Sleep and Dreams
Areej Shahid
SLEEP AND DREAMS
WHAT IS SLEEP?
Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent
consciousness relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of
nearly all voluntary muscles (
Sleep stages:
Sleep takes place in recurring cycles that last for 90-110 minutes in an
adult, but are much shorter (around 45 minutes) in a baby. Each cycle is
made up of five stages. The first four stages are non REM sleep and the
fifth stage is REM sleep.
Stage 1: Non-REM – Light sleep
In this stage you’re only half asleep and can be easily awoken. Your
muscle activity slows down and you might experience some twitching. This
stage lasts for approximately 10 minutes.
Stage 2: Non-REM–True sleep: Your heart rate and breathing pattern starts
to slow down in this stage which lasts for around 20 minutes.
Stage 3 & 4: Non-REM – Slow wave sleep: In this stage your brain begins to
produce delta waves which initiates a slowing down of your breathing
and heart rate. In Stage 4 your breathing rate goes back to normal and
you’ll be very still while sleeping. It’s extremely hard to wake up at this
stage and if you do wake up you’d feel very groggy and disoriented.
Sleep walking, night terrors and bedwetting may occur in this stage.
Stage 5: REM sleep: This stage takes places around 1.5 hours after falling
asleep. The brain activity during this period is high –it’s more active than
when you are awake.
Most dreaming takes place in this stage. Your eyes will flutter and your
breathing will be irregular. Thankfully, your brain will also tell your muscles
to be immobile so you don’t act out your dreams!
Why do we sleep?
Scientists aren't really sure why we sleep, but they do know that we need
sleep to function and for optimum health. Like hunger, thirst and sexual
desire, the need for sleep is strongly wired into our biology. And we're not
alone. While there is huge variation in the amount of sleep required by
different animals, we all seem to need some shuteye - even fruit flies! So
what does a good night snoozing in bed achieve? You may think you're
rejuvenating your body, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Most bodily
functions keep on going while you sleep, and while muscles require
periods of relaxation, they don’t seem to need you to be asleep. It's the
brain which seems to benefit most from sleep.
Sleep researchers are still working out the ways that sleep affects our
brains. Does sleep allow us to deal with the information the brain received
and processed whilst awake? Or does it allow the brain to regulate itself,
like a nightly cleanup? Another idea that is becoming more popular is
that sleep - especially slow wave sleep - helps us to store memories and
master various skills. (See "The meaning of dreams" ABC Science feature)
While scientists aren't exactly sure of how sleep benefits us, they do know
there is clear negative health outcomes associated with inadequate
sleep. Lack of sleep is linked to numerous physiological and psychological
health issues, such as type diabetes and depression. Being sleep deprived
also results in poor concentration, irritability, daytime drowsiness and
affects your immune system. Some very serious accidents, like the
Challenger space shuttle disaster, have been linked to sleep deprivation.
How much sleep do we need?
Adult humans sleep on average around 7 hours a day, however it varies
according to people’s needs, ranging from less than 6 hours to more than
9 hours of sleep. People at this range have no real difference in health or
waking performance. Although it may be an inherited variation, short
sleepers and long sleepers are found to run in families
Now sleep researchers provide a general range for the amount of sleep
required than the amount prescribed for each age and suggest that
people use their own judgment in figuring out if they’re getting enough
sleep. If they do feel sleepy after waking up or have trouble paying
attention during the day then they probably need to sleep longer.
SLEEP DISORDERS
Sleep disorders involve any difficulties related to sleeping, including
difficulty falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at inappropriate times,
excessive total sleep time, or abnormal behaviors associated with sleep.
There are more than 100 different types of sleeping disorders
The major sleep disorders being:
1. Insomnia, which is having difficulty in falling or staying asleep
2. Narcolepsy, a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive
daytime sleepiness
3. Sleep apnea, a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in
breathing or abnormally low breathing during sleep
4. Night terror is a persona disorder that predominantly affects children,
causing feelings of terror or dread
DREAMS
What do we dream?
According to Loftus and Kecham in “Hallucinations of The Sleeping Mind”,
REM dreams are “vivid, emotional and bizarre. They are unlike day dreams
which tend to involve familiar details of our lives”. Mostly dreams are
negative in nature, for example, they are related to anxiety or misfortune.
Dreams are also rarely related to sexual overtones, however, they have
occurred more frequently in men than women. Most dreams occur during
REM sleep, while, those that occur during non-REM sleep are vaguely
remembered. The way that we dream may be affected by sensory stimuli.
