27-06-2012, 02:26 PM
DREAMS
ABSTRACT
Dreams are nothing but a reflection of our waking experience in a new form. The medical view is that dreams are due to some organic disturbances somewhere in the body, but more particularly in the stomach. Sometimes coming diseases appear in dreams. The analysis of dreams and their cause by psychoanalysts are defective. They maintain that the cause of dream creation lies in the suppressed desires of the dreamer. Can they create dreams as they like by suppressing desires? No, they cannot do that. They say that desires stimulate or help the dream creation. But they do not know what supplies the material out of which they are made and what turns the desires into actual expression, enabling the dreamer see his own suppressed desires materialized and appearing to him as real. The desires only supply the impulse. The mind creates the dream out of the materials supplied by the experiences of the waking state. All dreams are affairs of mere seconds. Within ten seconds you will experience dreams wherein the events of several years happen. Some get dreams occasionally, while some others experience dreams daily. They can never have sleep without dreams.
DREAMS
INTRODUCTION
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.[1] The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, as well as a subject of philosophical and religious interest, throughout recorded history. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology.
Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep—when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, these dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable. Dreams can last for a few seconds, or as long as twenty minutes. People are more likely to remember the dream if they are awakened during the REM phase.
Why dreams occur?
Two different schools of thought exist as to why we dream: the physiological school, and the psychological school. Both, however, agree that we dream during the REM, or rapid eye movement, phase of sleep. During this phase of sleep, our closed eyes dart rapidly about, our brain activity peaks, and our muscles suffer temporary paralysis.
The physiological theory centers upon how our body, specifically our brains, functions during the REM phase of sleep. Proponents of this theory believe that we dream to exercise the synapses, or pathways, between brain cells, and that dreaming takes over where the active and awake brain leaves off. When awake, our brains constantly transmit and receive messages, which course through our billions of brain cells to their appropriate destinations, and keep our bodies in perpetual motion. Dreams replace this function.
Two underpinning physiological facts go towards supporting this theory of dreams. The first lies in the fact that the first two or so years of ones life, the most formative ones for learning, are also the ones in which the most REM sleep occurs. It follows that during this time of the greatest REM sleep, we experience the greatest number of dreams. The second physiological fact that lends credence to this theory is that our brain waves during REM sleep, as recorded by machines measuring the brain's electrical activity, are almost ti as unfinished business from the day, or concerns we are incapable of handling during the course of the day. Dreams can, in fact, teach us things about ourselves that we are unaware of.
Connections between dreams that the human psyche have been made by many people over thousands of years. The famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle wrote in his "Parva Naturalia," over 2,200 years ago, of a connection between dreams, waking experiences, and emotional needs.
Others have delved into more complicated explanations for dreams, such as the prophetic nature of dreams written of in the Bible, which was and is a belief held by many cultures. Sigmund Freud, one of the fathers of modern psychology, believed dreams to be symbolic of any number of things buried deep within our minds and our memories.
Until someone proves or disproves one of these theories, or poses an alternate one, we are left at square one. Our knowledge as to what causes us to dream is limited to the fact that we do dream, and that dreams occur during the REM phase of sleep.
TYPES OF DREAMS
While the various dream types are helpful in terms of pigeonholing dreams, one should not be quick to commit to such rigidity. Dreams are in and of themselves far from unyielding. Their beauty is in the symbolism and its ever changing meaning. What represents something in one dream can mean something entirely different in another.
• Psychological Healing Dreams – Although these dreams can be disturbing, they differ from nightmares in that they represent situations from the conscious past and daily living. These dreams will often occur at times of stress or when important decisions arise. These dreams are not negative as they help heal and overcome negative emotions.
• Belief Dreams – Dreams have played a part in shaping religions and belief systems across the planet. From Jacob’s dreams of angels in the Bible, to Mohammed’s dream inspiring his spiritual mission in the Quran, to the “dreaming” of the Australian Aboriginals. Subsequently, dream interpretation and analysis has been an ingrained component of human kind.
• Problem-Solving Dreams – These dreams are designed to impart a message to the sleeper that will aid them in overcoming a problem in their conscious life. It is said that very often such messages are delivered by a messenger whose identity is of utmost importance in discerning the message.
• Physiological Dreams – Some dreams are said to be direct reflections of our needs in the conscious world. For example, a dream where the sleeper is shivering in the snow may simply mean an extra blanket is required.
• Dreams of Daily Life – Dreams that incorporate familiar faces and places do not necessarily reveal hidden symbolic messages from the subconscious. They are simply reflections of everyday life. These types of dreams can incorporate activities going on whilst we sleep. For example, a phone ringing may initiate a dream about communicating with a family member.
• Compensatory Dreams – Some dreams reveal the “dark side” of our personality. This does not infer evil; it refers to what Jung described as the shadow-self. The parts of ourselves we repress. An example might be a Nun who dreams she is promiscuous. Such dreams are designed to balance our personality and give vent to emotions we would not usually seek to experience.
• Recurring Dreams – Repeating dreams are signs that we are not paying attention to the message given. As such, ignoring the messages can lead to unresolved issues in our waking lives. The intent of the subconscious in these instances is to find a dream which impacts upon the dreamer in the most beneficial way. The subconscious may have tried numerous other attempts before implementing the dream that will be repeated. The subconscious does this because it believes it has found a means to “break through”, thus, repetition is used.
