Consciousness
Consciousness can be described as the awareness of one’s mental and physical states (Neumann). Consciousness can be altered by different conditions hence having different states of consciousness that people go through every day (Neumann). Consciousness keeps changing effortlessly where one can change their thinking without even noticing they have changed their thoughts. The most common states of consciousness are consciousness, where one experiences different states of awareness and unconsciousness, where one lacks awareness of what they are doing. A person’s consciousness depends on their level of awareness, where it is either one has low awareness or high awareness of what is happening around them. Low-level awareness is when one is not attentive to what is happening around them, but the brain still picks up on different signals (Neumann).
An example is when one is not listening to what another person is saying, but if the speaker calls the listener’s name, the brain will pick up on that signal, and the listener will hear their name even if they did not hear what the speaker said next. This shows one is conscious, but their level of awareness is low. High awareness can be described as being fully aware of what is happening around where one pays close attention to what they are doing (Neumann). Heightened awareness can be achieved during certain states of awareness where one has to be fully aware of helping one understand and control their thoughts.
State of Alertness
The state of alertness can be described as a state of consciousness, wakefulness, or awareness, which happens when one is awake, not asleep (Shapiro). It is characterized by a person’s ability to sustain their attention in what they are doing. When one is conscious, their brain performs different tasks like thinking, concentrating, and remembering, which causes rhythms causing brain waves (Shapiro). There are several types of brain waves that represent the different states of alertness. Gamma waves are the fastest brain waves that represent high alertness levels associated with intelligence quotient, concentration span, and mental ability.
When the gamma waves are high, it shows the person has a higher intelligent quotient and is more responsive to their environment (Engemann et al. 3183). When one experiences lower gamma brain waves, the individual is struggling to be attentive and gain memory. The beta waves represent the daily activities that one engages in, like focusing, thinking, or engaging in new activities (Engemann et al. 3183). Beta waves are produced in different alterations representing the different things one engages in when alert. Alpha waves represent a state of being conscious; however, the brain is in a resting mode. This can occur when one meditates, showing that the brain is at rest and not doing any activity (Engemann et al. 3183). Theta waves can also represent the state of alertness; however, it is best associated with daydreaming or deep meditation. Here one is relaxed, and the alertness level is low, and at times it is associated with the state where one is sleepy or drowsy where one does not do anything; they are just lying lazily doing nothing (Engemann et al. 3183).
State of Sleep
The state of sleep is interesting because the body is physically asleep, but the brain is still functioning. The brain produces more melatonin at night, making one feel sleepy, depending on the light level exposed (Shapiro). When one is asleep, the brain still functions; an example is when one is asleep and feels hot, one will automatically uncover themselves to reduce their temperature. This shows that the brain can still detect different signals enabling one to function while unconscious (Shapiro).
When awake and alert, their brain activity is represented by beta waves characterized by high frequency and low intensity (Mateos et al. 75). The brain activity when one is alert is inconsistent where the activity changes during different times of the day. When one is asleep, the brain activity is represented by alpha waves represented by less frequency and high intensity (Mateos et al. 75). The brain activity is more consistent, unlike the brain activity when one is awake. Scientists group sleep in four distinctive stages, which show different brain activity. The first stage of sleep is the action of trying to fall asleep, one is not asleep, yet they are still awake but in the process of falling asleep. The brain activity during this time is represented by theta waves which the frequency is less intense and shows one is relaxing and doing nothing (Mateos et al. 76).
The second stage is the light sleep stage which constitutes several high intense brain waves during different sleep times. Light sleep makes up fifty-five percent of the total sleep one gets, and the several high intense brain waves show one is processing memories (Mateos et al. 76). It can be the memories of their activities or memories that are important to the individual. The third stage of sleep constitutes about twenty percent of the total sleep where the brain activity is less, and the brain activity shows muscle relaxation (Mateos et al. 77). Delta waves represent the brain activity in this stage. The last stage is associated with dreaming, where here rapid eye movement is measured. Here, brain activity is similar to consciousness, where the brain waves are more intense but less frequent (Mateos et al. 77).
Conclusion
Consciousness can be described as the state of being alert and aware of what is happening around an individual. Unconsciousness is the state of not knowing what is going on; this can be when one sleeps. Consciousness is different during different situations; they are represented by the gamma, beta, and theta brain waves, which show the different activity levels of the brain when one is indifferent conscious situations. Unconscious states like when one is asleep are represented by the theta and delta brain waves. Theta brain waves represent the stage where one is in the process of falling asleep, and delta brain waves represent the state of deep sleep where one has little muscle movement and a lot of brain activity. The different states of consciousness have different types of brain and body activity levels, and they are affected by the environment that one is in. The different conscious levels may affect the activity one is doing and impact the decisions one is making. However, consciousness is a confusing topic; more research should be done to help people understand what is happening during the different conscious states they encounter in performing their daily activities.