Consciousness is a term used to describe the awareness of your physical and mental experience. As you might have already realized, not all forms of awareness are the same. There are a number of different states of human consciousness as well as a variety of factors that can have an impact on these states of awareness.
Human consciousness is often compared to a stream—it is constantly changing, but always flowing smoothly. The way that your thoughts drift from one topic to another can feel effortless even when the thoughts you're having are dramatically different. If one moment you're thinking about this article that you are reading, and the next moment you find yourself thinking about your childhood pet, you can thank your current state of consciousness.
Understanding Consciousness
Two common states of awareness exist: conscious and unconscious. Where the term unconscious represents of a lack of awareness, consciousness itself can present with varying levels of awareness. This is often referred to as a person's state of consciousness.
Have you ever wondered why you feel more energetic in the morning, tried to analyze your dreams, or questioned how hypnosis works? Each of these topics relates to a different state of consciousness because the way your mind processes your thoughts during each is unique.
Human consciousness can be altered in a number of different ways including through hypnosis, with drugs, and mental exercises. Reaching an altered state of consciousness can also be achieved through various types of meditation and mind-body practices.
practices.
What’s the Difference Between the Conscience and the Conscious?
Levels of Awareness
A person's state of consciousness is interconnected with their level of awareness. For example, if someone is in a half-asleep or drowsy state, they will typically experience a lowered level of awareness. Conversely, when exposed to a stimulant, a person can experience a heightened level of awareness.
Low Awareness
Although you may not feel as if you are aware of every single detail of what is happening around you, even in a state of consciousness where you have a low level of awareness, your brain is still capable processing the signals it receives.
Think about the way a person who is asleep in bed may instinctively grab a blanket when they feel cold. Although they are not actively thinking about being cold because of their current state of consciousness during sleep, their brain received a signal that their body feels cold.
High Awareness
A person who experiences a high level of awareness tends to be more in control of their thoughts. The ability to pay attention to detail and analyze the activity around you comes with heightened awareness, but this can typically only be achieved during certain states of consciousness.
The practice of mindfulness is one example of how heightened awareness of a person's thoughts can be achieved by focusing on the present moment. Meditation is often used to reach this type of awareness because the practice can help individuals achieve an altered state of consciousness.
Factors That Can Alter Consciousness
States of consciousness play an important role in our everyday experience. In order to see how consciousness works, it helps to understand how consciousness can be influenced by the body's natural processes, sleep, and substances.
Body Clocks and Consciousness
Many people begin the day full of energy but then start to feel run-down by mid-afternoon. Other people struggle to plod through the morning routine only to finally feel energetic in the evening. The daily fluctuations of energy levels are known as the circadian rhythm and play an important role in human consciousness.
Sometimes referred to as the body's "clocks," these daily rhythms have a major impact on your consciousness because these rhythms determine the level of awareness or alertness your body is able to achieve.
Sleep and Consciousness
Sleep has fascinated researchers, scientists and scholars for thousands of years. Technological innovations during the last century allowed scientists to study sleep in ways that simply weren't possible in the past, which has helped lead to a number of theories of sleep.
Sleep creates a unique state of consciousness because while you experience a lowered level of awareness during sleep, your brain is still active. Your brain's ability to cycle through different stages of sleep with both rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep is proof of this activity.
When the sleep cycle is disrupted, it can wreak havoc on a person's body clock and impact their state of consciousness during both sleep and waking periods. If you're not sleeping well, common sleep disorders could be to blame for the drowsiness, irritability, and brain fog that comes from disrupted sleep.
Dreams and Consciousness
REM sleep is the part of the sleep cycle most often associated with the dreams that you can remember when you wake up. During this time, your brain is active in a way that is similar to when you are awake, but your state of awareness is lowered.
At some point in your life, you have probably had a truly baffling dream that left you wondering, "What did that dream mean?" Available research on dream characteristics, theories, and interpretations links your ability to dream to your state of consciousness.
What Do Your Dreams Really Mean?
Hypnosis and Consciousness
The phenomenon of hypnosis involves hyper-awareness which leads to an alteration of a person's state of consciousness. During hypnosis, a person will often appear as if they are asleep, although in reality they are actually processing their thoughts through a deep, focused awareness.
Hypnosis has been used for a number of purposes including pain management and weight loss. Research also shows that hypnosis can be an effective treatment for different types of anxiety and pain.
What Is the Unconscious?
Drugs and Consciousness
Whether prescribed or illicit, chemical substances that impact a person's mental state can also affect their level of awareness. Different types of drugs work by altering your state of consciousness in various ways.
- Stimulants: Heightened awareness can create feelings of euphoria.
- Depressants: Lowered awareness can create feelings of relaxation.
- Hallucinogens: Altered perception of reality can create feelings of paranoia.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Tononi G, Koch C. Consciousness: here, there and everywhere?.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2015;370(1668):20140167. doi:10.1098/rstb.2014.0167
Kotchoubey B. Human consciousness: Where is it from and what is it for.Front Psychol. 2018;9. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00567
Sharma H. Meditation: Process and effects.Ayu. 2015;36(3):233-237. doi:10.4103/0974-8520.182756
Bayne T, Hohwy J, Owen AM. Are there levels of consciousness? Trends Cogn Sci (Regul Ed). 2016;20(6):405-413. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.03.009
(Video) How to Enter a Different State of Consciousness | Eckhart TolleBlume C, Angerer M, Raml M, et al. Healthier rhythm, healthier brain? Integrity of circadian melatonin and temperature rhythms relates to the clinical state of brain-injured patients. Eur J Neurol. 2019;26(8):1051-1059. doi:10.1111/ene.13935
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Brain basics: understanding sleep.
