy. Body temperature- higher temp = more alert you are typically we need 7-9 hours. Babies need the most sleep, we need less as we get older. Sleep has evolved to avoid the active time of predators. Sleep is vital to the physical health of the body.
