Sleep and dreams are an unknown phenomenon that is questionable and interesting for all humans. Sleep has historically been very important to humanity and there are different attitudes towards it. In a comprehensive definition, dreaming is a succession of images, sounds, ideas and emotions that we experience involuntarily while sleeping. We all like to know; why we dream? Why don’t we remember all our dreams? What the dream we have seen means? In other words, does it make any sense or is it absurd? Dream interpretation is the attempt at drawing meaning from dreams and searching for an underlying message.
As Wenk states, no one is sure why we dream. Evidently, our nights are influenced by what we are doing during the day (Wenk). Therefore, this phenomenon is complex and subject to investigation.
Psychologists have different definitions of sleep depending on their attitude. For example, according to Freud, dream is an opportunity to symbolize the subconscious, sexual issues, aggressive emotions, thoughts and desires, and become a person's peace of mind. Adler defined dreams like the emotion factory that helps one's readiness to solve future problems. Pavlov called sleep a temporary stoppage of brain activity, sometimes deep and dreamless (In Your Dreams). “Aristotle and Plato developed the drive related hypothesis that was later expanded on by the European psychoanalysts of the 19th and 20th centuries” (In Your Dreams). In 1953, Eugene Aserinsky, a master's student in physiology, along with the head of physiology at the University of Chicago, Nathaniel Kleitman, discovered a phenomenon of rapid eye movement (REM) after a series of studies on human sleep. A few years after this discovery, Michel Jouvet of Claude Bernard University in Lyon, France, acknowledged that brain activity during REM sleep resembles that of vigilance. This significant discovery led to the diagnosis and treatment of many sleep disorders (In Your Dreams). Nowadays, scientists and specialists in sleep science are still studying this complex and strange phenomenon in humans, and with the rapid advancement of science and technology in the near future, we will perhaps be able to answer many of the questions about sleep and dreams.
As we all know, dreams can be exciting, scary, mysterious, helpful, realistic or fantastical. According to Cirino, while we think of sleep as a time for recharging the body, the brain is actually quite active during sleep — dreaming. Cirino stats that “Sometimes we wake up and have no idea that we’ve dreamed, while other times, we can closely recall our dreams because they were so intense. These are known as vivid dreams”. Almost all scientists in this field agree that most heavy dreaming occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep normally cycles every 90 minutes during a night of sleep and may last 20 to 25 minutes (Cirino). As such, it can be interesting to know the mechanism of sleep function and its stages.
Sleeping can be divided into two different general stages: REM sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep. According to psychologists, “Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is characterized by darting movements of the eyes under closed eyelids. Brain waves during REM sleep appear very similar to brain waves during wakefulness. In contrast, non-REM (NREM) sleep is subdivided into three stages distinguished from each other and from wakefulness by characteristic patterns of brain waves. The first three stages of sleep are NREM sleep, while the fourth and final stage of sleep is REM sleep"(Stages of Sleep). Sleep Stage 1, is a transient phase between consciousness and sleep. During this time, both breathing and heart rate decrease. At this stage of our sleep, we have a so-called “light sleep” and it’s relatively easy to wake someone from stage 1 sleep. “As we move into stage 2 sleep, the body goes into a state of deep relaxation”. Stage 3 Sleep is often denoted to as deep sleep or slow wave sleep. An individual’s heart rate and respiration slow dramatically and it is much more difficult to wake someone up during this stage.
Finally, we reach the last stage of sleep (REM), which is the most exciting part of any person's sleep. “This stage of sleep are very similar to those observed when a person is awake”. Interestingly, at this step our muscular system is disturbed except for what makes circulation and breathing possible. Therefore, no movement of the voluntary muscles occurs at this stage. “Because of this combination of high brain activity and lack of muscle, REM sleep is often referred to as paradoxical sleep” (Stages of Sleep). Researchers believe that REM sleep may be involved in learning and memory processes, also effective in emotional processing and regulation. Therefore, the findings shows that, REM sleep deprivation in general is associated with a number of negative consequences. In general, awareness of the various stages of sleep helps us to have a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of sleep and dream within ourselves.
Now the question that we may have is why we do not remember all our dreams. This cannot be irrelevant to the stages of sleep. Scientists agree that, we most likely remember the dreams that we have during the REM stage because the brain is functioning at such a high rate, but we also dream during other stages of sleep. Those dreams are just harder to remember because the brain is not functioning at the level that it would be during the REM stage (Stages of Sleep). According to Roland, “one of the reasons dreams can be difficult to remember is that the brain chemical associated with memory — nor-epinephrine — and the brain’s electrical activity that helps with recall are at their lowest levels when you’re dreaming”. I agree with Roland which states, if we have a dream but do not wake up during the dream, we will not be able to remember it. The dreams we remember are the ones that are ongoing when we awaken. I have experienced those near-morning dreams very much, and I’ve realized that those are the ones that we remember more. Moreover, Roland offers two ways to remember the dreams. "Since dream recall can be easily interrupted by even the slightest distraction", try to do not get out of the bed or think about anything else, as soon as you wake up. Try to memories your dreams and write them down on a paper next to your bed or on your smartphone (Roland). As a result, we can use these solutions if we are the types who like to remember our dreams.