The environment may have an effect on the order of our dreams or what
we dream about.
WHY WE DREAM?
There are several interpretations of why we dream, which can be
separated into five parts.
1) To satisfy our wishes: Freud believed that most of our dreams occur
to satisfy our unconscious wishes. He believed that a major part of
these dreams contained our wishes during our childhood. Freud
also believed that dreams could be traced back to erotic wishes
and could be the key to understand our inner conflicts.
2) To file away memories: Researchers see dreams as “information
processing”, they believe that we dream to sort out and organize
daily experiences in our memory.
3) To develop and preserve neural pathways: The REM sleep provides
the brain with stimulation which results in the development and
preservation of neural pathways.
4) To make sense of neural static: According to the Activation
Synthesis theory, the brain tries to make sense of the random neural
activities which are triggered through REM sleep.
5) To reflect cognitive development: According to William Domhoff,
dreams occur only as a part of “brain maturation and cognitive
development”
Out of the many psychoanalysts, Freud’s theory of dream interpretation
states that during a dream, the ego is not active so the fantasies from the
id reach our consciousness in a more symbolized form. Also, concepts and
mental representations of issues in the real world are rearranged and
shown in the dreams which are the mind’s attempt at problem solving.
According to him dreams were the result of a conflict and were described
as having the power to bring up memories that the dreamer had
forgotten. “Their strong use of symbolism and their ability to reproduce
repressed impressions of the dreamer's childhood” (Freud, 1949, p. 40)
Professor Mark Solms, who at the University of Cape Town in South Africa
has carried out a very important research proving that when people go
into REM sleep cycle, the expectation dopamine pathway is activated.
The expectation domanine pathway is responsible for activating
consciousness which in turn proves that you are actually conscious during
your REM sleep cycle. Therefore, there lacks evidence in support of Freud,
as REM cycle does not activate any subconscious conflict.
Dream theories
Summary:
SLEEP AND DREAM SURVEY
What is your gender?
 Male
 Female
What is your age?
 10 or younger
 11-13
 14-17
 18-25
 26-30
 31-40
 41-50
 51-60
 60+
How many hours did you sleep last night?
 Less than 1
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10
 11
 12
 More than 12
How many hours do you usually need?
 Less than 1
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10
 11
 12
 More than 12
Did you dream last night?
 Yes
 No
 Unsure
Did you have more than one distinct dream?
 Yes
 No
How many dreams did you have?
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
Do you have a clear memory of what at least one of your dreams was
about?
 Yes
 No
Did you wake up immediately after the dream?
 Yes
 No
Did you think about the dream immediately after you woke up?
 Yes
 No
When did the dream occur?
 Soon after you went to sleep
 In the middle of the night
 In the morning
 Unsure
Would you describe your dream as bizarre or realistic?
 Bizarre
 Realistic
Was your dream related to events of the previous day?
 Yes
 No
Did you discover something about yourself or others through your dream?
 Yes
 No
Did your dream arouse strong emotions?
 Yes
 No
Was your dream in color?
 Yes
 No
 Unsure
Which of the following topics were included in your dream?
 Falling or flying
 Being attacked or pursued
 Trying repeatedly to do something
 School, teachers, or studying
 Arriving too late
 Eating
 Being frozen with fright
 The death of a loved one
 Being locked up
 Finding money
 Swimming
 Snakes
 Being inappropriately dressed
 Being smothered
 Fire
 Failing an examination
 Seeing self as dead
REFERENCES
"Why
We
Dream?."
n.
pag.
Web.
http://library.thinkquest.org/11189/nftheories.htm#
7
Jun
2011.
N.p.,
n.d.
Web.
7
Jun
www.methacton.org/.../lib/.../_files/Sleep,_Dream_,_Hypnosis.ppt
2011.
Macmillan Dictionary for Students Macmillan, Pan Ltd. (1981), page 936.
Retrieved 2009-10-1.
Hirshkowitz, Max (2004). "Chapter 10, Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Sleep
and Sleep Disorders (pp 315-340)"
In Stuart C. Yudofsky and Robert E. Hales, editors (Google Books preview
includes entire chapter 10)
"Freud’s Theories of Repression and Memory." Scientific Review of Mental
Health Practice. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. http://www.srmhp.org/0202/review01.html
Griffin, Joe. "Other Dream Theories." Why Do We Dream? 2007. Web. 06
Dec. 2010. http://why-we-dream.com/othertheories.htm