Dreams Ans Dreaming

Dreams and Dreaming

What exactly is a dream? Is it a story the evolves in the mind in a single flash of inspiration, moving from beginning to end in a few seconds? Or is there more to it than mere fantasy? Many researchers, both past and present, have given numerous definitions for what dreams are and how they can be interpreted. The most basic definition of dreams comes from Alan J. Hobson, who states that dreams are "a sequence of sensations, images, and thoughts that pass through the mind of a sleeping person via fanciful visions, fantasies or states of reverie" (1999, 15).

Since 1952, a concentrated effort in dream research has netted some concrete results which have allowed specific definitions about dreams and dreaming. In essence, dreaming is a psychophysiological (mind/body) process that can affect a person's mental and physical health. The prevailing notion, based on current research and scientific study, is that dreams "are our own inventions, born of a mind that remains fully active, with brain waves racing and the five sense perceiving as one slumbers in relative physical calm" (Gillespie, 2002, 202). Thus, according to Anthony Stevens, a dream is "a period of spontaneous brain activity usually lasting from five to forty minutes that occurs during sleep several times a night, usually at about ninety minute intervals" (2001, 25).

THE MECHANICS OF DREAMING

A 2000 study at the University of Michigan found that the human body's dreaming condition is much like the fight or flight response in waking life, which gears the body up to confront a threatening situation. Yet the brain simultaneously signals the spinal cord to hold the body completely rigid. Science is still attempting to exactly determine what

physical function dreaming has for humans, but since the 1950's, researchers have made remarkable advances in the study of sleep and dreams.

The cycles of sleep are a fairly new discovery, but in the years since researchers finally cracked the code of sleep, much has been learned about how the human body reacts when one dreams. Current research relates that sleep "is made of a pattern that alternates between a stage in which brain activity heightens and dreaming takes place and a stage of quiet sleep without REM and the brain waves that indicate dreaming" (Rupprecht, 1999, 80). The term REM stands for rapid eye movement, and this stage is so called because the eyes move back and forth beneath the eyelids as though they are watching a movie filled with action.

The discovery of REM occurred in the early 1950's at the University of Chicago's Sleep Laboratory and later on, various researchers began to wonder whether adults had these same eye movements during sleep as did children. After numerous experiments, it was discovered that REM sleep only takes place during the dream stage. As Tore A. Nielson points out, "this was a breakthrough which changed the course of sleep research from a relatively pedestrian inquiry into an intensely exciting endeavor" (1998, 53).

The discovery of REM sleep led to other related conclusions about sleep and dreams. Whereas previous researchers had taken random EEG (electroencephalograph) readings, other studies included an entire night's worth of sleep in several subjects over several days. This allowed accurate documentation regarding normal periods of sleep and dreaming. Thus, the notion that dreams occurred randomly as a result of indigestion, environmental noises, and other circumstances, was laid to rest.

THE SLEEP CYCLE

Thanks to these dream researchers, it is now known that there is a regular cycle of sleeping and dreaming during each period of sleep. For most people, a night of sleep begins with certain rituals; sleep then is supposed to come in an instant. Within the first few minutes, the temperature of the body falls, and brain waves begin their regular alpha rhythms, indicating a relaxed state. In Stage One, the muscles lose their tension, breathing becomes more even, and the heart rate slows. In Stage Two, random or nonsensical image may float through the mind, mimicking the dream state. In Stage Three, the body continues its process of slowing down; the muscles lose all tightness, breaths come slowly and rhythmically, the heart rate decreases and blood pressure falls. In Stage Four, the body and the mind are at their most restful periods and may last for many hours.

Dreaming itself occurs during and between these cycles as the brain fluctuates in activity. REM also begins with the heart fluctuating wildly, the breathing turning irregular and fast. Some people, at this point in the sleep cycle, experience what is called the "Old Hag," being the feeling that someone or something is sitting on the chest, causing shortness of breath and sweating. It is during this REM phase, which can last from ten to

sixty minutes each time, that dreams occur. Most people have from five to seven dreams during a normal night's sleep with each dream lasting from a few seconds to as much as an hour. These dreams do not occur in a flash; in fact, the perceived duration approximates the actual time spent dreaming. As each REM period ends, the body cycles back through Stages One and Four every ninety minutes until fully awake.

BODY DYNAMICS

The body goes through some interesting changes during the REM stage of the sleep cycle. REM is perhaps the most intriguing of these, for studies have shown that "the eye movements of dreamers do seem to coordinate with the action seen on their dream screens" (Hobson, 1999, 167). Yet despite the hyperactivity of the eyes, the body goes from a relaxed and almost motionless state during other stages of sleep to a fairly rigid position during REM sleep. Although a person generally moves during sleep, a dreaming person is incapable of moving during the REM period, at least voluntarily.

Another physical characteristic of dreaming occurs when the head and chin become so completely relaxed that the slackening of the muscles under the chin serve as a reliable signal that REM sleep is happening. This phenomena is not just restricted to humans; in rabbits, the ears remain straight back on the head for all stages of sleep. But when the rabbit starts to dream (current studies have determined that animals do indeed dream), the ears flop down on either side. Other animals, such as dogs, cats, rats and monkeys, exhibit the same kind of twitching, rapid breathing and even penile erections during their dreams. And REM sleep patterns have been detected in every mammal investigated, even birds.

THE HEALING