
Dreams combine verbal, visual and
emotional stimuli into a sometimes
broken nonsensical storyline. We can
sometimes solve our problems in our
sleep...or can we? Many experts
disagree on exactly what the purpose
of our dreams may be. Are they
strictly random brain impulses or
are our brains working through
issues from our daily lives while we
sleep…as a sort of coping mechanism?
But whatever the answer is we have a
lot to learn from our dreams.
For centuries we’ve tried to work
out just why our brains put on these
'shows' for us. Early civilisations
thought dream worlds were
real...worlds they could only enter
whilst asleep...sometimes I think
this myself in a way…because my
dreams feel so real and they are so
weird, being set in what looks like
a completely different world to
ours. lol There are many theories as
to what dreams are but they
basically fall into two categories:
1. The idea that dreams
are only physiological
stimulations
2. The idea that dreams
are psychologically
necessary |
Physiological theories are based on
the idea that when we dream it is to
exercise neural connections that are
thought to affect the way we learn
things.
Psychological theories are based on
the idea that when we dream it lets
us sort out things from our waking
lives such as the events of our
day...our problems and things which
need a lot of our attention but we
don't have time to deal with whilst
awake. Some researchers and
scientists believe it is a
combination of both these ideas.
Sigmund Freud

We've had many dream 'theorists' but
the first and foremost is Sigmund
Freud. Freud's theories are those of
the psychological kind and are based
on the idea of 'repressed longing'.
These are the desires that we aren't
able to express in a social setting.
I'm not too sure about this one. If
you go by what I dreamed a few
nights ago...why would I want to
pull a 10" piece of cotton 'rope'
from out of my top lip???
OK…well...the next bit kind of
explains that. Oooo errr...do I go
on writing this??? lol
Dreams let the unconscious mind act
out those unacceptable thoughts and
desires. For this reason, Freud's
theory about dreams focuses mainly
on sexual desires and symbolism.
(Why did I decide to write this?
lol) For example, any cylindrical
object in a dream represents the
thingy (uh-uh...I knew I shouldn't
have started writing this! lol),
whilst a cave or an enclosed object
with an opening represents the girl
thingy. Well we all know what that
represents so I won't go into that.
According to Freud, this indicates a
suppressed longing for sex. He lived
during the Victorian era and people
during that time were sexually
repressed, which explains why he
came to his conclusions.
Carl Jung

Carl Jung studied under Freud but
soon decided that what he believed
was not the exactly the same as
Freud and he decided to go in a
different direction. He agreed with
the psychological origin of dreams
but instead of saying that dreams
came from our primal needs and
repressed wishes, he felt that
dreams allowed us to reflect on our
waking selves and solve our daily
problems and be able to think
through important issues.

In 1973, two researchers Allan
Hobson and Robert McCarley brought
forth another theory which threw out
old ideas. Their research on what
was going on in the brain whilst we
were asleep gave brought the idea
that dreams were just the result of
random electrical brain impulses
which pulled images from stored
experiences in our memory. The said
that these images didn't form the
stories that we remember when we
wake...our dreams...but that our
waking minds, trying to make sense
of the images, create the stories
without us realising it…because the
brain wants to make sense of what it
has experienced. This theory, which
is known as activation-synthesis
hypothesis, (Don't you just love
getting your teeth around big words?
lol) created a big rift in the dream
research arena because it was a
giant step away from the accepted
theories. But...this theory has
withstood the test of time and is
still one of the more prominent
dream theories.

