Discuss Theories Of The Science Interpretation And Purpose Of Our 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

Years ago, it was presumed that a sleeping person had little or no measurable brain activity. This dated theory has since been dismissed. With the emergence of technology to monitor the stages of sleep, we now know better. It has now been shown that our brain is anything but idle during sleep - albeit performing different functions than when we are

Why do we dream? What do our dreams mean? Dreams are a sequence of images, ideas, and feelings that involuntarily occur most commonly during the REM stage of sleep. They come in a wide variety of types, from the peculiar to the downright terrifying; the dreamer has no control over what they experience in their dreams. Though neurologists have been studying the human brain for decades, we still don’t fully know why we dream or what their significance is. Some psychologists theorize that dreams are closely linked to our subconscious mind, expressing our deepest fears or desires, allowing us to be what we cannot be. Others believe that dreams serve no function at all and are simply our imaginations running wild. In the words of Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis, “The dream is the liberation of the spirit from the pressure of external nature, a detachment of the soul from the fetters of matter.” (The Interpretation of Dreams)

2. Dreammoods.com states that Researchers have found why dreaming is so important and if you do not enter the dream phase it causes irritability and anxiety. They performed a study, where they would wake up a person right before they entered the REM stage, and then let the person fall back asleep, and then wake them up again and do this several times during the night. They repeated this over several nights. They then observed the subjects doing everyday activities and found they were disoriented, crabby, and quick tempered. Dreaming is necessary and helps to recharge the mind and visualize the body.

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.

Nathaniel Kleitman PhD. from the University Chicago, conducted an experiment in which he woke up participants in the middle of the REM cycle, and they recalled more "vivid and bizarre" dreams. The people who were woken during other sleep stages hardly remembered dreaming at all (Ghoyarashi). The part of the brain that produces strong emotions and fears in dreams is called the amygdala, an almond shaped lump in each cerebral hemisphere (Van Der Linden). You can blame nightmares, anger, and desires induced by and during dreams all on the amygdala. The neocortex of the brain, the largest part of the cerebral cortex is what makes dreams feel so real. This part of the brain is what controls sensory perception, or in the case of dreams, the perception of sensory perception. The neurons in this part of the brain is what makes seeing, touching, and hearing in your dreams feel like real life (Van Der

When I was doing my research it was a little hard to find good sources that are centered on the science behind dreams. A lot of the information seemed to be pretty old and outdated. That was when I found the dreaming brain by J. Allan Hobson. This author takes a look at the

The mental state of sleep and dreams are scientists still don’t know much about why or how we dream. Some have suggested that we typically spend more than two hours dreaming each night. Many people experience their most vivid dreams during REM sleep, less vivid dreams occur at other times of the night. REM sleep is the most vivid of the sleeping dreams.

A dream, by definition, is a sequence of emotions, ideas, images, and sensations that involuntarily occur in the mind at various times; typically during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000). Throughout history, dreams have been the cause of much speculation; holding both philosophical and religious interests (Hobson, 2009). Before the days of scientific research, opinions varied regarding dreams, and their usefulness in psychotherapy. Dreams were often viewed as either being divinely inspired or having derived from a dark, evil source. Even in today’s scientifically advanced society; dreams are still not totally understood.

There is also different parts of the brain that works differently during REM sleep. The left side of the brain is the one with a deep dream. When that is taking place, the right side is unconscious. The emotions people have in their dream comes from the Limbic system which lies on the sides of the Thalamus. The amygdala is part of the limbic system, and it creates one of the emotions called fear. The frontal lobe also takes place during REM sleep. It makes people feel the realness of the dream, and it is the most uncritical.

Normally, dreams occur in the REM stage of sleep, but they can occur in the fourth stage of sleep. Although little is truly known about dreams, because we can only rely on the dreamer, there are three main theories that try to explain dreams. These theories are Freud’s psycho dynamic theory, the cognitive theory, and the activation-stimulation theory.

The stages of non-REM sleep, stages 1–3, are defined by EEG activity. Slow-wave sleep in stage 3 is the deepest stage of sleep. Alertness consists of desynchronized beta activity (13–30 Hz); relaxation and drowsiness consist of alpha activity (8–12 Hz); stage 1 sleep consists of alternating periods of alpha activity, irregular fast activity, and theta activity (3.5–7.5 Hz); the EEG of stage 2 sleep lacks alpha activity but contains sleep spindles (short periods of 12–14 Hz activity) and occasional K complexes; stage 3 sleep primarily consists of delta activity. About 90 minutes after the beginning of sleep, people enter REM sleep. Thereafter, cycles of REM and non-REM sleep occur in periods of approximately 90 minutes. Muscle tone decreases throughout the stages, resulting in deepest relaxation and paralysis in REM sleep (Carlson & Birkett, p. 268).

It is called REM sleep. Our Dreams have different stages of activity, dreams are important to a human being and there is no evidence that shows dreams have meaning. Dreams have different stages it is called REM sleep. According to Psychology Today most people dream about one to two hours each night and they have variety of dreams(Citation 2). Do you ever remember your dream

Dreams are very unique and many people have theorized about what a dream 's meaning or purpose is, and what affects them. In most present day studies, more vivid dreams have been linked to the stage of sleep called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. REM dreams are emotional, bizarre, and sometimes so vivid we may confuse them with reality. Most commonly, a dream’s story line incorporates traces of previous day’s experiences and preoccupations. Unless a person is awakened during REM stage of sleep or the dream is exceedingly vivid or intense, most people don’t remember anything about their dreams during REM sleep. This is likely due to the fact that during REM sleep, our brain essentially turns off the ability to encode,or create, new memories.