• Lucid Dreams – Such dreams have been the subject of much research. In these dreams the sleeper is actually aware that they are in a dream state. The dream is so vivid it seems real, although events and characters will often be greatly exaggerated. Due to the sleeper being aware of dreaming he or she will often manipulate the outcomes. As such, it is thought these are not messages of deep symbolic value.
• Psychic Dreams – Some consider there to be no such thing as psychic, including Prophetic Dreams. These are explained away as merely the subconscious absorbing information from the conscious world and making assumptions about likely behavior. When these behaviors are played out at a later date the conscious individual perceives they have predicted the future in a dream. However, this does not account for incidents where premonitions of unforeseen natural disasters and death have taken place.
• Nightmares – These are the most emotionally draining of all dreams. They represent major issues in our waking lives that the subconscious drives the sleeper to acknowledge through fear. A great portion of people however ignore the cues and engage in the terror. It must be remembered that all dreams, even nightmares, are designed by the subconscious to help us.
STAGES IN DREAMS
Apparently, dreams can be divided up into four stages, as follows:
• Alpha Stage: At this point our heart rate slows down, we begin to feel relaxed and our whole body is starting to get prepared for sleep.
• Brainwave Stage: The next stage we experience short brain waves and pulses.
• Limited Stage: During this our heart rate slows down along with our body pressure and temperature.
• REM Stage: This is where our vivid dreams occur and our muscles twitch and our body is limb.
What is REM sleep?
REM sleep is rapid eye movement sleep. During REM sleep, one breathes faster and has a higher heart rate than during NREM (non rapid eye movement) sleep. Also during REM sleep, one's eyes move and hands and feet twitch. A sleeping person has dreams—often with elaborate storylines—when experiencing REM sleep. There are usually four to five periods of REM sleep per night, each period lasting from five minutes to an hour. Durations of REM sleep periods grow longer as sleep continues.
It has been shown that dreaming is an important component of sleep, although it is not completely understood why. One theory states that during dreams, the brain sorts through the information it has picked up during the day and discards that which it deems unnecessary. Another theory is that dreams help us handle emotional stress by creating scenarios we must work through.
Regardless of their function, most people who are deprived of dreams become disoriented, are unable to concentrate, and may even have hallucinations. The only people who do not experience REM sleep are those who have been blind from birth.
ACTS ABOUT DREAMING
• Everybody Dreams Men do it. Women do it. Even babies do it. We all dream, even those of us who claim not to. In fact, researchers have found that people usually have several dreams each night, each one lasting for between 5 to 20 minutes. During a typical lifetime, people spend an average of six years dreaming!
• But You Forget Most of Your Dreams According to estimates by dream researcher J. Allan Hobson, as much as 95 percent of all dreams are quickly forgotten shortly after waking. Why are our dreams so difficult to remember? According to one theory, the changes in the brain that occur during sleep do not support the information processing and storage needed for memory formation to take place. Brain scans of sleeping individuals have shown that the frontal lobes, the area that plays a key role in memory formation, are inactive during REM sleep, the stage in which dreaming occurs.
• Not All Dreams Are In Color While approximately 80 percent of all dreams are in color, there are a small percentage of people who claim to only dream in black and white. In studies where dreamers have been awakened and asked to select colors from a chart that match those in their dreams, soft pastel colors are those most frequently chosen.
• Men and Women Dream Differently Researchers have found a number of differences between men and women when it comes to the content of their dreams. In one study, men reported more instances of dreaming about aggression than women did. According to dream researcher William Domhoff, women tend to have slightly longer dreams that feature more characters. When it comes to the characters that typically appear in dreams, men dream about other men twice as often as they do about women, while women tend to dream about both sexes equally.
• Animals Probably Dream Have you ever watched a sleeping dog wag its tail or move its legs while asleep? While it's hard to say for sure whether the animal is truly dreaming, researchers believe that it is likely that animals do indeed dream. Just like humans, animals go through sleep stages that include cycles of REM and NREM sleep. In one study, a gorilla was taught sign language as a means of communication. At one point, the gorilla signed "sleep pictures," possibly indicating the experience of dreaming.
• You Can Control Your Dreams A lucid dream is one in which you are aware that you are dreaming even though you are still asleep. During this type of dream, you can often "direct" or control the content of the dream. Approximately half of all people can remember experiencing at least one instance of lucid dreaming, and some individuals are able to have lucid dreams quite frequently.
• Negative Emotions Are More Common in Dreams Over a period of more than forty years; researcher Calvin S. Hall collected more than 50,000 dream accounts from college students. These reports were made available to the public during the 1990s by Hall's student William Domhoff. The dream accounts revealed that many emotions are experienced during dreams including joy, happiness and fear. The most common emotion experienced in dreams was anxiety, and negative emotions in general were much more common than positive ones
• Blind People Dream While people who lost their eyesight prior to age five usually do not have visual dreams in adulthood, they still dream. Despite the lack of visuals, the dreams of the blind are just as complex and vivid as those of the sighted. Instead of visual sensations, blind individuals' dreams typically include information from the other senses such as sound, touch, taste, hearing and smell.
CONCLUSION
When deprived of dreams, individuals become irritable and disoriented, hallucinate, and show signs of psychosis. They will also dream excessively the first chance they get in a phenomenon known as REM rebound. Adults dream off and on, for a total of about an hour and half to three hours every night. By the time we die, most of us will have spent a quarter of a century asleep, of which six years or more will have been spent dreaming—and almost all of those dreams are forgotten upon waking.