Levels of Consciousness

Consciousness is simply the awareness of your mental and physical experiences. The
common states of awareness are consciousness and unconsciousness. While unconsciousness can
merely be described as a state of lack of awareness, consciousness has many states (Cherry,
2021). For the past 24 hours, I was engaged in different activities and found myself in various
states of consciousness. These states of consciousness and the activities I was involved in
seemed to be interdependent. After I went to sleep the previous night at around 9 PM, the next
thing I remember is waking up at 3 AM. I had no dreams during that time, or at least I did not
remember them. Even though the mind is usually active and conscious during deep sleep, the
awareness level is always very low. That is why it is hard to remember any dream you had or
anything happening in your surroundings. That was my state at the time.
After staying awake for almost 30 minutes, I went back to sleep at roughly 3.30 AM. I
slept up to 9 AM, but during this round of sleep, I had some very vivid dreams that I can still
recount. I had been applying for some scholarships the previous day. Coincidentally, in one of
my dreams, I was traveling to the sponsors’ offices to officially register for a scholarship I had
won. This was a period during sleep called REM sleep, where you can clearly remember the
dreams you had. The brain is usually very active during this period; only that awareness is
slightly low (Bayne et al., 2016). In summary, sleep is very crucial to human consciousness and
awareness. Getting enough sleep ensures that the body can complete other cycles, such as
activeness, concentration, and so on, without any issues.
When I woke up at 6.00 AM, I lay in bed for a while, eyes closed. During this time, I was
engaged in deep thinking and felt very self-aware about myself and the issues I was supposed to
address in my life. I would call this the hypnosis phenomenon because I was so still, and my

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awareness was on another level. After this, I got out of bed feeling energetic and conscious and
could focus intensely on my daily tasks. In retrospect, this is because I had had enough sleep and
had not interrupted my sleeping process. However, I felt I needed a coffee before proceeding to
school, as is my routine. Coffee, like any other drug, alters the user’s state of consciousness. As a
stimulant, it increases awareness and creates a feeling of euphoria. This is why most people visit
the coffee shop in the morning.
Thinking about what happened to my energy and concentration levels during the rest of
the day, what comes into the picture is the power of the circadian rhythm, which plays an
essential role in human consciousness. During the early morning hours, energy and sugar levels
are high, contributing to a human’s high activeness and awareness. Towards the afternoon, I was
already feeling a bit low in energy and concentration, which prompted me to have a midday meal
to keep myself going. It is crucial at this time to emphasize the importance of understanding the
circadian rhythm and how it affects your hormones and biological processes, which in turn
affects your consciousness. Once you understand this, you choose the habits that positively
impact your awareness, such as eating and sleeping well and during the right time (Feross, 2022).
For the whole afternoon, the energy I had begun the day with kept dipping, and I felt less
and less aware and I could also see I was performing less with my assignments. I decided to
leave school earlier and take a walk home. This silent walk, for me, was both a means of
exercising and meditation, and honestly, it worked magic. I felt more connected to my
environment and aware of myself and my surroundings. This was a feeling of bliss and a level of
consciousness that I rarely achieve. In retrospect, I think exercising plays a huge role in our
levels of consciousness. It promotes blood flow to all the vital organs of our bodies, such as the
brain, which is the master biological clock (Kasos et al., 2022). In turn, these organs ensure that

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the body performs efficiently and that there is hormonal balance within the body. When I got
home after what I can now consider a day of self-discovery, I sat on my balcony, silent in self-
reflection. My mind and senses were quiet at this time, but I reached the highest point of
consciousness for the day. It was a good 30 minutes of meditation, after which I went on to
shower and prepare some healthy food early to allow myself enough bedtime.
Everybody should try to understand how consciousness works, the levels, and how our
day-to-day activities affect our consciousness and vice versa. Once this is done, we will all
engage in activities that optimize our consciousness and therefore become more productive and
happy and lead fulfilling lives.

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References

Bayne, T., Hohwy, J., & Owen, A. M. (2016). Are there levels of consciousness? Trends in
cognitive sciences, 20(6), 405-413.
Cherry, K. (2021, October 18). What are some of the different states of consciousness? Verywell
Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/lesson-four-states-of-consciousness-
2795293#:~:text=Understanding%20Consciousness,a%20person’s%20state%20of%20cons
ciousness.
Feross, A. (n.d.). Chapter 5: States of consciousness – AP psychology Chapter outlines – Study
Notes. Go to the front page of StudyNotes.
https://www.apstudynotes.org/psychology/outlines/chapter-5-states-of-consciousness/
Kasos, E., Kasos, K., Józsa, E., Varga, K., Bányai, É., Költő, A., & Szabó, A. (2022). Altered
States of Consciousness during Exercise, Active-Alert Hypnosis, and Everyday Waking
State. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 70(3), 300-313.
Pisula, W. (2016). Levels of consciousness. Open Journal of Philosophy, 6(1).