Sleep and Dreams

Chapter 7-1

From The Human Mind Explained edited by Susan A. Greenfield, 1996

In 1959 New York disk jockey Peter Tripp stayed awake for 200 hours to raise money for charity….After about 50 hours, he started having mild hallucinations, seeing cobwebs in his shoes when there were none there and thinking that specks of dirt were bugs; by 100 hours, he became delirious and saw a doctor’s tweed suit as a tangle of furry worms; at 120 he needed a stimulant to keep him awake. After 150 hours, he was disoriented, no knowing who or where he was, and he became paranoid – he backed against a wall, letting no one pass behind him; by 200 hours, his hallucinations had taken a sinister turn, and he thought a doctor trying to examine him was an undertaker come to bury him.

consciousness

• A state of awareness, including a person’s feelings, sensations, ideas and perceptions

Altered states of consciousness

• Different levels of consciousness

Levels of Consciousness

• Alertness to nonalertness

• Alertness – being fully aware with your attention focused on something and are conscious of that thing

sleep

• A state of altered consciousness (a different level of consciousness), characterized by certain patterns of brain activity

• Unresponsiveness to the environment and limited physical mobility

Beliefs about Sleep

• That it is restorative• Primitive hibernation• Adaptive process• Clears our minds of useless information• To dream

Studying Sleep

• EEG

The Stages of Sleep

• Early Stages– Stage I:

• pulse slows, muscles relax, breathing uneven, brain waves irregular• Approximately 10 minutes• Theta waves – lower amplitude and frequency

– Stage II:• Eyes role from side to side• Approximately 30 minutes

– Stage III:• Delta waves – large amplitude

• Later Stages

The Stages of Sleep

• Early Stages• Later Stages– Stage IV:– Deepest level of sleep– Hard to wake people up– Delta waves – large and regular, happen more than

50% of the time– If suddenly woken, may feel disoriented– Talking out loud, sleepwalking, bed-wetting

• 75% of the time “asleep” is spent in stages I-IV

REM sleep

• Rapid Eye Movement– Pulse rate & breathing are irregular– Adrenal & sexual hormones rise– Face or fingers twitch– Large muscles are paralyzed– Brains waves look like you are awake– Early at night – 15 mins long– Late at night – 45 mins long– Discovered by Nathaniel Kleitman

Sleep Labels

• NREM (non-REM) – Quiet sleep– Stages I-IV

• REM sleep– Active sleep– Almost all dreaming takes place

Sleep Cycle

• Stages I-IV• REM Sleep• Stage IV• REM Sleep• Stage IV

Approximately 90 minutes

REM purpose

• Seems to serve psychological functions such as building efficient learning and memory processes

How Much Sleep

• 1/3 of our lives• Newborns: 16 hours a day (half in REM)• 16 yr olds: 10-11 hours asleep• Graduate students: 8 hours a night• 70 yr olds: 5 hours• Adults: 25% in REM, 75% in NREM

Circadian Rhythm

• The rhythm of activity and inactivity lasting approximately one

• Biological clock that is genetically programmed to regulate physiological responses within a 24-25 hour time period

Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia• Sleep Apnea• Narcolepsy• Nightmares and Night Terrors• Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking

Insomnia

• Failure to get enough sleep at night in order to feel rested the next day

• Some causes:– Anxiety– Depression– Alcohol– drugs

Sleep Apnea• Sleep disorder in which a person has trouble breathing while

asleep

• Symptoms• Snoring

• Affects 1 in 100 Americans

• Causes:– Enlarged tonsils– Repeated throat/ear infections– obesity

Narcolepsy

• Condition characterized by suddenly falling asleep or feeing very sleepy during the day

• Permanent/overwhelming feeling of sleepiness and fatigue

• Symptoms:– Unusual sleep/dream patterns– Dreamlike hallucinations– Feeling of temporary paralysis– Sleep attacks with REM sleep

Nightmares & Night Terrors

• Nightmares – unpleasant dreams during REM sleep

• Night terrors – sleep disruptions that occur during Stage IV of sleep, involving screaming, panic, or confusion, can be 5-20 minutes long

Sleepwalking & Sleep Talking

• Walking or carrying out behaviors while asleep• Typically found in children• Can be inherited

• Causes:– Stress– Fatigue– Use of sedative medicines

The Content of Dreams

• Often incorporate our everyday activities into our dreams

• Most involve strenuous recreational activities or passive events

• Most emotions in dreams are unpleasant• Follow a realistic time scale

Dream Interpretation

• Date back to 5000 BD• Sigmund Freud believed that all dreams contain

clues to thoughts the dreamer is afraid to acknowledge when awake

• Inuit people of North America believe dreams have hidden meanings

• Nathaniel Kleithman said dreaming may have no purpose

• Francis Crick believes dreaming removes certain unneed memories

Daydreams

• Low level of awareness• Involves fantasizing or dreaming while awake• Typically daydream when bored or activities

require little attention• Helps remind us of things in the future• Improve our creativity• Helps us control our emotions