Our Sleep Cycle
During our sleep time we go through
5 sleep stages:
1. First is the stage where we are
in a very light sleep and one which
we can very easily wake from.
2. This is a slightly deeper sleep.
3 and 4 are our deepest sleep. Our
brain activity through these stages
is gradually slowing down so that by
deep sleeping we experience nothing
but what are called 'delta brain
waves'...these are the slowest brain
waves.
5. About 90 minutes after we go to
sleep we being REM sleep. This is
the 5th stage. |
REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement
and was discovered by University of
Chicago researchers Eugene Aserinsky
and Nathaniel Kleitman, Ph.D in
1953. REM sleep is characterised by
movements of the eyes.
During REM seep several
physiological changes take place.
The heart rate and breathing
quickens, our blood pressure rises
(are they on about sex again???), we
can't regulate our body temperature
and our brain activity increases to
the same level as when we are
awake...this is the Alpha level.
Sometimes this level can go even
higher. The rest of our body is
paralysed until we leave REM sleep.
This paralysis is caused by the
release of glycine (an amino acid)
from the brain stem onto motoneurons
(neurons that conduct impulses from
the brain to the spinal cord). (This
makes sleep a bit scary...not sure I
want to go to sleep again! lol)
Because REM sleep is the sleep stage
where our dreaming takes place,
nature takes hold and brings on the
paralysis so that we don't act on
our dreams. If nature didn't do this
we could end up very bruised if
someone laying next to us dreaming
was dreaming about playing
football...they would be kicking us!
lol
The 4 stages before REM sleep are
called non-REM sleep (that's a
clever name…wonder how long it took
for them to come up with it?
lol)...this is known as NREM.
Although most of our dreams take
place during REM sleep, more recent
research has shown that dreams can
occur during any kind of sleep
stage. Confused? Yes me too...don't
worry! lol This kind of sleep is
known as "covert NREM" sleep which
makes an appearance during NREM
sleep. Most NREM dreams don't have
the intensity of REM dreams though.
Throughout the night, we go through
these 5 stages several times...the
pattern in repeated over and over
and each cycle includes more REM
sleep and less deep sleep (stages 3
and 4). By the morning we are having
almost all stage one, two and 5
(REM) sleep.
What Happens If You Don't Get Any
REM Sleep?
Originally, researchers thought that
if you didn't get REM sleep then you
didn't dream. They thought that
dreams were a kind of safety valve
that helped your brain to let off
steam which you couldn't do whilst
awake. William Dement, MD did a
study in 1960 where subjects were
awakened every time they entered REM
sleep. His findings included mild
psychological disturbances such as
anxiety, irritability and difficulty
concentrating. He also noted that
these people had an increased
appetite. Some studies backed up
this theory but others did not.
More studies tried to make a
connection with lack of REM sleep
and difficulty in remembering
things. An indisputable snag in the
loss-of-memory-function idea was a
man who had experienced brain injury
that resulted in him experiencing no
REM sleep. He completed law school
and had no problems in remembering
his day-to-day life.
The latest theories on REM sleep are
associated with learning.
Researchers are trying to determine
the effects that REM sleep and the
lack of REM sleep have on learning
different types of skills, mainly
physical skills. This connection is
very strong in some aspects due to
the fact that infants and toddlers
have much more REM sleep than
adults.
It is said that five minutes after
we wake up from a dream we have
forgotten 50% of the content. Ten
minutes later, we've forgotten 90%.
We don't forget our daily actions
that quickly, so why our dreams?
Freud theorised that we forget our
dreams because they contain thoughts
and wishes which we have repressed
and so we wouldn't want to remember
them anyway. Other research says
that the simple reason is that
things get in our way. Humans are
forward-thinking creatures by nature
and so remembering something when we
first wake is difficult.
A dream researcher, L. Strumpell,
believed that many things contribute
to our not being able to remember
our dreams. One was that many tings
are forgotten when you first way up,
such as physical sensations. He also
said the fact that many dream images
are not very intense and would
therefore be easy to forget. Another
reason, which is probably the
strongest, is that we learn and
remember both by association and
repetition. As dreams are usually
unique and quite vague to begin
with, it stands to reason that we
would have trouble remembering them.
For example, if someone says
something to you which doesn't
immediately click with anything you
have experienced, you may need them
to repeat it in order to remember it
or even to understand it. As we
cannot go back (normally) into our
dreams to experience something
again, the details that are out of
our realm of experience, often
escape us.
Some pointers on how to remember
your dreams:
1. When you go to bed tell yourself
that you will remember your dreams.
You can also do what I suggested in
this week's class on crystals and
dreams, to help you remember a dream
which was to get into bed and relax
as much as you can, breathe slowly
but deeply…in through your nose and
out through your mouth…then when you
feel you are as relaxed as you can
be form your hand into a fist and
hold it in the centre of your chest.
Close your eyes and say “I will
remember my dreams when I wake” Say
this 3 times...once out loud and
twice to yourself.
2. Set your alarm to go off every
hour and a half so you'll wake up
around the times that you are
leaving REM sleep, this is when you
are most likely to remember your
dreams.
3. Drink a lot of water before you
go to bed to ensure that you have to
wake up at least once to go to the
loo in the middle of the night.
4. Keep a pad and pencil next to
your bed.
5. Try to wake up slowly to remain
within the 'mood' of your last
dream. I find that by doing this,
then trying to fall asleep again
straight away...it will take me back
into the same dream.

