Journal Entry Summary

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

The humankind throughout history has tried to learn and figure out the meaning of dreaming. The interpretations and true meanings of dreams has expanded and has varied over centuries and cultures. Many of the earlier studies were based on culture’s and the interpretation of dreams, but also used as a form of prophecy, inspiration, and guidance. Many people still believe this such, people today beliefs and theories have opened up to a more vast interpretation, they are made up of; dreams are rare brain activity, dreams allow people to reflect on themselves, or that dreams are too massive to be correctly interpret. Although, not a single theory has been proven to this day, science as of why dreams occur is still a mystery.

Up to 90% of people dream when they fall asleep not only do they dream but also have nightmares. Not all nightmares will wake a person up or even be remembered but if they are remembered it usually strikes fear and worry in the dreamers mind. Nightmares and the level of fear that they possess all depends on the person who is having them because not everyone’s fears are the same thing or are to the same extent. Nevertheless sleep is split into four different stages, stage one being sleep onset, stage 2 light sleep, stage 3 and 4 deep sleep which can also be known as the REM (non-rapid eye movement) stage which is connected to dreaming. There are different aspects within a nightmare such as how nightmares come to be and who they effect.

Methods: The participants, all males age 23-32, slept in a dark, quiet lab while their brain waves and eye movements were recorded. They were not aloud to sleep at all during the day when they were not in the lab because they might dream. To establish a base for the experiment, participants in the study were allowed to sleep normally for a few nights. The next few nights the participants were fully awaken every time that they started to dream. The next section was the recovery phase where they could sleep normally followed by more nights where they would be woken between

The US National Library of Medicine defines a nightmare as, “a bad dream that brings out strong feelings of fear, terror, distress, or anxiety.” A dream, then, is a series of thoughts or images that happen during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. Research has shown that the biggest amount of common adult dreams are in a category known as “pseudonightmarish” dreams, which is essentially any dream of being in trouble or in danger, being alone and/or trapped, something you don’t have control over (like losing your teeth), or facing natural forces.

As a lead in to psychoanalysis, as part of my journal I kept a daily dream log for a week (Appendix A, p. i). Although enjoyable, I did find myself questioning the validity and lack of scientific support. There seems to be too much room for different interpretations or misinterpretations. This

As we lay ourselves down every night to put our bodies to rest, our brains begin doing something extraordinary. It begins piecing together images, creating scenarios, simulating sensory perception, and adding in emotions and fears. They can make us wake up with a smile on our face or in a cold sweat. Dreaming is such a strange and often inexplicable phenomenon, but something we all do just about every night. People have theorized the process and the utility of dreams for centuries. However, much of the accepted knowledge we have a bout dreams today is still only theory. In fact, hardly anything about the dreaming experience is concrete because it is an experience

The article “In the Dreamscape of Nightmares, Clues to Why We Dream at All”, written by Natalie Angier, introduces various types of insight on nightmares and the reasons behind why they occur. Nightmares are dreams, able to jolt you awake. Although few suffer from nightmares so terrifying that help is sought, dreams are a universal human experience. A majority of our dreamlike states are spent negatively. As a result, numerous people have studied dreams and discovered that there may be reasons behind the existence of nightmares and dreams overall.

Chart displaying the results of an experiment done by Victor Spoormaker and Jan van den Bout to see if lucid dreaming reduced nightmares. They concluded lucid dreaming does decrease nightmare frequency but it is not necessary for reduction.

Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/nightmares Sleep- children and nightmares. Better Health Channel. Retrieved from http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Nightmares_and_children Blagrove, M., Farmer, L., & Williams, E. (2004, May 26). The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well-being. Journal of Sleep Research,

Dreams are generally linked with rapid eye movement sleep, or REM sleep, which is a phase that happens near the end of a sleep cycle. REM sleep is characterized by the random movement of the eyes and heightened body and brain activity. One study proposed that there is a definitive link between dreams and emotions, where the reduction of REM sleep causes a reduction in the ability to comprehend the multifaceted emotions in everyday life (Gujar, 2011, p.117). This phase of the sleep cycle has the highest inclination of vivid dreams and studies of MRIs of the brain during REM sleep show that the amygdala and hippocampus play a key role (Gennaro, 2011, p.1458). The amygdale processes the memory of emotional reactions and the hippocampus stores information from short-term to long-term memory. These findings reveal the core mechanism and perhaps the reason that humans dream. Dreams seem to aid in processing emotions by linking them to a variety of memories. The experiences within dreams may not be real, but the emotions that accompany the images and events during REM sleep are unquestionably genuine. Without processing these emotions, the emotions build up and personal anxiety increases. With less REM sleep, people tend to be more agitated and mental disorders are more easily developed

In Module 9 on the topic of Sleep and Dreams, was an interesting topic that was discussed in class as many people normally question why and how we dream. There isn’t a specific reason in how dreams are functioned but there are different interpretations and stereotypes that people think have meanings and others that don’t.

The psychological factors that affect one’s dreaming would be any type of mental disorder such as depression, anxiety, multiple

Anxiety and depression have a substantial impact on recalling dreams. Consequently, when a person is anxious or depressed they tend to wake up more often throughout the night (Caceres). Waking up in the middle of a dream makes it easier to remember. If a dream has finished while you are sleeping, there is a much greater chance of not remembering it because your brain has drifted from the REM period to another stage in the sleep cycle. This can be explained with the instance of waking up during a nightmare and remembering exactly what was happening. When the waking is done naturally the body is able to recall dreams; however, when waking is unnatural it results in the opposite effect. For this reason, recalling our previous thoughts is often difficult to do with the assistance of alarm clocks, or other devices, because of their abruptness (Edwards, 2). The shocking noise can interrupt a person’s sleep pattern so suddenly, creating a blank mind when trying to reflect on a dream. The brain controls dreams and impacts how well and what we remember each morning. While the influence of outside factors can also trick the mind. Except health is not the only factor which affects