Consciousness is the state of mind where we are aware of our surroundings, feelings, and sensations. Medication and substances can alter consciousness. In our society, we often see musicians, artists, spiritual guides, and many more using these to modify their reality and help their creative. For example in the Peruvian Amazon, a plant called ayahuasca is known for its hallucinating powers; this plant alters the reality of the individual and often makes them believe that what they experienced was real.
Another way to alter consciousness is through meditation or hypnosis. During meditation, an individual can control its breathing and focus to achieve relaxation while in hypnosis the individual is guided and helped to control feelings, behaviors, or perceptions.
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In stages like comma, hypnosis, or under anesthesia, the individual is conscious of the surrounding and can later recall everything that has happened.
The sleeping cycle is the unconscious state, we are not longer aware of our surroundings. In this cycle, our brain goes through four different stages: the wake-sleep, light-deep sleep, deeper sleep, and deepest sleep. While going through the sleeping cycle, there is a period called REM sleep or rapid eye movement period, during this period our body is paralyzed, but our brain is working as if we were awake.
It is recommended to sleep at least eight hours to recharge our bodies, but not everyone sleeps eight hours and this can be due to sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, dyssomnia, parasomnia, or