AP Literature: The Importance Of Dreams

The study of dreams began in 1953 after Eugene Aserinsky and Nathaniel Kleitman discovered REM sleep - a period of rapid eye movement that corresponded with vivid dream recollections (Aserinskiy and Kleitman). Since that time, psychologists have sought out what the biological purpose of dreams was. Dream psychology can be a difficult field of study due to the fact that we have not found an accurate way to record dreams, relying on the subjective recollections of the subject upon waking them up. There are some questions that we can currently answer, such as What is the content of dreams? To begin, we know that dreams vary greatly in length, from a few seconds to twenty minutes and that humans tend

Dreaming, although a substantial component of our nighttime lives, remains somewhat of an enigma due to the fact that it occurs while we are unconscious. The inaccessibility of the unconscious mind weakens full analysis and comprehension of dreaming which researchers have been attempting to accomplish. However, over the years many researchers have elucidated many mysteries about dreams, such as when we dream, why we dream, and what we dream about, in order to bring forth an understanding of dreams as well as identify

To many people, dreams are the thoughts that occur while sleeping, having almost mystic qualities. For millennia the significance of dreams has escaped even the brightest of philosophers and intellectuals. Many people have speculated about why people dream and what meanings the dreams have but in recent times two theories have gained credibility in answering those questions. The first theory is Sigmund Freuds and the other is known as the cognitive theory of dreams also known as biological determinism.

Thesis Statement: Dreams are successions of images, emotions, and sensations that occur subconsciously during sleep.

Holzinger, G. Klosch, and B. Saletu (2015) at the Institute for Consciousness and Dream Research involved an initial forty participants, thirty females and ten males, ranging in age from twenty to fifty-nine. All participants were volunteers recruited through unspecified media (Holzinger et al., 2015). The only pre-requirement, as stated in the advertisement, was for participants to be experiencing frequent nightmares at least twice a week (Holzinger 2014). In addition, participant’s nightmares had to fit the institutes definition as ‘recurrent awakening from sleep with recall of intensely disturbing dream mentation’s and were accompanied by dysphonic emotion’ (p. 355). Prior to acceptance to the study, all participants were required to go through a screening process to eliminate any person with additional sleep behavior disorders, excluding anyone experiencing sleepwalking or night terrors and anyone suffering from REM sleep behavior disorder, epileptic seizures, or psychotic symptoms. After passing all screenings, participants were randomly assigned to two groups; group A: Gestalt therapy group (GTG) and group B: Gestalt and lucid dreaming therapy group (LDG) where each group had twenty members.

Contrary to popular thought dream interpretation is not an exact science. The method of dream interpretation is only used to reveal some things about the patient to form a conclusions. Some dreams or nightmares can be specific and can be caused by certain things. However often times they are merely a left over thought process from the day before. Sometimes a psychologist can infer from your dreams what you may have

Freud This view of dreams come from a more psychoanalytical perspective and it shows a probable theory with actual proof and science to support his claim. Wish fulfillment is a big part of most every dreams. Wish fulfillment is the unconscious mind trying to resolve an internal conflict, for example a problem that the dreamer has encountered sometime recent or something from their past. During sleep the unconscious can have disturbing and random thoughts that the dreamer has no control over and sometimes these images can be vivid and life like.

Neurologically, dreaming is the proto conscious state that occurs during Slow Wave Sleep and REM sleep. Dreams are related to reorganizing and recoding memories in connection to emotional drives as well as transferring memories between brain regions. Episodic memories are stored in the hippocampus which is specialized for long-term memory that learns quickly. At night, memories from the hippocampus are transferred into the cerebral cortex, the region of the brain specialized for information processing, cognition, and knowledge. There are numerous studies done on why we dream and different theories conducted by psychologists.

The precise science behind dreams has baffled psychologists for years. Most of these dreams that are constantly studied are not all that enchanting as the name suggests. The grotesque side of these images of the subconscious are called nightmares. When a person experiences a nightmare, heart pounding, sweating, and nervousness occur. These sensations are due to the amount of frightening content of the dream. In turn, the subconscious has the ability to overpower the body outwardly. From research on the causes of nightmares, affected age groups, and how the brain is affected, nightmares can teach humans a lot about the inner workings of their mind.

Whether you conceive it or not, dreams helped to give a shape of a model our society in various ways.

Dreams have been around as long as the first civilization came to be and have been a normal part of human existence. One third of your life is spent sleeping, and of that third, on average you will have spent a total of about six years of it dreaming. Most people dream on average two hours every night, but you can have anywhere from four to seven dreams in one night. According to research, the most common setting for a dream is in your own house. In our dreams we can do anything we want and be whoever we want to be. Our dreams are an escape from reality. While we dream we are unable to control our actions and choose our surroundings. We let our minds take over. Sometimes dreams can be understood in the context of repressed thoughts. Dreaming serves as an outlet for those thoughts and impulses we repress during the day. When we go to sleep at night and slip into our dream state, we feel liberated and behave in a manner that we do not allow ourselves to in our everyday life. Visions and ides can come from your dreams. Often, authors, screenwriters, and even poets turn to their dreams for inspiration. The think quest oracle library goes on to tell about the most well-known of the modern dream

Each night without fail our eyes grow heavy and our minds tired, and dreaming we drag ourselves to bed and normally fall asleep quickly and peacefully off to dream land we go.

A dream is a series of thoughts, images, and sensations in a person’s mind during sleep. But what exactly occurs in these imaginative episodes? Is it a pathway to another realm? Another galaxy? Actually, dreams are controlled by neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters determines whether we are awake or whether we are asleep, sort of like a switch (American Sleep Association). In dreams, “there are actually multiple sleep stages”(Withings). These sleep stages are all called neurotic rapid eye movement, or NREM. In fact, dreams do not even occur until the fourth and final NREM stage. The first stage is the lightest stage of sleep. This stage makes it effortless to fall in and out of slumber. Stage one is also the shortest in duration in comparison to the other phases, lasting approximately about 1-10 minutes. During this period, your heart rate becomes steady

dream was the fulfillment of a wish. Psychologists like Robert Van de Castle, Ph D., have

Dreams have been around since the beginning of time. There is often controversy over whether or not dreams are important or meaningless. Although many people believe that dreams are pointless and have no meanings to them, research and experimentation show that there can be many different interpretations of dreams.