It is interesting to know, some sleep scientists believe that dreaming is like overnight therapy. Walker writes in this regard, dreaming helps us to take the sting out of our painful emotional experiences during sleep so that we can learn from them and carry on with our lives. Dreaming also helps us to hold onto our memories and to learn facts and skills faster. According to Walker, large population studies reflect a saddening truth—the shorter your sleep, the shorter your life. There is mounting evidence that sleep deprivation leads to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies shows, our brain needs to dream, “dreaming is not just a by-product of sleep, but serves its own important functions in our well-being” (Walker). I agree with Walker who states, "While the benefits of dreaming are real, too many of us have problems getting a full eight hours of sleep and lose out on these advantages". Some people think they can make more use of their time if they devote less time to sleep; however, they are badly mistaken. Not only will it not help them, but also trying to sleep less will reduce their efficiency. As such, we need enough sleep to maintain the health of our soul and body.
In addition to the direct effect of sleep on health, “one theory for why we dream is that it helps facilitate our creative tendencies” (Roland). According to this theory, dreams may help the brain store important information while storing motivations that can interfere with memory and learning. As Roland writes, without the logic filter you might normally use in your waking life that can restrict your creative flow, your thoughts and ideas have no restrictions when you’re sleeping. We all know that some of the great scientific breakthroughs and ideas of some of the most important human inventions have taken shape in their owners' dreams. Even artists can sometimes wake up with a good idea for a movie or song (Roland). Einstein discovered his theory of relativity in his sleep. Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev dreamed a table with all its elements in the right place and then he discovered Mendeleev's table. Danish physicist, Niels Bohr, received the Nobel Prize for physics for presenting the atom model. He was dreaming a picture of planets intertwined with strings. Rene Descartes discoverer of analytical geometry saw three dreams that transformed his life at that time as well as our modern world, and there are many more examples. Therefore, Sleep is not only essential to maintaining health but can also be an important source of creativity.
Given the importance of sleep and dream in human life, it is best to know some of the factors have a positive or negative impact on our sleep. Reviews show, anything that affects your waking mood is likely to affect your unconscious mood too. Foods can undoubtedly affect our sleep. According to Roland, “high-crab foods, for example, can give you quick energy, but after a while, they can leave you feeling down. So, if a sugar crash has you moping around during the day, those feelings could carry over into your sleep”. In addition, using caffeine and alcohol near sleep can disrupt it. Hormonal changes are another factor that causes sleep disorders. This is why pregnant women generally suffer from sleep disorders. Likewise, “mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, as well as bipolar disorder and other mood-related conditions, can trigger intense and sometimes disturbing or negative dreams and nightmares” (Roland). On the other side, Regular day-to-day exercise can significantly help you get a good night's sleep. Research has shown that runners and other fitness enthusiasts experience calmer sleep due to reduced stress and anxiety during the day (Roland). Although many factors are effective on restful or unstable sleep in humans, knowing some of them can help us experience a calmer sleep.
In conclusion, "sleep" and "dreams" are two intricate and surprising phenomena that have occupied many people's minds since the beginning of human creation and have remained obscure. Dreams usually occur during the “rapid eye movement” stage of our sleep, when brain function is high, almost as high as when we’re awake. Sleep has a very vital role in human health. People who do not have normal sleep are usually faded, angry, depressed and upset people, and those who have normal sleep are happier and at the same time more successful in their daily lives. Each of us certainly has different experiences in our dreams. Sometimes we would laugh and sometimes wept. Sometimes we would be scared and sometimes be surprised. Moreover, we have seen a lot of vague or even vivid emotions and images in our dreams. All of these experiences have made human beings curious about research in this field. For this reason, experts and researchers have come up with different opinions and theories regarding this phenomenon. Sometimes with differences and sometimes with commonalities. Yet, the quest to answer questions about sleep and dreams continues. Current research seeks connections between dreaming and current knowledge about the functions of the brain, as well as understanding how the brain works during dreaming as affects to memory formation and mental disorders. One day science may understand how this happens and teach us all how to take control of our dreams.
Works Cited
Cirino, Erica.“What’s Causing My Vivid Dreams?” Healthline. June 26, 2018.
“In Your Dreams.” Sleepfoundation. 2019.
Roland, James. “Why Do We Dream?” Healthline. August 22, 2017.
"Stages of Sleep." Lumen Waymaker, Introduction to Psychology. 2019.
Walker, Matthew. “Why Your Brain Needs to Dream.” Greater Good Science Center at UC
Berkeley. Oct 24, 2017.
Wenk, Gary L. “Sleep and Dreams.” Psychology Today. Feb 07, 2011.