Most dreams last anywhere from five
to 20 minutes.
People don't only dream in black and
white, as was once believed.
Even though they may not remember
them, everyone dreams several times
a night. In fact, during a typical
lifetime, we spend about six years
dreaming.
People who have been blind from
birth have dreams that are formed
from their other senses (e.g.,
touch, smell, sound).
When people are snoring, they're not
dreaming.
Elephants (and some other animals)
sleep standing up during non-REM
sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.
Kekule, the German chemist who
discovered the structure of the
benzene molecule, had worked
endlessly to figure it out. Then, in
a dream, he saw snakes forming
circles with their tales in their
mouths. When he awoke, he realised
that the benzene molecule, unlike
all other known organic compounds,
had a circular structure rather than
a linear one.
The inventor of the sewing machine,
Elias Howe, had struggled in 1884 to
figure out how the needle could work
in a machine for sewing. In a dream,
he found himself surrounded by
native tribesmen with spears that
had a hole in the point. When he
woke up,
he realized that a needle with a
hole in the point would solve his
problem.
Mary Shelly, author of
"Frankenstein," got the idea for the
story from a dream.
Edgar Allen Poe got inspiration from
a dream featuring large luminous
eyes for his story, "Lady Ligea."
Many musicians, including Paul
McCartney, Billy Joel and Beethoven,
have found inspiration for their
music from their dreams. Some hear
musical arrangements in their
dreams, while others hear lyrics.
Golfer Jack Nicklaus found a new way
to hold his golf club in a dream,
which he credits as significantly
improving his golf game.
Being Naked In Public:
Most of us have had the dream at
some point that we're at school,
work or some social event, and we
suddenly realise we forgot to put on
clothes! Experts say this means we're trying to hide something (and
without clothes we have a hard time
doing that).
We're not prepared for something,
like a presentation or test (and now
everyone is going to know - we're
exposed!).
If we're naked but no one notices,
then the interpretation is that
whatever we're afraid of is
unfounded. If we don't care that
we're naked, the interpretation is
that we're comfortable with who we
are.
Falling:
You're falling, falling, falling...
and then you wake up. This is a very
common dream and is said to
symbolise insecurities and anxiety.
Something in your life is
essentially out of control and there
is nothing you can do to stop it.
Another interpretation is that you
have a sense of failure about
something. Maybe you're not doing
well in school or at work and are
afraid you're going to be fired or
expelled. Again, you feel that you
can't control the situation.
Being Chased:
The ever-popular chase dream can be
extremely frightening. What it
usually symbolises is that you're
running away from your problems.
What that problem is depends on who
is chasing you. It may be a problem
at work, or it may be something
about yourself that you know is
destructive. For example, you may be
drinking too much, and your dream
may be telling you that your
drinking is becoming a real problem.
Taking An Exam (Or Forgetting We
Have One):
This is another very common dream.
You suddenly realise you are
supposed to be taking an exam at
that very moment. You might be
running through the hallways and
can't find the classroom. This type
of dream can have several variations
that have similar meanings. (Maybe
your pen won't write, so you can't
finish writing your answers.) What
experts say this may mean is that
you're being scrutinised about
something or feel you're being
tested.. maybe you're facing a
challenge you don't think you're up
to. You don't feel prepared or able
to hold up to the scrutiny. It may
also mean there is something you've
neglected that you know needs your
attention.
Flying:
Many flying dreams are the result of
lucid dreaming. Not all flying
dreams are, however. Typically,
dreaming that you are flying means
you are on top of things. You are in
control of the things that matter to
you. Or, maybe you've just gained a
new perspective on things. It may
also mean you are strong willed and
feel like no one and nothing can
defeat you. If you are having
problems maintaining your flight,
someone or something may be standing
in the way of you having control. If
you are afraid while flying, you may
have challenges that you don't feel
up to.
Running But Getting Nowhere:
This theme can also be part of the
chasing dream. You're trying to run,
but either your legs won't move or
you simply aren't going
anywhere...as if you were on a
treadmill. According to some, this
dream means you have too much on
your plate. You're trying to do too
many things at once and can't catch
up or ever get ahead.
Your Teeth Falling Out:
Many people have dreams that they
lose all of their teeth. In this
dream, they may feel something
strange in their mouth and then spit
teeth into their hand, eventually
losing all of their teeth. According
to some, our teeth are related to
our sense of power and our ability
to communicate. Losing our teeth not
only makes us embarrassed by our
appearance, which hinders our
communications, but it also lessens
our power because we may not speak
our minds. It's also associated with
feelings about our appearance.
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