dreams

dreams

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Our dreams combine verbal, visual and emotional stimuli into a sometimes broken, nonsensical but often entertaining story line. We can sometimes even solve problems in our sleep. Or can we? Many experts disagree on exactly what the purpose of our dreams might be. Are they strictly random brain impulses, or are our brains actually working through issues from our daily life while we sleep -- as a sort of coping mechanism? Should we even bother to interpret our dreams? Many say yes, that we have a great deal to learn from our dreams.

In this article, we'll talk about the major dream theories, from Freud's view to the hypotheses that claim we can control our dreams. We'll find out what scientists say is happening in our brains when we dream and why we have trouble remembering these night-time story lines. We'll talk about how you can try to control your dreams -- both what you're dreaming about and what you do once you're having the dream. We'll also find out what dream experts say particular scenarios signify. Finding yourself at work naked may not mean at all what you think it does!

Dream Philosophy

According to Nietzsche, "In the ages of the rude beginning of culture, man believed that he was discovering a second real world in dream, and here is the origin of all metaphysics. Without dreams, mankind would never have had occasion to invent such a division of the world. The parting of soul and body goes also with this way of interpreting dreams; likewise, the idea of a soul's apparitional body: whence all belief in ghosts, and apparently, too, in gods."

WHY DO WE DREAM ?

For centuries, we've tried to figure out just why our brains play these nightly shows for us. Early civilizations thought dream worlds were real, physical worlds that they could enter only from their dream state. Researchers continue to toss around many theories about dreaming. Those theories essentially fall into two categories:

• The idea that dreams are only physiological stimulations
• The idea that dreams are psychologically necessary

Dreaming and the Brain
When we sleep, we go through five sleep stages. The first stage is a very light sleep from which it is easy to wake up. The second stage moves into a slightly deeper sleep, and stages three and four represent our deepest sleep. Our brain activity throughout these stages is gradually slowing down so that by deep sleep, we experience nothing but delta brain waves -- the slowest brain waves (see "Brain Waves" sidebar). About 90 minutes after we go to sleep and after the fourth sleep stage, we begin REM sleep.

During REM sleep, several physiological changes also take place. The heart rate and breathing quickens, the blood pressure rises, we can't regulate our body temperature as well and our brain activity increases to the same level (alpha) as when we are awake, or even higher. The rest of the body, however, is essentially paralyzed until we leave REM sleep. This paralysis is caused by the release of glycine, an amino acid, from the brain stem onto the motoneurons (neurons that conduct impulses outward from the brain or spinal cord). Because REM sleep is the sleep stage at which most dreaming takes place, this paralysis could be nature's way of making sure we don't act out our dreams. Otherwise, if you're sleeping next to someone who is dreaming about playing kickball, you might get kicked repeatedly while you sleep.

Rapid eye movement (REM) was discovered in 1953 by University of Chicago researchers Eugene Aserinsky, a graduate student in physiology, and Nathaniel Kleitman, Ph.D., chair of physiology. REM sleep is primarily characterized by movements of the eyes and is the fifth stage of sleep

The four stages outside of REM sleep are called non-REM sleep (NREM). Although most dreams do take place during REM sleep, more recent research has shown that dreams can occur during any of the sleep stages. Tore A. Nielsen, Ph.D., of the Dream and Nightmare Laboratory in Montreal, refers to this as "covert REM sleep" making an appearance during NREM sleep. Most NREM dreams, however, don't have the intensity of REM dreams.

Throughout the night, we go through these five stages several times. Each subsequent cycle, however, includes more REM sleep and less deep sleep (stage three and four). By morning, we're having almost all stage one, two and five (REM) sleep.

REM Sleep

What happens if you don't get any REM sleep? Originally, researchers thought that no REM sleep meant no dreams. They theorized that dreams were a sort of safety valve that helped your brain let off steam that you couldn't let off during the day. William Dement, MD, now at Stanford University School of Medicine, did a study in 1960 in which subjects were awakened every time they entered REM sleep. His findings included mild psychological disturbances such as anxiety, irritability and difficulty concentrating. He also noted an increase in appetite. While some studies backed up these ideas, more and more studies did not.

Additional studies tried to make a connection between difficulty remembering things and lack of REM sleep, but those studies too have been disproven with more research. An indisputable snag in the loss-of-memory-function theory was a man who had experienced a brain injury that resulted in him experiencing no REM sleep. He completed law school and had no problems in his day-to-day life.

The latest ideas on REM sleep are associated with learning. Researchers are trying to determine the effects that REM sleep and the lack of REM sleep have on learning certain types of skills -- usually physical skills rather than rote memory. This connection seems strong in some respects due to the fact that infants and toddlers experience much more REM sleep than adults.

Dream Facts

• Most dreams last anywhere from five to 20 minutes.
• People don't only dream in black and white, as was once believed.
• Even though they may not remember them, everyone dreams several times a night. In fact, during a typical lifetime, we spend about six years dreaming.
• People who have been blind from birth have dreams that are formed from their other senses (e.g., touch, smell, sound).
• When people are snoring, they're not dreaming.
• Elephants (and some other animals) sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.
  

Creativity and Inventions That Came From DreamsThroughout history, inventors, writers, artists and scientists have solved problems in their dreams.

• Kekule, the German chemist who discovered the structure of the benzene molecule, had worked endlessly to figure it out. Then, in a dream, he saw snakes forming circles with their tales in their mouths. When he awoke, he realized that the benzene molecule, unlike all other known organic compounds, had a circular structure rather than a linear one.
• The inventor of the sewing machine, Elias Howe, had struggled in 1884 to figure out how the needle could work in a machine for sewing. In a dream, he found himself surrounded by native tribesmen with spears that had a hole in the point. When he woke up, he realized that a needle with a hole in the point would solve his problem.
• Mary Shelly, author of "Frankenstein," got the idea for the story from a dream.
• Edgar Allen Poe got inspiration from a dream featuring large luminous eyes for his story, "Lady Ligea."
• Many musicians, including Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Beethoven, have found inspiration for their music from their dreams. Some hear musical arrangements in their dreams, while others hear lyrics.
• Golfer Jack Nicklaus found a new way to hold his golf club in a dream, which he credits as significantly improving his golf game.

Ongoing Dream Research and Therapy
Research in various areas of dreaming is ongoing, particularly in the areas of REM sleep and lucidity. One study in lucid dreaming involves trying to get the dreamer to communicate with observers while he or she is dreaming. Stephen LaBerge, who is at the forefront of lucid dreaming research, has successfully achieved communication through eye movements, but of course this type of communication is very limited. His ongoing work involves dreamers wearing a glove that incorporates movement sensors to record hand movements during sleep. By using sign language, they hope be able to get reports of dreams as they are occurring.

One day, perhaps we'll all be able to control our dreams or even share our dreams with others while we sleep.