De Gennaro L, Cipolli C, Cherubini A, et al.Amygdala and hippocampus volumetry and diffusivity in relation to dreaming.Hum Brain Mapp. 2011;32(9):1458-70. doi:10.1002/hbm.21120
Murillo-Rodriguez E, Pastrana-Trejo JC, Salas-Crisóstomo M, Miriel de-la-Cruz M. The endocannabinoid system modulating levels of consciousness, emotions and likely dream contents. CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets. 2017;16:370. doi:10.2174/1871527316666170223161908
Terhune DB, Cleeremans A, Raz A, Lynn SJ. Hypnosis and top-down regulation of consciousness. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017;81(Pt A):59-74. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.02.002
Jensen MP, Jamieson GA, Lutz A, et al.New directions in hypnosis research: Strategies for advancing the cognitive and clinical neuroscience of hypnosis.Neurosci Conscious. 2017;3(1):nix004. doi:10.1093/nc/nix004
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drugs, brains, and, behavior: The science of addiction.
By Kendra Cherry
Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author and educational consultant focused on helping students learn about psychology.
See Our Editorial Process
Meet Our Review Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?
FAQs
What are the 7 states of consciousness? ›
Individual consciousness
The seven states of consciousness are: waking, dreaming, sleeping, transcendental consciousness, cosmic consciousness, God consciousness and unity consciousness.
Among such terms are: clouding of consciousness, confusional state, delirium, lethargy, obtundation, stupor, dementia, hypersomnia, vegetative state, akinetic mutism, locked-in syndrome, coma, and brain death.
What are the different stages of consciousness? ›We can view consciousness as three distinct levels: the conscious, the subconscious (or preconscious), and the unconscious.
What are the 4 different states of consciousness? ›The Four States of Consciousness—Beyond the Waking State
Mandukya Upanishad is the source of the Hindu revelations about the Four States of Consciousness and defines these states as waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and turya (the fourth state, which is the state of enlightenment).
lucid dreaming; out-of-body experience; near-death experience; mystical experience (sometimes regarded as the highest of all higher states of consciousness)
What is the lowest level of consciousness? ›The lowest state of consciousness is the suffering state, which, has seven sublevels.
How do I know my level of consciousness? ›The tool we use to assess the level of consciousness is the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). This tool is used at the bedside in conjunction with other clinical observations and it allows us to have a baseline and ongoing measurement of the level of consciousness (LOC) for our patients.
How do I reach a higher consciousness? ›- Awaken. Become more aware of what is going on inside you, inside others and in the world around you.
- Live mindfully. Consciously pay attention to your thoughts and feelings.
- Set intention. Choose who you want to be and how you want to show up in the world.
- Act consciously.
The higher mind is the gateway to our soul and intuition. This is the part of your mind that your higher self is communicating through. The higher mind surpasses ego, transcends boundaries and holds universal truths.
What are the 9 levels of consciousness? ›The nine-consciousness model comprises the first five consciousnesses (seeing, hearing, smell, taste, and bodily sensation), the conscious mind, the manas, the ālayavijñāna, and the amalavijñāna.
Do people have different levels of consciousness? ›
There are a number of different states of human consciousness as well as a variety of factors that can have an impact on these states of awareness. Human consciousness is often compared to a stream—it is constantly changing, but always flowing smoothly.
What are the 5 levels of consciousness medical? ›...
Lethargy and Somnolence
- Severe drowsiness.
- Listlessness.
- Apathy.
- Reduced alertness.
Our level of awareness of internal events and external surroundings is known as a state of consciousness. States of consciousness can also be divided into two broad categories – normal waking consciousness and altered states of consciousness.
What is an altered state of mind? ›An altered state of consciousness is a change in one's normal mental state as a result of trauma or accident or induced through meditation, drugs, some foods, etc.
Is daydreaming a state of consciousness? ›Daydreaming is an altered state of consciousness that allows us to detach from the external world and spend more time in our own internal worlds.
What are the 9 levels of consciousness? ›The nine-consciousness model comprises the first five consciousnesses (seeing, hearing, smell, taste, and bodily sensation), the conscious mind, the manas, the ālayavijñāna, and the amalavijñāna.
What are the 5 levels of consciousness medical? ›...
Lethargy and Somnolence
- Severe drowsiness.
- Listlessness.
- Apathy.
- Reduced alertness.
The tool we use to assess the level of consciousness is the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). This tool is used at the bedside in conjunction with other clinical observations and it allows us to have a baseline and ongoing measurement of the level of consciousness (LOC) for our patients.
How do I reach a higher consciousness? ›- Awaken. Become more aware of what is going on inside you, inside others and in the world around you.
- Live mindfully. Consciously pay attention to your thoughts and feelings.
- Set intention. Choose who you want to be and how you want to show up in the world.
- Act consciously.