Sleeping and Dreaming Essay

Throughout history, numerous people have studied the human body and its many functions. One area of the body that causes much confusion and controversy is the mind. Many parts of the brain baffle scientists, but a specific aspect of the mind that is fascinating and puzzling is dreams and their functions. It is surprising that an average person dreams for at least six years of their life, but scientists still do not know the role of dreaming (Shaw). Several theories have been presented to provide a reason for dreaming, and attempt to explain what most do not understand. Although dream research has been prominent lately, no agreement has been reached on which theory is correct on the purpose of dreams. Some believe that dreams are only

Our dreams are objects of endless enchantment and mystery for mankind as far back as the beginning of time. The nocturnal

The reading begins with two researchers Aserinsky and Dement, researching into why humans need sleep. Then, it begins to talk about another two researchers, Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley. They both came up with a new theory about dreaming, which was “ in essence, was that dreams are nothing more than your attempt to interpret random electrical impulses produced automatically in your brain during REM sleep.” (Hock 2013). Basically what they were saying is that while we sleep, a part of our brain produces electrical charges in the brain stem. While we sleep most other parts of the brain are inactive, but the brain stem isn’t. Hobson and

Thesis: Sleep plays an essential part in a person’s health and well-being; the way we feel while awake is dependent upon what happens to your body while asleep.

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.

There are a few factors that are essential for life such as breathing or eating, but one of the most essential factor is sleep. Even though the amount of sleep people need differs from one individual to another, the fact is that eventually everyone needs to sleep. People know the importance of sleep, but due to the increased workload and the pressure of society people are getting less sleep. As a result, there has been an increase interest on the effects lack of sleep has on the mind especially the memory of a person. Many questions arose about the relationship between sleep and memory due to the fact most high school and college students have become sleep deprived. For example, does more sleep mean higher grades?

Review of The Twenty-four Hour Mind: The Role of Sleep and Dreaming in Our Emotional Lives by Rosalind Cartwright 224 pages Oxford University Press, USA; * edition (June 24, 2010)

I did not sleep well as a child. When I closed my eyes, I was not inundated with calming thoughts, nor fantastical images, but rather assaulted by existential anxieties which coaxed me into undesired ruminations about my being. I believed falling asleep was tantamount to relinquishing control over my ephemeral existence, as there was no guarantee of awakening. I found myself clinging to the present to the detriment of the future, desperately eschewing its hastened arrival for fear that it would not include me in its progression. And yet, every night, hour by hour, I would find myself succumbing to the physical and mental manifestations of sleep deprivation. I would come to plead for the very loss of control that I so viscerally feared, as

There are many facts that are unknown about the mind. For centuries, philosophers and scientists have tried to understand how it works. We have learned that the mind has a number of different levels of processing. Before Sigmund Freud “nearly all the previous research and theorizing of psychologists had dealt with conscious, such as perception, memory, judgment, and learning“ (Hunt185). Freud brought forth a number of theories that dealt with “the unconscious and its crucial role in human behavior”(Hunt 185). The unconscious is a storage area for information that is not being used. It is also the home of “powerful primitive drives and forbidden wishes that constantly generated pressure on the conscious mind”(Hunt

The average human spends about 25 years of their life sleeping. That is equal to one-third of a person’s life. So if sleep is vital and common among every single human, what do you know about it? What happens when we sleep (Attention Grabber)? Before the 1950s, scientists believed that the brain would just “shut off” when we would go to sleep. It wasn’t until the discovery of the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) state that scientists really looked into what happens in the brain while we are asleep. Studies have found that we go through a cycle of stages during sleep, and it is important for our health (Orientation to Topic). Today, I am going to inform you about what really happens when we sleep, and some issues that are found among it (Specific Purpose). In order to really understand this worldwide commonality, you need to know some background on sleep, the stages in the cycle, and some common disorders (Central Idea). I have taken a year long psychology course that went into depth on sleep psychology, and I have done extensive research on the topic to better grasp it (Statement of Credibility). I want to inform you on sleep so you can understand what happens when you close your eyes every night, and so you can detect any irregularities in your sleep pattern (Statement of Goodwill). First, I will give a background of why and how we know to sleep, then I will explain the stages in the sleep cycle, and finally I will tell you about some common disorders (Preview).

There are many elements that can cause an individual to snore. Most are treatable and not detrimental to his/her health. If it is due to inflammation of the throat and/or mouth, the snoring will cease once the inflammation and cold is gone. If it is because the person consumed too much alcohol before retiring for the night, he/she should try to avoid this

Sleep is one of the unavoidable daily-living activities and it is one of the most important factors contributing to a person’s health. A quality sleep is essential for the physical, cognitive and psychological well-being of a person. Learning, memory processing and maintenance of the brain are among the most important functions of sleep. In addition to maintaining the brain, sleep has important roles in controlling the

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.

I find it interesting that in the ancient times God used to talk to people while they were asleep through dreams. It’s surprising that most of the dreams that people imagined came to pass since in the present world whatever people dream about doesn’t make much sense apart from some religions. In the ancient times, sleep was associated with laziness, however, nowadays sleep is taken as a way of resting. Rest is considered as a way of energizing one as seen in the predators that sleep during the day so that they can have enough concentration when hunting at night. Sleep is a mechanism through which animals restore their energy; it can be measured by the time one sleeps. The scientific field of sleep research is a recent area of specialization

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.