Dreams, REM Sleep, and the Subconscious

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Dreams

Someone once said, “Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country” (Nin, The Diaries of Anais). Dreams are the result of subconscious thoughts and desires. The other theory to dreams are random noises in the neurons of the brain without special meaning. Dreams are the mental activity that takes place during sleep. “Usually during REM sleep is when dreams occur” (Oxford University). Normally everyone dreams several times a night…some drugs and alcohol may impair the dream process. The inability to recall dreams is not abnormal though. Dreams are communication of the body, mind, and spirit in a symbolic state. The human brains are in constant activity when sleeping. Different states of conciseness cause different brain wave activity. The brain usually has ordinary sequences of imagination. For thousands of years dreams were regarded as “visions” or “prophesies.” Dreams seem to be a way for the subconscious mind to sort out and process all the input that is encountered while people are awake. Dreams can also improve your emotional well being, reduce stress, improve creativity, and provide a “playground for your mind” while your body recovers and repairs itself. Contrary to the view that dreams server no function one theorist suggests that, “dreams are the brains way of ‘unlearning’ or removing certain or unneeded memories” (Kasschall, Richard). In other words dreams are a form of mental housecleaning. Such mental housecleaning might be necessary because it is not useful to remember every single detail of your life. There are two functions of dreams: to fulfill conscious wishes, to guard sleep. Most dreams also have been recorded a...

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...ughly B. First to argue about dreams 1. Important part of the emotional life VII. Who dreams? A. Humans B. Mammals C. House pets VIII. Theories about REM sleep A. REM sleep aids long term memory B. Clean brain of unneeded information C. Provides brain with occasional stimulation during sleep 1. Necessary for brain growth IX. Sample dream A. Tooth loss B. Bleeding X. Paranormal dreams A. Poorly received B. Cannot deal with chaos XI. Remembering dreams A. People don’t care about dreams B. Dream recall 1. Thinking over dreams 2. Writing them down C. Feeling paralyzed 1. Brain cells were stimulated XII. Shared dreaming A. Reported frequently B. Most common in 1. Married couples 2. Siblings living at home 3. Very close friends living together XIII. Methods to analyze dreams A. New methods B. Most dreams include 1. People 2. Animals 3. Physical objects 4. Mental objects

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